Three US-based professors were awarded the Nobel prize in economics on Monday for research into reasons why countries succeed and others fail based on the political and economic systems introduced by colonisers.
Daron Acemoglu (57), Simon Johnson (61) and James A. Robinson (64) were awarded the Nobel prize. The three economists' research focuses on the differences in prosperity between nations.
“True, genuine, inclusive democracy matters, very clearly.”
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 14, 2024
Simon Johnson, economic sciences laureate 2024, was awarded the prize this morning for his work understanding why some countries are richer than others. Listen to our exclusive interview with him, moments after he… pic.twitter.com/ExNVIXvfT5
“The laureates demonstrated that this led to a reversal of fortune. The places that were, relatively speaking, the richest at their time of colonisation are now among the poorest,” the Nobel prize announcement said.
“You dream of having a good career but this is over and on top of that. It’s a great surprise and honour.”
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 14, 2024
Daron Acemoglu (@DAcemogluMIT) reacting to the news of his prize in economic sciences today. Congratulations to our new laureate! #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/5HCrlRfLvJ
It added that this is an important reason why former colonies that were once rich are now poor and vice versa.
The Nobel committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the three economists have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country's prosperity.
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Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better. The laureates' research helps us understand why, it added.
Who are Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson?
Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robison conducts his research at the University of Chicago. The duo had co-authored a book last year, Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity.
Acemoglu is a Turkish-American economist born in 1967. Acemoglu is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received the John Bates Clark Medal in 2005 and was named an Institute Professor at MIT in 2019.
Simon Johnson is a British American economist. Born in 1963, Johnson was chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. He is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
James A. Robinson is a British economist and political scientist. He is currently a professor at Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago. He previously taught at Harvard University between 2004 and 2015. Robinson studied economics at the London School of Economics (BSc), the University of Warwick (MA) and Yale University (PhD).
Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time's greatest challenges. The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this, he added.
He said their research has provided "a much deeper understanding of the root causes of why countries fail or succeed.
UK-born Johnson is also known for a brief stint at the International Monetary Fund from March 2007 to August 2008.
Robinson, a professor at the University of Chicago, wrote a book with Acemoglu - Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, which was published in 2012.
