Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, James A. Robinson awarded Nobel Economics Prize 2024

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to three distinguished economists. The recipients are Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA, and James A. Robinson from the University of Chicago, IL, USA.
They have been recognised for their groundbreaking research on how institutions play a crucial role in shaping a nation’s prosperity. Their work highlights the critical role that societal institutions play in shaping a nation’s economic development and long-term growth. By studying how institutions are formed and their impact, the laureates’ findings offer valuable insights into the conditions necessary for sustainable development and prosperity.
They have demonstrated that societies with strong, inclusive institutions foster growth and progress. On the other hand, countries where the rule of law is weak and institutions exploit the population tend to stagnate, unable to generate sustainable economic change.
Their research provides valuable insights into why some countries prosper while others struggle.
This year’s laureates have shown that institutions matter deeply in determining a nation’s fate, making their research essential in understanding the conditions necessary for sustainable development.
(Photo: Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.)
The prize, officially named the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, carries a reward of 11 million Swedish crowns.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in awarding the prize, highlighted how Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson’s work helps us grasp the fundamental importance of well-functioning institutions for a country’s prosperity and the broader global economic landscape.
“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,” says Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences.