The 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded to American economists Robert Hall and Michael Woodford for research that transformed how economists understand inflation, unemployment and economic stability. Their work laid the foundation of modern New Keynesian economics, one of the most influential frameworks used by governments and central banks around the world today. Hall showed how consumers make spending decisions based not only on current income but also on expectations about the future. Woodford demonstrated how businesses set prices by looking ahead to future costs and economic conditions, making expectations a key driver of inflation.