UK-born Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom of Finland have won the Nobel Economics Prize for work on contract theory. <br/><br/> Judges said their work laid an intellectual foundation for policies in areas such as bankruptcy legislation and political constitutions. The pair will receive 8 million Swedish kroner from the committee. <br/><br/> It comes after Nobel prizes for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry and peace were awarded last week.<br/><br/>The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that Mr Hart and Mr Holmstrom's work was valuable to the understanding of real-life contracts and institutions. It also said it could identify potential pitfalls in contract design.

UK-born Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom of Finland have won the Nobel Economics Prize for work on contract theory. <br/><br/> Judges said their work laid an intellectual foundation for policies in areas such as bankruptcy legislation and political constitutions. The pair will receive 8 million Swedish kroner from the committee. <br/><br/> It comes after Nobel prizes for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry and peace were awarded last week.<br/><br/>The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that Mr Hart and Mr Holmstrom's work was valuable to the understanding of real-life contracts and institutions. It also said it could identify potential pitfalls in contract design.