Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu
Acemoglu in 2016
Daron Acemoglu
Born	Kamer Daron Acemoğlu 3 9, 1967
Birthplace	Istanbul, Turkey
Nationality	Turkish, American
Occupation	Economist, academic
Title	Institute Professor of Economics
Employer	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known for	Institutional economics, Why Nations Fail, research on political economy and economic development
Education	London School of Economics (MSc, PhD)
Spouse(s)	Asu Ozdaglar
Awards	John Bates Clark Medal (2005), Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2024)
Website	[[economics.mit.edu/faculty/acemoglu economics.mit.edu/faculty/acemoglu] Official site]

Kamer Daron Acemoğlu (born September 3, 1967) is a Turkish-American economist of Armenian descent whose work on the relationships between political institutions and economic prosperity has reshaped the fields of political economy, development economics, and labor economics. Born in Istanbul, Acemoglu has spent virtually his entire academic career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught since 1993 and holds the title of Institute Professor — the highest faculty honor at MIT, bestowed upon him in 2019. He received the John Bates Clark Medal in 2005, awarded to the most promising American economist under the age of forty, and in 2024, he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, jointly with Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson, for their comparative studies examining how institutions shape prosperity across nations. In 2015, he was named the most cited economist of the preceding decade according to Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) data. More recently, Acemoglu has become a prominent voice in public debates surrounding the economic and democratic implications of artificial intelligence, arguing that AI development must be oriented toward complementing workers rather than replacing them.

Early Life

Kamer Daron Acemoğlu was born on September 3, 1967, in Istanbul, Turkey, to a family of Armenian heritage. He grew up as a member of the Armenian community in Istanbul, a background that would later inform aspects of his scholarly interest in how different ethnic, religious, and cultural groups experience economic and political institutions differently. Reports in the Armenian-language press have noted his connection to the Armenian community and his awareness of the historical experiences of minorities in Turkey.

The Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos identified Acemoglu as one of the ten most important economists in the world, underscoring the pride of the Armenian community in Turkey in his accomplishments.

Acemoglu's upbringing in Istanbul, a city that straddles Europe and Asia and has served as the capital of multiple empires, may have contributed to his later academic focus on the divergent paths nations take in building (or failing to build) inclusive political and economic institutions. His early life in Turkey, a country that has experienced significant shifts between democratic governance and authoritarian tendencies, provided a firsthand context for the themes that would come to define his scholarly career.

Education

Acemoglu pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of York in England, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then moved to the London School of Economics (LSE) for his graduate education, completing both a Master of Science and a PhD in economics. His doctoral dissertation, titled "Essays in Microfoundations of Macroeconomics: Contracts and Macroeconomic Performance," was completed in 1992 under the supervision of Kevin W. S. Roberts. The dissertation examined the microeconomic underpinnings of macroeconomic phenomena, with a particular focus on how contractual arrangements influence aggregate economic outcomes — themes that would develop substantially in his later research on institutional structures and their effects on national economies.

The training Acemoglu received at the LSE, a center for rigorous economic theory and applied work, equipped him with the analytical tools he would bring to bear on questions of political economy and development in the decades that followed. Within a year of completing his PhD, he joined the faculty at MIT.

Career

Early Academic Career at MIT

Acemoglu joined the economics department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993, beginning what would become a career spanning more than three decades at the institution. He rose through the academic ranks and was appointed the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics, a named chair that recognized his contributions to the field. In 2019, MIT bestowed upon him the title of Institute Professor, the highest distinction awarded to faculty members at the university, placing him in a select group of scholars across all disciplines at MIT.

His early research focused on labor economics, including the determinants of wages, training, and human capital formation. Over time, however, his research agenda expanded significantly to encompass questions of political economy, economic growth, and the role of institutions in shaping long-run development outcomes. This shift placed him at the center of some of the most consequential debates in economics about why some countries prosper while others remain impoverished.

