Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Why are some countries so rich? Economics Nobel awarded for study of inequality

Nobel prizewinners Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson researched the contrasting fortunes of post-colonial nations.
By
  1. Helena Kudiabor
  2. Mark Buchanan

    1. Mark Buchanan has written many books about network effects. He is based in Abergavenny, UK.

Why are some nations wealthier than others? The 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded to three researchers who have helped to shed light on this fundamental question.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03367-5

Additional reporting by Chris Ryan.

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 25 October 2024: A previous version of this article neglected to mention that this year’s Nobel prize for literature was awarded to a woman, the South Korean author Han Kang.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • Single Molecule Specialist

    APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: 22.02.2026 Human Technopole (HT) is an interdisciplinary life science research institute, created and supported by the It...

    Milan (IT)

    Human Technopole

  • Chief Architect - High Performance Computing and Data Science

    Leads DSU’s High Performance Computing and Data Science, enabling scalable AI, big data, and scientific computing across all CoE.

    Bangalore (Locality), Karnataka (IN)

    Dayananda Sagar University Bengaluru

  • Chief Architect - Robotics and Embodied AI

    Leads Robotics and Embodied AI, building reasoning-driven robots using large-scale reinforcement learning and sim-to-real intelligence.

    Bangalore (Locality), Karnataka (IN)

    Dayananda Sagar University Bengaluru

  • Chief Architect- Spatial Computing (AR/VR/XR)

    Drive excellence in Spatial Computing (AR/VR/XR), building XR platforms, neural rendering, & digital twins for industry, healthcare, & education.

    Bangalore (Locality), Karnataka (IN)

    Dayananda Sagar University Bengaluru

  • Chief Architect: Cyber Defence & Sovereign Security

    Leads sovereign Cyber Defence & Sovereign Security, advancing threat detection, adversarial AI, quantum-safe security, and national digital trust.

    Bangalore (Locality), Karnataka (IN)

    Dayananda Sagar University Bengaluru

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links