The Narrow Corridor to Liberty: Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu (MIT) was awarded the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize 2018 in Toulouse on October 12, 2018. At this occasion he gave a lecture on "The Narrow Corridor to Liberty: The Red Queen and the Struggle of State Versus Society". Daron Acemoglu is a professor of Economics at MIT. Acemoglu is best known for his work on political economy. He has authored hundreds of papers, many of which are co-authored with his long-time collaborators Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson. With Robinson, he authored Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (2006) and Why Nations Fail (2012). The latter, an influential book on the role that institutions play in shaping nations' economic outcomes, prompted wide scholarly and media commentary. Described as a centrist, he believes in a regulated market economy. He regularly comments on political issues, economic inequality, and a variety of specific policies.