Macro Musings with David Beckworth · Monday, September 28, 2026
The Swedish Riksbank, founded in 1668, has a rich history, including being the first to issue notes and experimenting with price level targeting. Governor Erik Thedin also notes that the Riksbank set aside funds in 1968 to establish the prize in memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics.
“Big picture, it was founded 1668. We had a 300th anniversary 1968. That was by the way the year when the Nobel Prize was for economics was founded.”
“The bank set aside money for that. So now since then, there is a prize in the memory of Alfred Nobel, as it says, so it's not really proper Nobel Prize, but anyway, the memory of Alfred Nobel was founding back in 1968.”
“So, you guys were the original central banks, 1668. I just got to throw this out there, you were also an early innovator of an actual price level target from 1931 to 33.”