About

Daron Acemoğlu, whose acclaimed research addresses why some countries are rich and others poor, is the James and Elizabeth Killian Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of the most cited economists in the world, Acemoglu combines wide-ranging interests in political economy and macro and microeconomics.

With political scientist James Robinson, he is the author of two award-winning books: Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (Crown Business, 2012).

In 2005, Acemoğlu received the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal, awarded for significant achievement by an American economist under 40. A member of the American National Academy of Sciences, he is the recipient of many other awards and honorary degrees. A native of Turkey, he holds a PhD from the London School of Economics.