Four Harris Public Policy faculty members have been awarded the prestigious Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel: James J. Heckman Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Economics and the College; Affiliate Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy; Director, Center for Social Program Evaluation Michael Kremer University Professor in Economics and the College and the Harris School of Public Policy; Director of the Development Innovation Lab; Faculty Director, Development Economics Center at the University of Chicago Roger Meyerson David L. Pearson Distinguished Service Professor of Global Conflict Studies James A. Robinson The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies; Institute Director, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts Image Explore the critical reason behind why some nations thrive while others falter. James Robinson emphasizes the importance of inclusive economic and political institutions in fostering innovation and prosperity. Image James A. Robinson The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies; Institute Director, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts Watch: Why nations fail | James Robinson | TEDxAcademy Image Roger Myerson Postwar reconstruction assistance and local governments in Ukraine Image Michael Kremer When a Disappointment Helped Lead to a Nobel Prize Image James Heckman The Family Is the Whole Story James Heckman James Heckman received the Prize in Economic Sciences for his development of theory and methods used in the analysis of individual or household behavior. His work in selective samples led him to develop methods (such as the Heckman correction) for overcoming statistical sample-selection problems. His research has given policymakers new insights into areas such as education, job training and the importance of accounting for general equilibrium in the analysis of labor markets. Watch James Heckman's Nobel Lecture Michael Kremer One of humanity’s most urgent issues is the reduction of global poverty, in all its forms. Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer have introduced a new approach to obtaining reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty. It involves dividing this issue into smaller, more manageable, questions. Since the mid-1990s, they have been able to test a range of interventions in different areas using field experiments, for example for improving educational outcomes or child health. Watch Michael Kremer's Nobel Prize Lecture Roger Myerson In 1972, while studying at Harvard, Myerson took a course on game theory, which then became his main research subject. He conducted much of his Prize-awarded research at Northwestern University, Illinois, where he was a professor from 1976-2001. He was awarded the Prize in Economic Sciences in recognition of his contributions to mechanism design theory, which analyzes rules for coordinating economic agents efficiently when they have different information and difficulty trusting each other. Watch Roger Myerson's Nobel Prize Lecture James A. Robinson There are vast differences in prosperity between nations. One important explanation for this is persistent differences in societal institutions. By examining the various political and economic systems introduced by European colonisers, James A. Robinson, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson have been able to demonstrate a relationship between institutions and prosperity. They have also developed theoretical tools that can explain why differences in institutions persist and how institutions can change. Watch James Robinson reflect on winning the Nobel Prize