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Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson Win 2024 Nobel Economics Prize

14 October, 2024

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024 was awarded jointly to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson "for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity".

The final Nobel prize to be awarded this year, worth $1.1m, acknowledges work on explaining the gaps in prosperity between nations. “Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better,” the Nobel academy stated in its citation. “The laureates’ research helps us understand why.”

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economists Kamer Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, whose work focuses on the relationship between political systems and economic growth, have worked closely and share the award with the political scientist James A. Robinson.

Assistant Professor Sebastian Ottinger of CERGE-EI comments: “Why are some countries rich while others are poor? Why do some countries' economies grow and others not? This year's recipients of the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024", Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A.  Robinson, have shown that differences in economic and political institutions are the fundamental cause of such differences. 

This well-deserved prize is highly relevant, especially today, when democracy appears on retreat in Central Europe and globally. The work of Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson shows that political and economic institutions, such as the security of property rights, enable countries to grow rich. Still today, billions of people all around the globe are ill-served by autocratic governments that infringe on these rights and stand between those nations and prosperity.“

Professor Michal Bauer of CERGE-EI adds: "Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson have helped us better understand one of the most pressing questions in social science -- why some parts of the world remain so poor, while other places managed to become incredibly rich. Their research highlights that institutions are crucial. It has long been well-known that good institutions and prosperity go hand in hand. But for a long time it has not been clear whether good institutions foster prosperity, or whether perhaps prosperity helps countries build better institutions. The Nobel laureates have used innovative empirical methods to make a convincing case that whether institutions are inclusive or, in contrast, whether they favor only those who are in power is indeed crucial for long-term economic prosperity. Their work has shaped our thinking about sources of global inequality and bears important lessons for today’s world."

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded 56 times to 96 laureates between 1969 and 2024.