George A. Akerlof, A. Michael Spence, Joseph E. Stiglitz: Markets with Asymmetric Information

Akerlof, Spence and Stiglitz's analyses form the core of modern information economics. Their work transformed the way economists think about the functioning of markets. The analytical methods they suggested have been applied to explain many social and economic institutions, especially different types of contracts. Other researchers have used and extended their original models to analyze organizations and institutions, as well as macroeconomic issues, such as monetary and employment policy.