A British economist is one of the top potential names to win Sweden's Nobel Prize in Economics when it is announced in Stockholm early on Monday afternoon local time.
Sir Richard William Blundell, 63, professor of political economy at University College London and research director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, is the top name on Thomson Reuters' list of favourites to claim the prestigious award.
His research areas include tax credits, work incentives, and the effects of wages on household consumption.
Formally known as the Swedish Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2015, the economics prize is one of the more modern awards. It was not part of Nobel's original will and was only created in 1968, sponsored by Sweden's Central Bank (the Riksbank).
TOP 10 most popular Laureates in Economic Sciences at http://t.co/B0vLAKQGhM right now: pic.twitter.com/U2q1eozcjP
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 11, 2015
If you go by previous statistics to guess this year's lucky name, you will most likely place your bets on one or several American men. Of the 75 winners to date, only one is a woman: Elinor Ostrom, who shared the gong with Oliver E Williamson. They are both from the US, just like 50 of their fellow economics laureates.
Last year, however, the prize was awarded to French economist Jean Tirole for his analysis of the power and regulation of the free market.
READ ALSO: Six things to know about Jean Tirole
Other influential thinkers included in speculation ahead of the announcement are John A List of the University of Chicago for creating field experiments to test economic theories and Charles Manski of Northwestern University for his research in social policy analysis and rational choice theory.
This year's Nobel Literature Prize winner will be announced on Monday at 1pm local time (11 GMT).