Bush critic Krugman wins 2008 Nobel for economics

NOT IMPRESSED: Nobel Prize-winner Paul Krugman is a fierce critic of the Bush administration.

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Stockholm: US economist Paul Krugman, a fierce critic of the Bush administration for policies that he argues led to the current financial crisis, won the 2008 Nobel prize for economics on Monday.

The Nobel committee said the award was for Krugman's work that helps explain why some countries dominate international trade, starting with research published nearly 30 years ago.

A well-known economist who writes columns for the New York Times, Krugman has long featured among the favourites to win a Nobel. He is a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University in the United States.

Krugman, speaking by telephone to a news conference, was caught on the hop by the news. "I rushed to take a shower so that I could take part in the press conference. I called my wife and I called my parents. I've not yet managed to get myself a cup of coffee," he said.

But lack of caffeine did not stop him offering an ad hoc diagnosis of how the world economy was faring. "We are now witnessing a crisis that is as severe as the crisis that hit Asia in the 90's. This crisis bears some resemblance to the Great Depression."

Praising world leaders' efforts to staunch the financial bleeding, he added: "I'm slightly less terrified today than I was on Friday."

World policy makers met at the weekend, after a black Friday on financial markets, to agree radical measures to rescue banks, revive liquidity and tackle the risk of a global recession.

The prize committee dismissed any suggestion its choice was influenced by the current crisis or political considerations. "I don't think the committee has ever taken a political stance," committee secretary Peter Englund told Reuters.