2024 Economics Noble’s clarion call “Institutions, Institutions and Institutions” | Pradip Kumar Nath & Hemprabha Chauhan

The 14th Oct announcement of Noble Prize in Economics to Daron Acemoglu, J.A. Robinson, and Simon Johnson, has again established the ideas away from the mainstream economics and emphatically established the man-made institutional structure as having an paramount importance in the working of the Economy and it’s conditionalities.

In the early morning of the D - day of Noble Economics’ award announcement for 2024, while discussing with my Research Scholars and the Civil Service aspirants, on 14th, Oct, we were deliberating on the discussion between Alex Tabarrok and Tyler Cowen, on the list of probable for this year, starting from Gordon Tullock, the co-author of the classic “The Calculus of Consent” with J M Buchanon (1962), or the noted writer of “The Economic Theory of Democracy, Anthony Downs to Susan Athey for introducing machine learning to economics - all came in this dialogue.

Though the discussion of this type need not lead to betting, like the IPL or the world cup cricket or any other game, but Indian Universities attempted this exercise of debate, dialogue consummately, thereby, making an attempt to develop a level of acquaintance on works of many unknown contributors to the field of “Economics” beyond the prescriptive curriculum. Even a discussion followed by the Nobel announcement as is done after the economic survey or the budget, continued to be the academic regulars in most of the Institutions in India.

Vibrant discussion on probable Nobel Economist took place even in the most conservative institutes like GIPE, DSE, and Mumbai University and no doubt about an Institute which was well grounded with the culture of debates and discussions for all genres of thought that ever-struck human’s creative pursuits that is JNU, which also contributed a noble economist Abhijit Banerjee (2019). But his critical opinion on the workings of Modi Government brought the worst form of character assassination attempt by the IT cell of the party in power, by smear campaign with troll army with comments like “marriage with a white-skinned woman ensures the award of Nobel even”.

But in the last ten years since 2014, the lobbying for noble prize with investment from taxed and untaxed sources as authenticated from “SUTRON ke havale SE” (a new coinage of the Rights in power meaning “from some known and reliable sources”, which will not be revealed), was duly supplemented by Zelinsky’s following statements.

“The Ukrainian president met Modi again in New York but a day later, without naming anyone, said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, “Maybe somebody wants a Nobel Prize for their political biography for [a] frozen truce instead of real peace, but the only prizes Putin will give you in return are more suffering and disasters.” (Singh, 2024)

In the above backdrop, the common readers need be appraised the groundbreaking path of Accemoglu and Robinson constructed in their book of 2012 (Why Nations Fail) that substantiates, “how institutional developments, sometimes based on very accidental circumstances”, have had enormous consequences and the openness of a society, its willingness to permit creative destruction, and the rule of law appear to be decisive for economic development.” (Acemoglu. 2012, Arrow in the commentary page titled Praise for WHY NATIONS FAIL)

Working under the guidance of Kevin W. S. Roberts at London School of Economics ( LSE), Acemoglu submitted his thesis titled Essays in “Microfoundations of Macroeconomics: Contracts and Economic Performance” at a tender age of 25 in 1992. James Malcoson, one of the Doctoral examiners at LSE commented that even the three of the weakest chapters of the thesis were “more than sufficient for the award of a PhD”. Arnold King , The Economist and the blogger known for his writing in EconLog venerates Acemoglu a wunderkid for the tender age at which Acemoglu got his PhD.

Daron Acemoglu and Robinson’s book “Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy” analyse the conditions in which the elites do not have any stimulus for overthrowing democracy and allows for it’s gradual consolidation are as follow :

1. Strength of Civil Society, 2. the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization. (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012)

The latest book “Power and Our thousand-year struggle over technology and prosperity” (2023) takes the reader through the breathtaking tour of the history and future of technology with the reminder that we as human must take back control. The book also proposes a serious warning to the undue importance to technological change Economist with a crippling neglect to “Power”.

Acemoglu being the third most cited writer in Economics after Paul Krugman and Greg Mankew, throws a cautionary note to the systematic decimation of Institution in the present-day global scenario across different nation states. His book “Why Nations Fail” has already metamorphic into a bible for the Policy Practitioner.

Apart from this the academic community have accepted his text book “Introduction to modern economic growth” (2008), as a standard text with others texts like Aghion Howitt (2008), Barro and Sala-i-Martin (2004), and Nafziger and Yoder (2021).

References :

1. Acemoglu, D. (2008). Introduction to modern economic growth. Princeton university press.

2. Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why nations fail. New York Review of Books, 59(13), 85-86.

3. Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2005). Economic origins of dictatorship and democracy. Cambridge university press.

5.Acemoglu, Kamer Daron (1992). Essays in micro foundations of macroeconomics: contracts and macroeconomic performance (Ph.D thesis). London School of Economics

6. Aghion, P., & Howitt, P. W. (2008). The economics of growth. MIT press.

7. Barro, R., & Sala-i-Martin, X. (2004). Economic growth second edition

8. Johnson, S., & Acemoglu, D. (2023). Power and progress: Our thousand-year struggle over technology and prosperity. Hachette UK.

9. Nafziger, E. W., & Yoder, J. C. (2021). The economics of development. In Mennonites and Post-Colonial African Studies (pp. 114-127). Routledge.

10.Singh, S. 2024, Oct, 03). Curated visits (https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/curated-visits-narendra-modis - ruitless-foreign-sojourns/cid/2052675)

11. Tabarrok. Alex, Cowen Tyler ( 2024, Oct, 08). The Economics Nobel: Predictions, Missed Opportunities, and Questionable Winners (https://www.mercatus.org/marginal-revolution-podcast/economics-nobel-predictions-2024-missed-opportunities)

(Authors: Pradip Kumar Nath is a civil servant from Odisha Administrative Service (1991 batch) and worked as a faculty of National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) since 2008 & Mrs Hemprabha Chauhan is an ex-staff of PTI and has been a Guest Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication)