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Daron Acemoğlu
Institute Professor in the Department of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Daron Acemoglu is an Institute Professor at MIT and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, American Philosophical Society, the British Academy of Sciences, the Turkish Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, the European Economic Association, and the Society of Labor Economists. He is also a member of the Group of Thirty. He is the author of six books, including New York Times bestseller Why Nations Fail: Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (with James A. Robinson) and Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (with Simon Johnson). His academic work covers a wide range of areas, including political economy, economic development, economic growth, technological change, inequality, labour economics and economics of networks. He is also co-director of the MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative. Daron Acemoglu received the inaugural T. W. Shultz Prize from the University of Chicago in 2004, the inaugural Sherwin Rosen Award for outstanding contribution to labour economics in 2004, Distinguished Science Award from the Turkish Sciences Association in 2006, the John von Neumann Award, Rajk College, Budapest in 2007, the Carnegie Fellowship in 2017, the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize in 2018, the Global Economy Prize in 2019, and the CME Mathematical and Statistical Research Institute prise in 2021. He was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal in 2005, the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in 2012, the 2016 BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award, and the A.SK Social Science Award in 2023. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Utrecht, the Bosporus University, University of Athens, Bilkent University, the University of Bath, Ecole Normale Superieure, Saclay Paris, and the London Business School.
Recent work by Daron Acemoğlu
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Accurate information can correct misperceptions and drive public demand for democracy
Authoritarian regimes cultivate misperceptions about the quality of democratic institutions and the value of democracy. How did an intervention, providing accurate information to voters in Türkiye, address these misperceptions and affect demand for d...
Published 16.12.24
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Support for democracy and the future of democratic institutions
It is only democracies that perform well on the dimensions that the public cares about – economic growth, control of corruption, peace and political stability and public good provision – that build support for democratic institutions
Published 19.12.23
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Building trust in state institutions: Evidence from Pakistan
Providing information about reforms in local courts increases trust in state institutions and decreases use of non-state dispute resolution mechanisms
Published 09.02.22
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Does population growth cause conflict?
Population surges tend to cause conflict and competition for resources if unaccompanied by productivity growth and unmediated by strong institutions
Published 22.11.19
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The changing face of development: The elite capture of democracy
Democratic institutions are increasingly being captured by the elite threatening development. What can we do to change this?
Published 25.06.19
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Democracy and economic growth: New evidence
Democracy sees higher GDP due to greater civil liberties, economic reform, increased investment and government capacity, and reduced social conflict
Published 15.12.17
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How not to build a state: Evidence from Colombia
Top-down strategies that prioritise military objectives may fail to develop, or even lead to the deterioration of, other crucial state capacities
Published 14.09.17
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The race between machines and humans: Implications for growth, factor shares and jobs
History suggests there will be no major labour market decline if the rate of automation of jobs and the creation of new tasks for workers are balanced
Published 21.06.17
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Can democracy help with inequality?
While democracy does represent a real shift in political power away from elites, its impact on inequality may be more limited than one might expect
Published 24.05.17