Underwhelming economics Nobel: Winners reveal little we didn't already know

Conclusion of laureates Acemoglu, Johnson, Robinson - that prosperity depends on good (non-extractive) institutions, inclusion, rule of law - seems underwhelming, as these values are self-explanatory

Sometimes, prestigious awards are best left unawarded, especially when the quality of claimants do not live up to certain standards. This year’s Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, known as the Economics Nobel, was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A Robinson, allegedly for advancing our “understanding of the differences in prosperity between nations”.

 

Here are my reasons. One must start with the inherent flaw in how the award is named. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences sees the Prize as a recognition of excellence in the “Economic Sciences”. Physics is a science, chemistry is one too, and