James A. Robinson
Economist and political scientist
James A. Robinson is a British-American economist and political scientist who co-wrote Why Nations Fail with Daron Acemoglu. He shared the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
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British Born 1960 in Chelmsford, United Kingdom
About James A. Robinson
James Alan Robinson was born in Chelmsford in 1960. He holds a professorship at the University of Chicago, based at its Harris School of Public Policy, and he led the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. He taught at Harvard University from 2004 to 2015. Robinson's research looks at economic and political development over the long run, with a focus on Latin America and Africa. He has taught for many summers at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. With Daron Acemoglu, he has co-written several books, including Why Nations Fail, The Narrow Corridor and Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. In 2024, he, Acemoglu and Simon Johnson received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their work comparing how prosperity differs across nations.