But when it comes to economics, it's the award itself that sometimes comes in for sneers; even a couple of its winners have suggested it be abolished.
It is just that they may not be one of its winners.
The competitive and high-profile Michigan primary has blocked some of the sunlight from Arizona's contest on Tuesday, which will probably lead to a bigger delegate haul because of its winner-take-all allocation rules.
Government, meanwhile, is described as immorally aiding and abetting society's losers at the expense of its winners.
At the hearing, fury over the botched rollout made way for more political scrutiny of its winners and losers, leaving Sebelius unruffled by a four-hour showdown.
What, we might ask ourselves, is the point of a prize that has been described as sexist, irrelevant, unnecessary and patronising - even by some of its winners?
The award, say some of its winners, helps remind people not to be shy about advancing ideas at odds with conventional wisdom.
Only by enacting such policies will globalisation's losers begin to think that they may eventually join the ranks of its winners.
For example, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation takes pride in saying that many of its winners, who receive up to $50,000, go on to win Nobel Prizes.
The Diamond concert enables the series to showcase three of its winners in orchestral works, with the Orchestra of St . Lukes, under the energetic Kenneth Jean, providing a thoroughly professional accompaniment.
