Nobel Committee members announce the winners of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel during a press conference in Stockholm. (EPA Images pic)STOCKHOLM: American economists Robert Hall and Michael Woodford were awarded the Nobel economics prize Monday for their work on how monetary and fiscal policy can help stabilise fluctuations in the economy.

"The laureates' work has provided us with a stable theoretical foundation for the models that are now used by central banks and governments around the world," the jury at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.

"With them, we are better equipped to deal with shocks in the economy, such as energy crises or sudden changes in how much households consume," John Hassler, chair of the prize committee, said in the statement.