Last year, soon after Yunus won the Peace prize, there was no shortage of
bitter critics of him and of his microcredit programs even in Bangladesh.

Some people dismissed the idea that microcredit can "put poverty in museums someday".

Controversies are nothing new when it comes to Nobel Peace and Lit
Prizes. [Quiz: How many Nobel Lit Prize winners' books have you
read?]

At best, this choice reflects the collective judgment of the selection committee. At worst, it looks like their caving in to something they
want others to believe in too.
 
After all, this is a Nobel Peace  (in the eyes of a group of Norwegians who solicit recommendations from previous winners) Prize, and NOT one of the Nobel Physics Prizes. The concept of 'peace' for this award is not clear-cut . . . previous winners have been Yasir Arafat, Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama . . .and so on.

That said, here's my prediction for this year's economics prize: Robert Barro.

oohi
ashu