Mon Oct 14 10:21:10 UTC 2024: ## Nobel Prize in Economics Awarded to Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson for Research on National Prosperity
**STOCKHOLM** – Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson were awarded the Nobel memorial prize in economics on Monday for their groundbreaking research into the reasons why some countries prosper while others struggle.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized the three economists for demonstrating the crucial role of societal institutions in a nation’s economic success. The committee highlighted that countries with weak rule of law and institutions that exploit their populations often fail to generate growth or positive change.
Acemoglu and Johnson are affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.
“Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges,” stated Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences. “The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this.”
Svensson emphasized that their research provides a deeper understanding of the underlying factors behind countries’ successes and failures.
Acemoglu, reached in Athens, Greece, where he was attending a conference, expressed surprise and shock at receiving the award. “You never expect something like this,” he said.
The Nobel memorial prize in economics, officially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was established in 1968 by the central bank to honor Alfred Nobel’s legacy.
While some consider the economics prize distinct from the original five Nobel Prizes, it is presented alongside them on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.
Last week, the Nobel Prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and peace were announced.
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