STOCKHOLM – The Nobel economics prize, which concludes the 2024 Nobel season, was awarded on Monday to the American-Turkish economist Daron Acemoglu and British-Americans Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for their research that explored the aftermath of colonisation to understand why global inequality persists today.
“Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges,” said Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences.
“They have identified the historical roots of the weak institutional environments that characterise many low-income countries today,” he told a press conference.
By examining the various political and economic systems introduced by European colonisers, the three researches highlighted the link between institutions and prosperity, according to the committee’s statement.
Acemoglu, 57, and Johnson, 61, are professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while Mr. Robinson, 64, is a professor at the University of Chicago.
The award came a day after a World Bank report disclosed that the world’s 26 poorest countries—home to 40% of its most poverty-stricken people—are more in debt than any time since 2006, highlighting a major decline in the fight against poverty.
The prestigious award, formally known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is the final prize to be given out this year and is worth 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million).
