U.S.-based economists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their work on wealth inequality between nations. Their research has demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity, showing that societies with poor rule of law and exploitative institutions do not generate growth or positive change. The laureates have explained how political and economic systems introduced by colonizing countries from the sixteenth century onwards have contributed to the wealth disparity between rich and poor nations. Their work has significantly enhanced our understanding of global inequality.
Acemoglu and Robinson co-authored the popular book “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty,” which explores the roots of inequality and why some countries are more successful in gaining wealth and influence. The richest 20% of countries are now around 30 times wealthier than the poorest 20%, with the former continuing to expand their wealth while the latter struggles to close the gap. The laureates have pioneered new empirical and theoretical approaches that shed light on the persistent gaps between poor and rich nations, addressing one of the most urgent questions in social sciences.
The winners of the award, officially known as the “Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel,” will receive 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.058 million) from the Swedish central bank. The prize money will be split equally among the three winners. This is not the first time the prize has been shared among multiple economists, as was the case in 2022 when Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond, and Philip Dybvig were awarded the prize for their research on banks and financial crises. In 2023, economist and historian Claudia Goldin won the economics Nobel for her work on women’s earnings and labor market outcomes.
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 was awarded to the Japanese atomic bomb survivor organization Nihon Hidankyo for their efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons. The other Nobel prizes, which include Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature, were first awarded in 1901. The Economic Sciences Prize was introduced in 1968 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Swedish central bank and has been awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to recognize work of outstanding importance in the field of economics. The work of Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson has greatly contributed to our understanding of global inequality and the role of institutions in shaping a country’s prosperity.
