On December 17, 1993 Hertha Recktenwald established a foundation to further economic science by honoring distinguished scholars in the field. The endowment was the wish expressed by her late husband, Professor Horst Claus Recktenwald. An internationally renowned economist and devoted educator, Horst Claus Recktenwald died on April 28, 1990 at the age of 70. The Prize, with its generous endowment, ranks among the highest of awards honoring academic economists. Its first conferral will take place in 1995, and will be presented biennially thereafter.
Nominations for the Prize come from a group of chosen internationally recognized scholars. The selection of the winning candidate will be the decision of a standing international committee of experts in the field of economics.
That committee will be appointed by the President of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, who will officially award the Recktenwald Prize.