‘“Nobel despised people who cared more about profits than society's well-being", saying that "There is nothing to indicate that he would have wanted such a prize", and that the association with the Nobel prizes is "a PR coup by economists to improve their reputation".’ [0]
I’ve also heard rumors that Nobel had a personal animosity towards certain academic areas because of an affair his wife had with a professor, but I can’t find any good references for that.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Memorial_Prize_in_Econom...
The fact that the "economics Nobel" isn't a real one, of course, is indisputable[2].
[0] http://almaz.com/nobel/why_no_math.html
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6sta_Mittag-Leffler
[2] for example https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/11/nobel-...
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Memorial_Prize_in_Econom...
So, yes, it is a Nobel prize because the guys in charge of Nobel prizes say it is. It's also awarded by the guys who award the other Nobel science prizes (the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences).