STOCKHOLM (Euronews) - Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson were picked for their studies on how institutions shape the economic success of nations.
The 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded on Monday to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for their studies into why some countries succeed and others fail.
Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson are highly influential economists and political scientists, particularly known for their collaborations on the relationship between political institutions, economic development, and long-term prosperity.
Acemoglu and Johnson are professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while Robinson works for the University of Chicago.
“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 a country’s prosperity,” Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences said.
“Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better,” the award organizers added on their website.
Acemoglu and Johnson recently published the book ‘Why Nations Fail,’ which looks at wealth inequality between nations. The pair surveyed technology through the ages and demonstrated how some technological advances were better at creating jobs and spreading wealth than others.
Addressing the news conference by phone from Athens, Greece, Acemoglu said he was “surprised and shocked” at the win.