Nobel laureate Acemoğlu calls The Economist critique ‘hit piece’

BOSTON

Turkish-American Nobel laureate Daron Acemoğlu dismissed a critique in The Economist as a character assassination after the magazine questioned his intellectual legacy, sparking renewed debate over his institutional theories and skepticism toward technology.

The magazine recognized the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scholar’s exceptional academic output, yet featured an anonymous economist’s claim that Acemoğlu builds models merely to promote “previously tried and failed populist policies.”

“I am not happy about the Economist’s article, which feels like a hit piece,” Acemoğlu said on X. “There is also a background to it, which is more troubling [as I will share at some point]. I asked them to allow me to respond. I am waiting for their answer. If not in the magazine, I will share my response here.”

Social media users suggested his recent demands for artificial intelligence regulations sparked the criticism. The publication scrutinized his 2024 calculation forecasting limited AI productivity growth over 10 years. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers criticized this analysis, though Acemoğlu conceded he missed “agentic AI.” The magazine also criticized his 2023 book “Power and Progress” for linking the cotton gin to slavery.

Broadening the critique to his foundational theories, the article questioned his 2001 work arguing inclusive institutions drive wealth. Stanford University’s Francis Fukuyama noted China’s rapid growth defies this premise, while Tyler Cowen argued in 2011 the theory relies on an infinite loop.

The publication also targeted his methodology. The 2024 Nobel committee noted the historical settler mortality data he used was occasionally incomplete. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s David Albouy criticized the data in 2012, a stance RWI-Essen’s Martin Buchner said experts lean toward. Acemoğlu defended the statistics, saying Albouy excluded half the original sample, including the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Furthermore, University of Pennsylvania’s Jesús Fernández-Villaverde doubted the modern applicability of a June paper linking low birth rates to faster GDP growth.

Acemoğlu won the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics with Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for proving that systems established by European colonizers shape modern economic development.