Stockholm. Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on differences in prosperity between nations. The Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that the three economists “demonstrated the importance of social institutions for the prosperity of a country.” “Societies with poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not bring growth or change for the better,” the committee said. “The award winners’ research helps us understand why.” This announcement was made in Stockholm on Monday.
Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago. Acemoglu said he was surprised and shocked to receive the award. “You never expect something like this,” he said. He said that this award-winning research shows the value of democratic institutions. He said, “I think that broadly the work we have done is in favor of democracy.” “Democracy is not a panacea,” he said during a telephone conversation with the Nobel Committee and journalists in Stockholm. The beginning of democracy is very difficult. “When you start elections, sometimes it creates conflict.” Asked how economic growth in countries like China fits into this theory, Acemoglu said, “I think these authoritarian regimes are going to have difficulty promoting innovation in the long run for a variety of reasons.”
The Economics Prize was formerly known as the Bank of Sweden Prize. This award for economic sciences is given in memory of Alfred Nobel. The Bank of Sweden started it in 1968 in memory of Nobel. Nobel was a 19th century businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and established the five Nobel Prizes. However, some people insist that the Economics Prize is not technically a Nobel Prize, but it is always awarded along with other prizes on 10 December. This day is the death anniversary of Nobel. Last week, the Nobel Prizes for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace were announced.