IMF's Gita Gopinath, Paul Krugman And Other Economists Hail Nobel Prize Win For Acemoglu, Johnson, And Robinson: 'Made Cool Again The Study Of Institutions'

Leading economists and policymakers have lauded the decision to award the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson for their groundbreaking research on global wealth inequality and institutional impacts on economic development.

What Happened: Gita Gopinath, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, took to social media to congratulate the winners. “Good institutions are critical to a country’s prosperity,” Gopinath emphasized, underscoring the significance of the trio’s work.

Congratulations @DrDaronAcemoglu, @baselinescene, James Robinson for winning the prize! Good institutions are critical to a country's prosperity. #NobelPrize https://t.co/Vrd0KDve31

— Gita Gopinath (@GitaGopinath) October 14, 2024

Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate himself, praised the winners’ research on X. “Their work on how colonial regimes focused on resource extraction inflicted long-term damage was clever and important,” Krugman wrote, noting its current relevance.

Congrats to Acemoglu/Johnson/Robinson for their Nobel. Their work on how colonial regimes focused on resource extraction inflicted long-term damage was clever and important. Also of some current relevance, but I'll save that for another post.

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) October 14, 2024

Jason Furman, a key figure in the 44th President Barack Obama‘s administration, offered a detailed analysis of the award’s importance. He congratulated the winners “for helping to show how empiricism can shed light on some of the deepest and most important questions we face–in this case why some countries are rich and some are poor.”

Furman contextualized the award within the broader evolution of economic growth theory. He contrasted the empirical approach of Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson with earlier theoretical models, such as those of Robert Solow and Paul Romer. “Unlike theory, empiricism is like an edifice that builds up over time with the higher layers subsuming the lower ones,” Furman explained. “But the edifice will be taller and stronger because of their work.”

The Solow model basically organizes an obvious point: growth comes from capital, labor and technology. It has a few interesting implications, like convergence due to diminishing returns. But it does not answer the big questions: where do the capital, labor & technology come from.

— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) October 14, 2024

Dani Rodrik of Harvard Kennedy School praised the recipients for reinvigorating institutional studies in mainstream economics. “They revived and made cool again the study of institutions in mainstream economics,” Rodrik tweeted. “Their work stimulated a huge literature that grows by the day.”

Congratulations to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. They revived and made cool again the study of institutions in mainstream economics. Their work stimulated a huge literature that grows by the day.

— Dani Rodrik (@rodrikdani) October 14, 2024

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Why It Matters: The Nobel Committee recognized the U.S.-based economists for their research on how societies with inadequate legal frameworks and exploitative institutions struggle to achieve economic growth. Acemoglu and Johnson are professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Robinson directs the University of Chicago’s Pearson Institute.

This award follows the recent Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield for their foundational work in artificial intelligence.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors