The Nobel memorial prize in economics was awarded Monday to three economists who have studied why some countries are rich and others poor and have documented that freer, open societies are more likely to prosper.

The work by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson 香蕉视频直播渄emonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country香蕉视频直播檚 prosperity,香蕉视频直播� the Nobel committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said at the announcement in Stockholm.

Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Robinson does his research at the University of Chicago.

Jakob Svensson, chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said their analysis has provided 香蕉视频直播渁 much deeper understanding of the root causes of why countries fail or succeed.香蕉视频直播�

Reached by the academy in Athens, Greece, where he was to speak at a conference, the Turkish-born Acemoglu, 57, said he was astonished by the award.

香蕉视频直播淵ou never expect something like this,香蕉视频直播� he said.

Acemoglu said the research honored by the prize underscores the value of democratic institutions.

香蕉视频直播淚 think broadly speaking the work that we have done favors democracy,香蕉视频直播� he said in a telephone call with the Nobel committee and reporters in Stockholm.

But, he added: 香蕉视频直播淒emocracy is not a panacea. Introducing democracy is very hard. When you introduce elections, that sometimes creates conflict.香蕉视频直播�

In an interview with The Associated Press, Robinson, 64, said he doubts that China can sustain its economic prosperity as long as it keeps a repressive political system.

香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 many examples in world history of societies like that that do well for 40, 50 years,香蕉视频直播� Robinson said by phone. 香蕉视频直播淲hat you see is that香蕉视频直播檚 never sustainable. 香蕉视频直播� The Soviet Union did well for 50 or 60 years.香蕉视频直播�

Robinson said many societies have successfully made the transition to what he, Acemoglu and Johnson call an 香蕉视频直播渋nclusive society.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淟ook at the United States,香蕉视频直播� Robinson said. 香蕉视频直播淭his was a country of slavery, of privilege, where women were not allowed to take part in the economy or vote.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淓very country that is currently relatively inclusive and open made that transition,香蕉视频直播� he added. 香蕉视频直播淚n the modern world, you香蕉视频直播檝e seen that in South Korea, in Taiwan, in Mauritius.香蕉视频直播�

Acemoglu and Robinson wrote the 2012 bestseller, 香蕉视频直播淲hy Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty,香蕉视频直播� which argued that manmade problems were responsible for keeping countries poor.

In their work, the winners looked, for instance, at the city of Nogales, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite sharing the same geography, climate and a common culture, life is very different on either side of the border. In Nogales, Arizona, to the north, residents are relatively well-off and live long lives most children graduate from high school. To the south, in Mexico香蕉视频直播檚 Nogales, Sonora, residents are much poorer, and organized crime and corruption abound.

The difference, the economists found, is a U.S. system that protects property rights and gives citizens a say in their government.

Acemoglu expressed worry Monday that democratic institutions in the United States and Europe were losing support from the population.

香蕉视频直播淪upport for democracy is at an all-time low, especially in the U.S., but also in Greece and in the UK and France,香蕉视频直播� Acemoglu said on the sidelines of the conference in an Athens suburb.

香蕉视频直播淎nd I think that is a symbol of how people are disappointed with democracy,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淭hey think democracy hasn香蕉视频直播檛 delivered what it promised.香蕉视频直播�

Robinson agreed. 香蕉视频直播淐learly, you had an attack on inclusive institutions in this country,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淵ou had a presidential candidate who denied that he lost the last election. So President (Donald) Trump rejected the democratic rule of the citizens. 香蕉视频直播� Of course, I香蕉视频直播檓 worried. I香蕉视频直播檓 a concerned citizen.香蕉视频直播�

Johnson told the AP that economic pressures were alienating many Americans.

香蕉视频直播淎 lot of people who were previously in the middle class were hit very hard by the combination of globalization, automation, the decline of trade unions, and a sort of shift more broadly in corporate philosophy,香蕉视频直播� Johnson said. 香蕉视频直播淪o instead of workers being a resource to be developed, which they were in the 19th and early 20th century, they became a cost to be minimized 香蕉视频直播� Now, that squeezed the middle class.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淲e have, as a country, failed to deliver in recent decades on what we were previously very good at, which was sharing prosperity,香蕉视频直播� Johnson said.

One key for the future, Johnson said, is how societies manage new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

香蕉视频直播淎I could go either way,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淎I could either empower people with a lot of education, make them more highly skilled, enable them to do more tasks and get more pay. Or it could be another massive wave of automation that pushes the remnants of the middle down to the bottom. And then, yes, you香蕉视频直播檙e not going to like the political outcomes.香蕉视频直播�

In their work, the economists studied institutions that European powers such as Britain and Spain put in place when they colonized much of the world starting in the 1600s. They brought different policies to different places, giving later researchers a 香蕉视频直播渘atural experiment香蕉视频直播� to analyze.

Colonies that were sparsely populated offered less resistance to foreign rule and therefore attracted more settlers. In those places, colonial governments tended to establish more inclusive economic institutions that 香蕉视频直播渋ncentivized settlers to work hard and invest in their new homeland. In turn, this led to demands for political rights that gave them a share of profits,香蕉视频直播� the Nobel committee said.

In more densely populated places that attracted fewer settlers, the colonial regimes limited political rights and set up institutions that focused on 香蕉视频直播渂enefiting a local elite at the expense of the wider population,香蕉视频直播� it said.

香蕉视频直播淧aradoxically, this means that the parts of the colonized world that were relatively the most prosperous around 500 years ago are now those that are relatively poor,香蕉视频直播� it added, noting that India香蕉视频直播檚 industrial production exceeded the American colonies香蕉视频直播� in the 18th century.

The economics prize is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The central bank established it in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel, the 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and established the five Nobel Prizes.

Though Nobel purists stress that the economics prize is technically not a Nobel Prize, it is always presented together with the others on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel香蕉视频直播檚 death in 1896.

Nobel honors were announced last week in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace.