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Nobel for Institutes
The American economists who have won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics are Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. They will share the $1.1 million prize for their research into wealth disparities between countries and the importance of economic and political systems for the well-being of societies. Amid constant calls from Western society to reduce income gaps between countries, it was a logical step for the Nobel Committee to award the prize to the author of a best-selling book on the causes of wealth and poverty in countries.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Alfred Nobel Prize in Economics to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson (MIT, USA) and James Robinson (University of Chicago, USA). The prize is awarded for "research into how social institutions are formed and how they influence prosperity." The academy explained that the scientists' research allowed them to understand the causes of differences in well-being between countries and demonstrated the importance of public institutions for national prosperity.
It should be noted that, unlike previous "Nobel Prizes in Economics", this time it was awarded to economists known not only to narrow academic circles, but also to the general public. Daron Acemoglu, a 57-year-old American economist born and educated in Turkey, and James Robinson, a 64-year-old British economist, wrote a bestseller on political economy in 2012, "Why Some Countries Are Rich and Others Poor." I am the author. The third laureate, Simon Johnson, a 61-year-old British-American economist, is known not only as an author of publications in the media (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, etc.), but also served as chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), I did it.
In justifying the award, the Nobel Committee explained that the prize of 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately 1.1 million dollars) was awarded to a laureate who, among other things, studied the economic consequences of the colonization process. It should be noted that in many countries this painful topic never fit into the framework of scientific discussion, but recently it has been rethought and often exploited not only in former colonies and former metropolises.
Let us recall that Acemoglu and Robinson saw the reasons for the wealth and poverty of such countries in the different approaches of the European colonizers of the last century to their “booty”.
In some cases, they were interested only in resources (e.g. the Spanish in South America) and new exploitative institutions that formed an elite (political and economic systems) that produced quick but short-term results. The main layers of society were excluded from the process of political decision-making and income distribution.
In other cases (such as the British in resource-poor North America), colonists built inclusive institutions (apparently partly out of necessity) and reaped long-term benefits. That means economic and political rights for broad sections of society. It was the second choice, the new laureates say, that fueled innovation and ultimately brought prosperity and democracy to the country.
They argue that sustainable development is impossible without a pluralistic political system.
In describing the significance of the laureates' achievements, the Nobel Committee could not resist making broad and unlimited political generalizations. "When there is a threat of revolution, the ruling elite wants to retain power and tries to calm citizens by promising economic reforms," the committee said. However, citizens do not trust the authorities, and their only way out is to hand over power and establish democracy.
Giving prizes to economists who have achieved fame by creating democratic ideals for economic policy seems political in itself. Yesterday, Daron Acemoglu made no secret of the fact that he sees the award in an ideological context. According to him, state institutions and the rule of law are weakening in many parts of the world. “Countries with democratic forms of government are going through difficult times, and it is important that the best results of such governments give more people hope for democracy,” the laureate said.
After a bestseller on the importance of institutions, Acemoglu co-authored the book Power and Progress with Johnson. The book was devoted to an analysis of the impact of technological progress on poverty and inequality in relation to the institutional structures of countries. Lesser-known works by current Nobel laureates are mainly devoted to finding a balance between the state and society for economic development (see Kommersant, August 8, 2017) and the consequences of introducing new technologies in public and corporate governance. . (see Kommersant, September 16, 2021).
At the same time, the authors were able to partially study the experience of building a super-efficient state armed with artificial intelligence and information technology, in the absence of institutional support, using the example of the digitalization of power deployed in Russia. AI modules in public administration (included in numerous state information systems) are already being actively tested, and the lack of feedback from government agencies, according to the officials themselves (see Kommersant, September 9, 2024), makes them, in fact, An experimental platform for AI modules was created. Yesterday's Nobel Prize winners are testing their concepts.