Old world vs. new world: Evolution of Nobel Prize shares

We study current and past trends in the geographic distribution of Nobel Prize awards. A polynomial-smoothing-spline analysis reveals trends that correlate with major events of the 20th century. The results demonstrate the rise of North America and the fall of Europe since the 1930s. There is an indication that North America's share of Nobel Prizes will continue to increase in the near future whereas Europe's will continue to decline. Differences among European countries are discussed.