And the Economics Nobel Goes to ...

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today said that three men will share the 2010 economics Nobel for their work explaining how unemployment, job vacancies and wages are affected by regulation and policy.

The prize was awarded to Americans Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen, as well as to Christopher Pissarides, a British-Cypriot economist. Diamond had been tapped by President Barack Obama to serve on the Federal Reserve, but the Senate rejected the move.

"The Laureates' models help us understand the ways in which unemployment, job vacancies, and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy. This may refer to benefit levels in unemployment insurance or rules in regard to hiring and firing. One conclusion is that more generous unemployment benefits give rise to higher unemployment and longer search times," the Academy said in a release.

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