Two British economists among Nobel Prize winners following research into inequality

Two British professors are among the winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics.

Simon Johnson, 61, and James A Robinson, 64, have been recognised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for their “studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity”.

They were joined by Turkish economist Daron Acemoglu – also a professor – in winning the prize which includes a share of 11 million Swedish kronor (£808,522).

Their research explains why societies with poor rule of law and exploitative institutions do not generate sustainable growth.

Prof Acemoglu and Prof Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) while Prof Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.

“Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges. The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this,” said Jakob Svensson, chair of the committee for the prize in economic sciences.

He said their research has provided “a much deeper understanding of the root causes of why countries fail or succeed”.

Turkish-born Prof Acemoglu, 57, said he was surprised and shocked by the award. “I think broadly speaking the work that we have done favours democracy,” he said during a news conference in Stockholm.

But he added that “democracy is not a panacea. Introducing democracy is very hard. When you introduce elections, that sometimes creates conflict.”

The University of Chicago described Prof Robinson as an economist and political scientist whose research examines the relationships between political power and institutions and prosperity.

It said he has conducted fieldwork around the world including Bolivia, Colombia, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Simon Johnson is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and was previously chief economist at the International Monetary Fund between 2007 and 2008.

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Past winners of the economics award include a host of influential thinkers like Milton Friedman, John Nash – played by actor Russell Crowe in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, and more recently former US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke.

Last year, Harvard economic historian Claudia Goldin won the prize for her work highlighting the causes of wage and labour market inequality between men and women.

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 was last week awarded to Japanese atomic bomb survivor organisation Nihon Hidankyo, in recognition of its efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.