Award is an excellent fit for populist times

"I warmly congratulate the three prizewinners. The award is well deserved and an excellent choice for the present time. With their research, they have helped to understand the drivers of long-term economic growth and prosperity. They have shown how important democratic institutions such as an independent legal system are and thus underpinned the close link between democracy and growth. Their work also makes it clear how much populism harms Europe and the world economically when democratic institutions are damaged as a result, often permanently. In times of dwindling growth, especially in Germany, it is also good to be reminded that freedom and competition are central pillars that support our prosperity. The combination of economic history, political economy and institutional economics of the three laureates has had and continues to have a formative influence on economic research."

The Kiel Institute already honoured Daren Acemoglu in 2019 with the Global Economy Prize for his outstanding research.