British academics awarded Nobel prize in economics

Two British academics are among a trio to be awarded the Nobel prize in economics for their research into the role of colonialism in creating inequalities between nations.
Simon Johnson and James A Robinson, alongside the Turkish-born economist Daron Acemoglu, have been recognised for demonstrating that countries with stable institutions and democratic political systems are typically richer.
The Nobel committee said it awarded the prize to the trio because their work showed that the way economic and political institutions were set up by European colonists has been a key determinant of countries’ prosperity.
Robinson, 64, partnered with Acemoglu, 57, to write the bestselling book published in 2012 Why Nations Fail, which examined how economic inequalities within and between countries arise and persist. The book judged that inclusive institutions which enforce the rule of law and protect property rights are key to lifting the living standards of citizens.
In the book, Robinson and Acemoglu, professors at the University of Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology respectively, argue that so-called “extractive” systems, typically characterised by a small minority owning a large fraction of a country’s wealth and resources, are a drag on social and economic progression.
The Nobel committee said that the trio “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.”
Speaking in Athens after news of the award, Acemoglu said that European colonisation had provided the perfect “natural experiment” by dividing “the world into very different institutional trajectories”.
“Broadly speaking, the work we have done favours democracy,” he added.
Born in Istanbul, Acemoglu studied in the United Kingdom, gaining a masters and PhD from the London School of Economics after receiving his undergraduate degree in York. He received an award in 2005, the John Bates Clark Medal, which recognises up-and-coming economists younger than 40.
A dual British-American national, Robinson has degrees from the LSE and Warwick University. He received his doctorate at Yale.
Johnson, 61, born in Sheffield and also a professor MIT, worked for the Peterson institute think tank based in Washington and was the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund between 2007 and 2008, the height of the global financial crisis.