Nobel Memorial Prize awarded to UoY Economics graduate
York graduate Daron Acemoglu has been awarded the Nobel Memorial prize in Economics for “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity"
Prior to the pathbreaking work of Daron Acemoglu and his coauthors, social scientists mostly explained differences in the wealth of nations as arising from unchangeable differences in geography or culture. Acemoglu showed that institutions – the rules and structures that govern society – are at least an equally important determinant of societal wealth. Moreover, chance events often determine which institutions a society creates, and these chance events can then have long-lasting consequences. Consider the difference between South and North Korea – one is a wealthy hub of industry, the other is an impoverished backwater. Both countries have similar culture and geography, but one created democratic, free-market institutions, while the other created dictatorial, communist institutions. Contingent decisions made by leaders during the Korean War and the chance outcomes of particular battles determine which parts of the Korean peninsula are rich and which parts are poor today.
The University of York economics department continues in the tradition developed by Acemoglu through studies of the long-term effects of Roman roads, Brazilian slavery, medieval European inheritance laws, and many other subjects.