<p>The disparaging of Nobel Prizes by some CC members, bustazak and ghostt in particular, is simply breathtaking in both vehemence and incoherence. The answer to all the rhetorical questions in the first paragraph by bustazak i(#5) s actually yes. The fact that not just one, but two NYU professors were awarded Nobel Prizes in Economics in recent years (Robert Engle in 2003) is a clear sign of the great strength of the NYU Economics. The same applies to Princeton. Nobel prizewinners don’t operate in a vacuum. Their presence helps recruit other stellar faculty. This in turn attracts outstanding students, both graduate and undergraduate, who wish to study with some of the finest minds in Economics, and because the prestige of their diplomas and graduate degrees IS enhanced by the Nobel prizes to the faculty under whom they study.</p>