The New York Times wrote today that the Nobel Prize for economics was awarded to three Americans, for "creating and developing a sophisticated explanation of the interaction among individuals, markets and institutions." The work of Leonid Hurwicz, Roger B. Myerson and Eric S. Maskin enabled mathematical economic models to be used effectively as a tool for social welfare. Among other uses, these models aid in the creation of government policy that would encourage markets to factor in the public good. An example would be a structure of taxation, regulatory controls and/or other incentives meant to result in the maintenance of clean air and water. To read more, see Three Share Nobel in Economics for Work on Social Mechanisms.