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<p>Indeed, the Nobel Prize committee (at least in economics and the sciences) deliberately avoids giving prizes for very recent work. </p>
<p>They want to make sure that the accomplishments “stand the test of time.” And they really try to reward “seminal” work that has stimulated whole new productive subfields, something that can only be judged with benefit of hindsight.</p>
<p>Moreover, the Nobel memorial prize in economics is relatively much newer than the traditional Nobels in the other fields. The others began around the turn of the 20th century, whereas the economics prize was launched in the late 60s. Thus there was a big “backlog” of economists who had not been previously recognized waiting for their turn in the early years, which made others wait perhaps longer than they would have had to wait. </p>
<p>Sadly, some people who are almost universally judged worthy of the prize don’t get it, because the Nobel prize organization has rules against posthumous awards, and by the time the impact of the scholar’s work is clear, he may no longer be living.</p>