The Nobel Prize in Economics for 2024

The Nobel Prize in Economics 2024 has been awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson “for their research into the creation of institutions and their impact on prosperity.”
The modern significance of his work lies in understanding how weak countries have not been able to develop like rich countries despite years of progress.
The prize money of 11 million kronor (US $1.1 million) will be distributed among the recipients in recognition of their contributions.

The research conducted by the three economists explored how different institutional structures influenced the course of prosperity, particularly in European colonised countries.
In areas where Europeans suffered high mortality rates, they were less likely to settle and more likely to establish exploitative institutions, which often continued into the modern era.
The research highlighted those institutional differences, rather than geography or culture, play a decisive role in economic outcomes.
The example of the divided city of Nogales, where the American side has more economic opportunities and political rights than the Mexican side, illustrates how institutions affect prosperity.
Nogales is the state of Arizona located on the US-Mexico border. It shares its border with its twin city of Heroica Nogales, located in Mexico.
The two cities are separated by the International Avenue, which forms the border between the two countries.

He is best known for his tenure at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2007-2008) and is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In collaboration with Deron Asemoglu, he authored Power and Progress: He is the author of Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity (2023).
It stressed that poverty in many countries stems from political and economic institutional arrangements, making solutions complex and long-term.

Professor at MIT and colleague of Simon Johnson.
He said that his work broadly supports democracy, and countries transitioning from non-democratic regimes usually see significant economic growth within 8-9 years but cautioned that democracy is not an easy solution.
With James A. Robinson, he wrote “Why Nations Fail:” He is the author of The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (2012).

Professor at the University of Chicago and co-author of Why Nations Fail with Deron Acemoglu.
Based on his work, he cast doubt on China’s ability to maintain economic prosperity under an oppressive political system, citing historical examples such as the Soviet Union.
It was highlighted that many societies, including the United States, have transitioned to inclusive societies by overcoming past systems of oppression and privilege.

The award, formally known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was instituted by the Swedish central bank in 1968.
It complements the annual Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Peace, which were instituted in accordance with the will of Alfred Nobel.

In 2023, Claudia Goldin was awarded the prize for her research on the gender pay gap.
In the year 2022, Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philipp Dybvig were awarded for research on banks and financial crises.
Other notable awardees include Friedrich Hayek for economic theory, William Nordhaus for climate change analysis, and Paul Krugman for business theory.
In 2019, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer were awarded for their research on poverty alleviation.

The economics prize is the second most male-dominated award after physics, which has been awarded to only three women.
This reflects the historically low representation of women in scientific and economic fields.