The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded for the study of why some countries are rich and others are poor
15 October 2024 04:04
Economists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their research on how institutions are formed and their impact on prosperity. This is stated on the award’s page on the social network X, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in 2024 in memory of Alfred Nobel to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson “for their research on how institutions are formed and affect prosperity,” the statement said.
“This year’s winners have demonstrated the importance of public institutions for a country’s prosperity. Societies with poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better. The research of the laureates helps us understand why,” the committee’s website explains.
The study suggests that one explanation for the differences in the welfare of countries is the social institutions introduced during colonisation. When Europeans colonised countries around the world, the institutions in those societies changed.
In some places, the colonisers only wanted to exploit the indigenous population and extract resources. In others, they created inclusive political and economic systems for the long-term benefit of European migrants. This led to prosperity in the future.
This is how economists explain why former colonies that were once rich are now poor, and vice versa.
The amount of the prize: sEK 11 million will be divided equally among the winners.
What we know about the winners
Daron Acemoglu was born in 1967 in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1992, he received a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Simon Johnson was born in 1963 in Sheffield, UK. In 1989, he received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where he currently teaches.
James Robinson was born in 1960 and received his PhD from Yale University in 1993. He is currently a professor at the University of Chicago in the United States.
