The Nobel Prize in Economics (Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel), awarded for the last time in 2024, was jointly awarded on Monday to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A.Robinson for their work on ‘understanding the differences in prosperity between nations.’ The three are friends and co-authors of ‘The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation’ (2001).
‘I am thrilled.It’s a true shock and amazing news,’ Acemoglu told reporters via phone after the announcement.
The economics prize is not one of the original awards for science, literature, and peace established in the will of inventor Alfred Nobel, but rather a funding initiative introduced in 1968 by the central bank of Sweden.
Among the past laureates, we find names such as Milton Friedman, John Nash, and more recently, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States, Ben Bernanke.
Acemoglu ranked third after Paul Krugman and Greg Mankiw in the list of ‘favorite economists’
Daron Acemoglu (born September 3, 1967) is a Turkish-American economist of Armenian descent who has been teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1993.
Acemoglu earned his Ph.D.from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 1992, where he later taught for a year.
He is best known for his work in political economy, having authored hundreds of papers, many in collaboration with his long-time colleagues Simon Johnson and James A.Robinson.
Together with Robinson, he co-authored the books ‘Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy’ (2006) and ‘Why Nations Fail’ (2012).
The latter became a bestseller, detailing the role that institutions play in shaping the economic outcomes of nations.Described as centrist, he advocates for a regulated market economy.Acemoglu frequently writes about political issues, economic inequalities, and a variety of specific policies.
In a 2011 survey of American economists, Acemoglu ranked third, following Paul Krugman and Greg Mankiw, in the list of ‘favorite living economists.’ In 2015, he was named the most cited economist of the past decade according to RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) data.According to the Open Syllabus Project, Acemoglu is the third most frequently cited author in university economics syllabi after Mankiw and Krugman.
Simon H.Johnson – former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund
Simon H.Johnson (61 years old) is a British-American economist.He is a professor of entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.From March 2007 until the end of August 2008, he served as chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
Johnson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and his Ph.D.from MIT, with a dissertation titled ‘Inflation, Intermediation, and Economic Activity.’.
He serves on the editorial board of four academic economics journals.The author of numerous books, Simon Johnson is known for ’13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown’ (co-authored with James Kwak, with whom he also co-founded and regularly contributes to the economics blog ‘The Baseline Scenario’).Additionally, he is the author of ‘White House Burning: Our National Debt and Why It Matters to You’ (2013); ‘Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream’ (2019, co-authored with Jonathan Gruber); and ‘Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity’ (2023, co-authored with Daron Acemoglu).
James Alan Robinson became friends with Acemoglu and they wrote books after meeting at the London School of Economics
James Alan Robinson (born 1960) is a British economist and political scientist.He is also the director of the Pearson Institute for Global Conflict Resolution.Robinson previously taught at Harvard University from 2004 to 2015, and then at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Melbourne.
Along with Daron Acemoglu, he co-authored several books, including ‘The Narrow Corridor,’ ‘Why Nations Fail,’ and ‘Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy.’.
Robinson studied economics at the London School of Economics, the University of Warwick, and Yale University.His main research interests lie in economic development and comparative politics.
He became friends with Acemoglu, and they co-authored books after meeting at the London School of Economics.’Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy’ (2006), in collaboration with Robinson and Acemoglu, examines the creation and consolidation of democratic societies.
In ‘Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty’ (2012), Acemoglu and Robinson argue that ‘the differences in development among countries are entirely due to differences in political and economic institutions.’.
