Angus Deaton has won the Nobel Prize for Economics.

The Scottish microeconomist has been recognised for his analysis of consumption, poverty and welfare.

Deaton is a professor of economics and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Deaton researches economic developments and health and wellbeing.

He examines the links between consumption and income and how public policy can affect the rich and poor. Deaton focuses on measuring changes in public behaviour after government policy changes, and reveals how these changes affect people.

Awarding Deaton with the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences 2015 , the Committee said:
“To design economic policy that promotes welfare and reduces poverty, we must first understand individual consumption choices. More than anyone else, Angus Deaton has enhanced this understanding.
By linking detailed individual choices and aggregate outcomes, his research has helped transform the fields of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and development economics.”

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Deaton's work examines the following questions:

How do consumers distribute their spending among different goods? 

How much of society's income is spent and how much is saved? 

How do we best measure and analyse welfare and poverty?

The Committee said Angus Deaton has helped, “transform the fields of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and development economics” by linking detailed individual choices and aggregate outcomes.

Deaton's work is said to have influenced policy making, allowing government to understand how increases to VAT will affect different social groups.

Deaton is best known for the Deaton Paradox, which explains how consumption varies smoothly despite vast variations in income.

The announcement was made at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm today. Deaton will receive a 8 million Swedish kronor, or €860,390