The Nobel Prize for Economics, which closes the 2024 season, has been awarded to the American-Turkish Daron Acemoglu and to British-Americans Simon Johnson e James A. Robinson for their research on differences in prosperity between nations. This was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The prestigious award, formally known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is the latest prize awarded this year and is worth 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.1 million). The researchers, all three based in the United States, were chosen “for their studies of institutions and how they influence prosperity”, the jury said.
“Reducing the enormous income differences between countries is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The winners demonstrated the importance of institutions in achieving this objective. They identified the historical roots of the weakness of the institutional context that characterizes many low-income countries today. income,” said Jakob Svensson, chair of the Economic Sciences Prize Committee. “This year’s winners have pioneered new approaches, both empirical and theoretical, that have significantly advanced our understanding of global inequality,” Svensson told reporters. “By examining the different political and economic systems introduced by European colonizers, the three economists were able to demonstrate the link between institutions and prosperity. Societies where the rule of law is poor and institutions exploit the population do not generate growth or change positive”, insisted the jury.
Acemoglu, 57 years old (born in Istanbul), is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as is Johnson, 61 years old (born in Sheffield in the United Kingdom). Robinson, 64, is a professor at the University of Chicago. In 2012 he was co-author, together with Acemoglu, of the book “Prosperity, power and poverty: why some countries are more successful than others”. It highlights the need for inclusive political and economic frameworks and the role of economic institutions in ensuring long-term growth. “It’s a real shock and extraordinary news. Thank you,” said Acemoglu, interviewed by the Nobel Committee. “I think this is a time when democracies are going through a difficult time,” Acemoglu added.
“And it is in some sense crucial that they make the case for better, cleaner governance, and for delivering the promise of democracy to a wide range of people.” The economics prize is not one of the original science, literature and peace prizes created by dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel and first awarded in 1901, but a later addition established and financed by the Swedish central bank in 1968. Last year, Harvard economic historian Claudia Goldin won the prize for her work highlighting the causes of wage and employment inequality between men and women.