Three Economists Win Nobel for Work on Global Inequality

Meet the economists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson - they just won the Nobel Prize for their fascinating work on global economic inequality. These guys are from MIT and the University of Chicago, but none of them were born in the US. They've been looking into how colonialism shaped today's economic disparities between nations. Their research shows that the kinds of institutions set up during colonisation can still have a big impact on a country's economy today. They found that countries with more inclusive and democratic systems have better growth in the long run because they encourage innovation. The Nobel committee was impressed with their work because they could show a clear link between these old institutions and today's economic outcomes. They also explained why some places that were once rich became poor after being colonised. It turns out, where there were a lot of people and hot weather, colonisers often just took what they wanted, which wasn't good for growth. But in cooler places with fewer people, colonisers set up systems that helped everyone, which was better for the economy. The trio's work suggests that democracies are generally better for growth over time. They also pointed out that while China's recent success is a bit tricky for their findings, authoritarian growth might not be stable in the long run. Acemoglu, who was born in Turkey, says their work is like studying a big experiment that colonisation created, dividing the world into different paths. Robinson and Johnson, who are British, have also done amazing work in this field. All three are big names in economics.