Daron Acemoglu, one of the winners this Monday Nobel Prize in Economics 2024, assured from Athens that it was a great honor to receive this award and warned that inequalities had devastating effects in some countries and called for the strengthening of democratic institutions.
“I receive this award for my work related to institutions, a subject that is even more important today, since we are facing so many changes with the artificial intelligence, inequalities and climate change”, he underlined during the Forum for Sustainability in South-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, that the weekly The EconomistThe party will last until Wednesday in Athens. Referring to inequality, he noted that it is becoming a problem “devastating affair” in many countries, not only because “the rich get richer”, but also because economic development only benefits certain groups of people.
“We need to focus even more on stronger and more democratic institutions. “This is something important for the world that we will leave to our children and grandchildren,” said the economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At the Forum, the American economist made a presentation in which he highlighted the trends. which will play an important role in the economic and political world of tomorrow: artificial intelligence (AI); inequality and employment; climate change and the democratic crisis Technology creates enormous opportunities, but not everyone benefits from them either, said Acemoglu, who explained that, for example, layers with a lower level of education n do not benefit from it but suffer harm.
Furthermore, he emphasized that for wages not to be negatively affected by automation and for workers in general to benefit from the technological transition, an appropriate institutional environment is necessary. “Despite the enormous dangers facing us, there are also great opportunities for profit,” emphasized Acemoglu, who stressed that the innovation and competitiveness are not enough for a more just and democratic future, and that the way in which new technologies will be used is very important.
This Monday, Acemoglu received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics alongside Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for their studies on How institutions form and affect prosperityannounced the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Acemoglu, from Turkish originstressed that it was “a great honor” to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics and described as “magnificent” the fact that he received the news during his stay in Athens, “the home of democracy”. “Reducing the huge income differences between countries is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The winners have demonstrated the importance of social institutions in achieving this,” said Jakob Svensson, chairman of the Economic Sciences Prize committee. , explaining the choice of winners.
