This is the second time I've read that environmental economists are in the running for the prize this year (Nobel speculations):

This is probably dumb, but I am going to indulge in Nobel speculations. My main forecast is that there are two leading fields of economics that are way ahead of the rest for being the focus of this year's prize. The first is environmental economics because 1) one has never been given for the field, and 2) the Swedes are supportive of the upcoming Copenhagen summit on global warming. ...

So, if it is for environmental I think it is likely recipients will have some link to the global warming issue. This probably rules out some more radical and heterodox founders like Herman Daly or Allen Kneese or Richard Norgaard whom I would applaud. It also rules out some more mathematical folks like Partha Dasgupta or Richard Starrett or William Brock or Geoffrey Heal, and I would not hold my breath either for local favorite and former Nobel committee member, Karl-Goran Maler either.

Those with global warming cred would include Nicholas Stern and William Nordhaus and Robert Stavins, any of whom might get it. However, the most interesting and deserving combo, requiring not to be too heterodox and also have a global warming link but also more innovative and important in my opinion would be a Graciela Chichilnisky-Hirofumi Uzawa-Martin Weitzman combo.

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