Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson Awarded 2024 Nobel Prize

Research associates Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity." The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences explained that the three scholars "contributed innovative research about what affects countries' economic prosperity." Their work highlights the critical role of political and economic institutions in affecting the evolution of living standards. It not only offers important clues for explaining disparities in per capita income across nations, but also provides guidance on the design of policies to promote economic development.

Acemoglu is an Institute Professor at MIT. He is affiliated with four NBER programs: Development Economics (DEV), Economic Fluctuations and Growth, Labor Studies, and Political Economy (POL). Johnson, the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, is affiliated with the Corporate Finance, DEV, International Finance and Macroeconomics, and POL programs. Robinson, the Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and also a University Professor and Professor of Political Science, is an affiliate of the DEV, Development of the American Economy, and POL programs.

In announcing the prize, the Academy released a high-level summary of the three researchers' contributions, along with a more detailed account of their work.

With this year’s awards, 41 current or past NBER research affiliates, and an additional six current or past members of the NBER Board of Directors, have received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Affiliates awarded the prize are Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson, 2024; Claudia Goldin, 2023; Ben Bernanke and Douglas Diamond, 2022; Joshua Angrist, David Card, and Guido Imbens, 2021; Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer, 2019; William Nordhaus and Paul Romer, 2018; Richard Thaler, 2017; Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström, 2016; Angus Deaton, 2015; Lars Hansen and Robert Shiller, 2013; Alvin Roth, 2012; Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims, 2011; Peter Diamond, 2010; Paul Krugman, 2008; Finn Kydland, 2004; Robert F. Engle, 2003; Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001; James J. Heckman and Daniel L. McFadden, 2000; Robert C. Merton and Myron S. Scholes, 1997; Robert E. Lucas, Jr., 1995; and the late Dale Mortensen, 2010; Edward C. Prescott, 2004; Robert W. Fogel, 1993; Gary S. Becker, 1992; George J. Stigler, 1982; Theodore W. Schultz, 1979; Milton Friedman, 1976; and Simon Kuznets, 1971. In addition to this group, the six current or past NBER directors who have received the prize are: George Akerlof, 2001; and the late William Vickrey, 1996; Douglass North, 1993; Robert Solow, 1987; James Tobin, 1981; and Paul Samuelson, 1970.