edmund strother "ned" phelps, jr. is an american economist. he was born on july 26, 1933 in evanston, illinois. he was given the 2006 nobel memorial prize in economic sciences. he is best known for his work on economic growth at yale university's cowles foundation in the 1960s. this includes the idea of the golden rule savings rate, which is about how much money should be spent and how much should be saved for the future. some of his best work is on microeconomics of full employment and how prices affect wages. part of this work is about the natural rate of unemployment.