Research on Institutions and Development

Acemoglu's most influential body of work centers on the role of political and economic institutions in determining national prosperity. Working frequently with co-authors Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson, he developed a framework arguing that the nature of institutions — whether they are "inclusive" (allowing broad participation in economic and political life) or "extractive" (concentrating power and wealth in the hands of a few) — is the primary determinant of long-run economic outcomes.

A landmark contribution in this research program was the study of colonial institutions, in which Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson examined how European colonial powers established different types of institutions in different parts of the world, depending on local conditions such as settler mortality rates. In places where European settlers faced high mortality (from tropical diseases, for example), they tended to establish extractive institutions designed to exploit local resources and labor. In places where settlers could survive and establish permanent communities, more inclusive institutions were created. The authors argued that these institutional differences, established centuries ago, persist to the present day and account for much of the variation in prosperity across nations.

This line of research was synthesized in the book Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (2012), co-authored with James A. Robinson. The book presented the institutional framework to a general audience, drawing on examples ranging from the Roman Empire to modern-day North Korea and South Korea to argue that political and economic institutions, not geography, culture, or ignorance, are the primary drivers of national success or failure. The book received international attention and was translated into numerous languages.

In a 2024 interview recorded during Nobel Week in Stockholm, Acemoglu discussed the intellectual trajectory of this research, noting that understanding the interplay between political power and economic outcomes had been a central question throughout his career.

The Nobel Prize in Economics (2024)

In 2024, Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson were jointly awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity." The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized their body of work demonstrating that the nature of political and economic institutions is a fundamental determinant of why some countries are rich and others are poor. The laureates' research provided both theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence for the proposition that inclusive institutions — those that protect property rights, enforce contracts fairly, and allow broad political participation — lead to sustained economic growth, while extractive institutions produce stagnation and poverty.

The Nobel committee specifically cited the trio's innovative use of historical data, including their work on colonial institutions and settler mortality, as well as their theoretical models of institutional change. In his Nobel interview, Acemoglu reflected on the importance of understanding how political power shapes economic rules, and how this understanding is essential for addressing contemporary challenges including inequality and technological disruption.

The John Bates Clark Medal

In 2005, Acemoglu received the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded by the American Economic Association to the American economist under the age of forty who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge. At the time, the medal was awarded every two years (it later became annual), making it one of the most competitive distinctions in the profession. The award recognized Acemoglu's prolific and influential output across multiple subfields, including labor economics, political economy, and economic growth.

Influence and Citation Record

Acemoglu's scholarly output has made him one of the most cited economists in the world. In 2015, data from Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) showed that he was the most cited economist of the preceding ten years. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Acemoglu is the third most frequently cited author on college syllabi for economics courses, behind only N. Gregory Mankiw and Paul Krugman. A 2011 survey of American economists ranked him third on the list of "Favorite Living Economists Under Age 60," again behind Krugman and Mankiw. These rankings reflect the breadth and depth of his contributions across economic theory, empirical economics, and public discourse.

Work on Artificial Intelligence and Technology

In recent years, Acemoglu has directed significant attention to the economic and social implications of artificial intelligence and automation. His work in this area has focused on the distinction between technologies that automate tasks previously performed by workers — thereby displacing labor — and technologies that create new tasks and capabilities that complement human workers.

Together with co-authors including Simon Johnson and David Autor, Acemoglu has argued that the current trajectory of AI development is disproportionately oriented toward automation and labor displacement, rather than toward augmenting human productivity and creating new opportunities for workers. In a joint publication with Johnson for the International Monetary Fund, Acemoglu contended that "the drive toward automation is perilous" and that "to support shared prosperity, AI must complement workers, not replace them."

A 2026 collaborative paper with David Autor and Simon Johnson, published through the Brookings Institution, posed the question of what "pro-worker AI" would look like and how policy could be designed to encourage its development. Acemoglu has also appeared on MIT Sloan Management Review's podcast, arguing that AI is not yet meaningfully improving productivity despite widespread claims to the contrary.

