James A. Robinson, a professor of economics and political science at the University of Chicago, recently received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. According to the university’s records, Robinson is the 101st Nobel laureate associated with the institution and its 34th recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. In addition to Robinson, there are currently seven other Nobel Prize winners still teaching at the University of Chicago.
When it comes to counting Nobel laureates by institution, the methods vary, leading to different totals. Some universities count only alumni, while others include faculty who have won the prize. By combining both alumni and faculty achievements, Harvard University tops the list with 161 laureates, though only 52 of those are listed on its official website. Following Harvard is UC Berkeley with 110, the University of Chicago with 101, MIT with 99, and Columbia University with 96.
As for Robinson, he serves as a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy and the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He directs the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts.
His influential research focuses on political and economic development, particularly the relationship between political power, institutions, and prosperity. Robinson examines both historical and contemporary causes of economic and political divergence, using mathematical and quantitative methods from economics to analyze cases in other social sciences, complemented by qualitative research and fieldwork.
Robinson has a particular interest in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. He has served as a fellow at the African Studies Institute at the University of Nigeria at Nsukka. From 1994 to 2022, he taught summer courses at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, and his fieldwork has taken him to countries including Bolivia, Colombia, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zimbabwe for data collection.
Together with MIT economist Daron Acemoglu, Robinson has co-authored three influential books. Their first collaboration, “Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy,” presents theories on the stability of democratic and dictatorial regimes. Their second book, “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty,” has been translated into 41 languages since its 2012 publication and compiles extensive research on comparative development, exploring the reasons why some nations thrive economically while others remain impoverished. Their latest work, “The Narrow Corridor: States, Society and the Fate of Liberty,” delves into the ongoing and inevitable struggles between states and societies, detailing the historical processes that shape the modern world.
Robinson earned his PhD from Yale University, his master’s from the University of Warwick, and his bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics.