Turkish-American Acemoglu among three economists awarded Nobel Prize

The Nobel memorial prize in economics has been awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for research into differences in prosperity between nations.

The three economists “have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’ s prosperity,” the Nobel committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of 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 laureates’ research helps us understand why,” it added.

The announcement was made on Monday in Stockholm.

Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.

'Collaborative work'

Jakob Svensson, chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, emphasised the relevance of the laureates' contributions in addressing global inequality.

“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,” he said.

Acemoglu is originally from Türkiye.

Their collaborative work has become essential to understanding economic development and governance worldwide.