Dear Washington University community,
It gives us great pleasure to share the exciting news that Washington University economist Philip H. Dybvig has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Professor Dybvig, the Boatmen’s Bancshares Professor of Banking and Finance in Olin Business School, is one of three economists to receive this year’s prize, along with University of Chicago economist Douglas W. Diamond and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben S. Bernanke.
Professors Dybvig and Diamond were selected for their seminal 1983 paper, “Bank Runs, Deposit Insurance, and Liquidity,” which introduced an economic model that explained why banks are subject to runs. Bernanke was honored for a paper he wrote on the role of bank failures in propagating a financial crisis, also in 1983.
As you undoubtedly know, the Nobel Prize is a tremendous honor — first and foremost for Professor Dybvig, but also for WashU. Professor Dybvig is now the 26th Nobel laureate affiliated with the university. We’re extraordinarily proud of his outstanding contributions to the field of economics and delighted to celebrate this moment with him.
We’ll share more information in a special edition of the Record shortly, but we wanted to take this opportunity to extend our most enthusiastic congratulations to Professor Dybvig and to invite you all to join in this momentous occasion for WashU.
Sincerely,
Andrew D. Martin
Chancellor
Beverly Wendland
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs