Today’s news / Nobel in economics for wealth gap study
The Nobel Prize in Economics this year went to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson. The prize was awarded in Stockholm. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT/Ritzau Scanpix

Nobel in economics for wealth gap study

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson received the Nobel Prize in economics for their work on global wealth disparities. The Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences highlighted their findings on societal institutions’ role in determining a nation’s wealth. They showed that countries with poor rule of law and exploitative institutions fail to generate growth or positive change. Their research linked the wealth of nations to societal institutions formed during colonization. Poorly colonized nations that developed inclusive institutions later became generally wealthy, explaining the reversal of fortune between some modern-day rich and poor former colonies. Jakob Svensson, economic prize committee chairman, noted the relevance of their work to one of today’s major challenges—reducing global income differences. The economics prize, worth 11 million Swedish kronor this year, is in memory of Alfred Nobel but was not originally established with the other Nobel Prizes.