Lord Wolfson offers prize for best Eurozone exit strategy

A £250,000-prize is on offer to economists to come up with an exit plan for debt-laden countries to leave the eurozone to protect the continent's economies.  

The prize is the second-largest available to economists after the Nobel prize for economics.

According to Conservative life peer Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise, the chief executive of high-street chain Next, he was offering the award as he was sceptical European leaders would be able to come up with a solution to the debt crisis when they meet in Brussels on 23 October.

He added a disorderly exit by one or more of the 17 members of the single currency could jeopardise European savings, employment as also the stability of the international banking system.

According to Lord Wolfson, the prize aimed to incentivise the world's brightest economic minds to help fill that policy void and their efforts could prevent Europe from descending into a financial chaos that would destroy savings, jobs, and social cohesion.

The Wolfson Economics Prize' offered the second-biggest financial reward to economists after the Nobel if they could come up with the answer to: How to manage the orderly exit of one or more member states from the European Monetary Union.