In an interview with Fortune in February 2026, Acemoglu warned that U.S. AI policy under the Trump administration could jeopardize democratic governance, linking the displacement of workers through unchecked automation to broader risks for democratic stability. This line of argument connects his newer work on technology to his long-standing research on the relationship between political institutions and economic well-being.

Commentary on Democracy and Political Institutions

Beyond his academic publications, Acemoglu has become an active participant in public debate about the state of democracy, both in the United States and globally. In a January 2026 essay for Bloomberg, he offered an analysis of the Trump presidency through the lens of his institutional framework, describing what he called a "unified theory" centered on the expansion of presidential power and the erosion of institutional checks and balances.

In a separate piece for Project Syndicate the same month, Acemoglu argued that the existing "rules-based order" in international relations would need to be rebuilt on a new philosophical and institutional foundation, reflecting the challenges posed by shifting geopolitical dynamics.

In a September 2025 conversation with political scientist Yascha Mounk, Acemoglu discussed the factors that determine whether states succeed or fail, including an examination of China's economic trajectory and the sustainability of growth under non-democratic institutions.

He has also contributed to broader public conversations about economic policy, including co-signing a letter by academics calling for the regulation of marijuana.

Personal Life

Acemoglu is married to Asu Ozdaglar, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT who has served as head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The couple represents one of MIT's notable academic partnerships. Acemoglu holds both Turkish and American citizenship.

Acemoglu identifies as being of Armenian descent and has maintained connections to the Armenian community. Armenian-language newspapers and media outlets, including Jamanak and Asbarez, have covered his career and accomplishments. The bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos highlighted him as among the world's foremost economists.

Recognition

Acemoglu has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career, reflecting the breadth and impact of his scholarship.

His most notable distinctions include:

• The John Bates Clark Medal (2005), awarded by the American Economic Association to the most promising American economist under the age of forty. At the time of the award, The Boston Globe reported on the significance of the honor for both Acemoglu and MIT.
• The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2024), awarded jointly with Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for their research on how institutions shape national prosperity.
• The title of Institute Professor at MIT (2019), the institution's highest faculty honor.

In 2015, Acemoglu was identified as the most cited economist of the preceding decade based on RePEc data, a distinction that reflected the enormous influence of his research across the profession. The Armenian Weekly and other outlets reported on this milestone, noting that his citation count surpassed those of other leading figures in the field. Agos listed him among the ten most important economists in the world.

His work has also been recognized through its influence on university education. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Acemoglu is the third most frequently assigned author in economics courses at colleges and universities, a measure of the extent to which his research and writing have shaped how economics is taught.

Legacy

Acemoglu's contributions to economics center on a fundamental reorientation of how scholars and policymakers think about the determinants of national prosperity. Through his research with Robinson and Johnson, he provided both theoretical models and empirical evidence supporting the argument that political and economic institutions — not geography, culture, or natural resources — are the primary factors explaining why some nations are wealthy and others are poor.

The institutional framework articulated in Why Nations Fail and in numerous academic papers has influenced not only academic economics but also policy discussions at international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and development agencies worldwide. The framework offers a lens for understanding phenomena ranging from colonial legacies to contemporary democratic backsliding.

His more recent work on artificial intelligence represents an extension of his institutional thinking into the domain of technology policy. By arguing that the design and deployment of AI systems are shaped by — and in turn reshape — political and economic institutions, Acemoglu has linked the technology debate to his broader concern with inclusive versus extractive institutional arrangements. His contention that AI should be developed to complement rather than replace workers has informed policy discussions at Brookings, the IMF, and other institutions.

As one of the most cited economists of his generation and a Nobel laureate, Acemoglu's body of work has shaped how a generation of economists thinks about the interplay between politics, institutions, and economic outcomes. His willingness to engage in public debate — through op-eds, interviews, podcasts, and public essays — has extended the reach of his ideas well beyond the academy, making him one of the most publicly prominent economists of the early 21st century.