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STOCKHOLM – Three American economists have been honored with the Nobel Prize in Economics, recognizing their significant contributions to understanding the factors that drive success and failure among nations. Among them, two are professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Nobel Prize in Economics
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, highlighting their work which emphasizes the crucial role societal institutions play in determining a nation’s prosperity. According to the Nobel committee’s announcement, “Societies with inadequate rule of law and exploitative institutions fail to foster growth or positive change, shedding light on the reasons behind such failures.”
Acemoglu and Johnson are based at MIT, while Robinson’s affiliation is with the University of Chicago.
This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics was ceremoniously awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 14, 2024, following a tradition that connects it to Alfred Nobel’s legacy.
Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, remarked on the importance of their research, stating, “Addressing the substantial income disparities between nations is one of the defining challenges of our era. The laureates’ findings underscore the critical importance of societal institutions in this endeavor.”
He further noted that their studies have significantly enhanced our understanding of the fundamental reasons behind the varying levels of success or failure among countries.
Surprised Reactions
Acemoglu, who was reached in Athens, Greece, where he is attending a conference, expressed his astonishment upon learning about the award. “You never expect something like this,” he said, conveying the unexpected nature of the honor.
Known formally as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, this accolade was established by the central bank in 1968 in tribute to Alfred Nobel, the 19th-century inventor of dynamite and founder of the original Nobel prizes.
Although some purists argue that the economics prize is distinct from the original Nobel categories, the economics laureates are celebrated alongside winners in other disciplines each December 10, coinciding with the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896.
In addition to this year’s economics prize, the Nobel honors were recently conferred in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and peace. Notably, the previous year’s awardee in economics was Harvard University’s Claudia Goldin.
Associated Press reporters Daniel Niemann and Mike Corder contributed to this report.
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