Jean Tirole wins Nobel Prize in economics

last updated 8 January 2015

French economist Jean Tirole has stated that he is "very grateful" after winning the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday. The jury called Tirole "one of the most influential economists of our time."

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized Tirole, 61, for his work on market power and regulation, BBC News reports.

"Many industries are dominated by a small number of large firms or a single monopoly," the jury said in a statement. "Left unregulated, such markets often produce socially undesirable results — prices higher than those motivated by costs, or unproductive firms that survive by blocking the entry of new and more productive ones." Tirole's work showed that regulations banning cooperation among business competitors can be harmful.