Press conference re. Acemoglu & Johnson winning 2024 Economics Nobel Prize

Thank you, Kimberly. Good morning, everybody! 

I’m delighted to say out loud what you already know: This morning, the 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor, and Simon Johnson, the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

They share the award with James Robinson of the University of Chicago for “studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.” 

Through extensive historical studies over time and across societies, their work has demonstrated the profound extent to which a nation’s economic growth and prosperity depend on healthy societal institutions, including the rule of law.

Daron and Simon are prolific and influential scholars; I cannot begin to enumerate their accomplishments here, including their work as mentors and teachers.

And I know that we’re all eager to hear from the laureates themselves! 

So I’ll offer just a brief observation:

Simon and Daron reflect a kind of MIT ideal. In the excellence and rigor of their work, certainly – but also in at least two other ways.

First – and as this morning’s three-way prize illustrates – their work is extraordinarily collaborative. They are also co-authors of the 2023 book Power and Progress: Our 1,000-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity. Their united wisdom and insight have rightly made their views exceptionally influential.

And second, their work reflects a very MIT interest in making a positive impact in the real world. Their historical investigations have a great deal to teach us about how and why real societies fail or thrive. And they have both become familiar voices in the news – public intellectuals trying to help us all make sense of a tumultuous world.

I hope this award – and last week’s science Nobels – can serve to remind the nation and the world of why advanced research deserves our sustained, and enthusiastic collective support.

Now – Daron, Simon – to you both and your co-laureate – Congratulations!!

The floor is yours.

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