Nobel Prize in Economics awarded for research on the impact of social institutions on well-being

“The 2024 winners demonstrated the importance of public institutions for the prosperity of the State. A society with low levels of law and order and institutions that exploit the population is not conducive to growth or change for the better. The study of the winners helps to understand why,” the Nobel Committee said in a statement.

In April 2022, Acemoglu stated that it was difficult to build inclusive institutions in the Soviet Union (encouraging the participation of all social groups in economic activities), and even more difficult in today’s Russia.

The scientist also noted that strengthening sanctions makes sense, since the Russian authorities perceive the West’s economic restrictions as part of a broader confrontation, similar to the rivalry between the USSR, the US and NATO before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Acemoglu, 57, and Johnson, 61, work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Robinson, 64, at the University of Chicago.

Nobel Week took place in Stockholm and Oslo from October 7 to 14. The Medicine Prize was awarded for the discovery of the microRNA molecule, the Physics Prize for research in the field of neural networks, the Chemistry Prize for the study of the structure of proteins, the Literature Prize for the “ intense poetic prose” and the Peace Prize for efforts “to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.” The awards ceremony will take place on December 10.