Two Brits among three winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics

Two British economists are among the three winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Simon Johnson, 61, and James A Robinson, 64, have been recognised for their “studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity”, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Monday. They were joined by Turkish economist Daron Acemoglu in winning the prize.

The official Nobel Prize account posted on X: “This year’s laureates in the economic sciences have helped us understand differences in prosperity between nations.

“Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity.

“Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better. The laureates’ research helps us understand why.”

Dr Johnson, who was born in Sheffield, is professor of entrepreneurship and the head of global economics and management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, in the US, and has taught at the university since 1997.

He studied at the University of Oxford and University of Manchester before finishing his education at MIT. He previously held the role of chief economist at the International Monetary Fund between 2007 and 2008.

Dr Robinson is professor of global conflict studies at the University of Chicago. He studied at both the London School of Economics and the University of Warwick before achieving a PhD at Yale University, and has been director of the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts since 2016.

A prize of 11 million Swedish krona (£809,341) will be shared equally between the winners.