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Nobel Prize for Economics Winner 2024

Institute Professor, MIT School of Economics

Daron Acemoglu received the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (with Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson). Acemoglu is an Institute Professor at MIT, Co-Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work Initiative, and a Research Affiliate at MIT's newly established Blueprint Labs. His influential books include Why Nations Fail and Power and Progress. A fellow of multiple prestigious academies, he has earned numerous honors, including the Nemmers Prize and BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award, alongside his recent Nobel Prize. Acemoglu's research has profoundly shaped our understanding of institutions, inequality, and the economic forces driving prosperity and development.

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Professor, Associate Department Head, School of MIT Economics

David Autor is the Daniel (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professor in the MIT Department of Economics, codirector of the NBER Labor Studies Program and the MIT Shaping the Future of Work Initiative. His scholarship explores the labor-market impacts of technological change and globalization on job polarization, skill demands, earnings levels and inequality, and electoral outcomes. Autor has received numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, the Sherwin Rosen Prize, and the Heinz Special Recognition Award. Dubbed “The academic voice of the American worker” by The Economist, his work has significantly shaped policy discussions on the future of work and automation.

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Director, Stanford Digital Economy Lab

Erik Brynjolfsson is a professor, author and inventor. At Stanford, he is a Professor at the Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) and Director of the Digital Economy Lab, with positions at SIEPR, the Economics Department, and the Graduate School of Business. His research and speaking focus on the economics AI and digital technologies, including their effects on productivity, business strategy and the future of work. Brynjolfsson is a best-selling author of several books including The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. He has written over 200 academic articles and is one of the most widely cited researchers on the economics of AI. Brynjolfsson holds five patents and is the cofounder Workhelix, Inc, which helps companies identify opportunities for generative AI.

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Professor of Ethics and Technology, Hertie School

Joanna J. Bryson is an academic expert specialised in both natural and artificial intelligence. Her research ranges from systems engineering of Artificial Intelligence (AI), through autonomy, behavioural ecology, cognition, ethics, cooperation, and on to technology policy. Her work appears in venues ranging from reddit to Science.  She holds degrees in Psychology from Chicago and Edinburgh, and AI from Edinburgh and MIT. She has additional professional research experience from Princeton, Oxford, Harvard, and LEGO, and digital systems engineering experience in the financial and manufacturing sectors. Since 2020, Bryson is Professor of Ethics and Technology at Hertie School of Governance, in Berlin

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Former Director of AI Policy and Strategy, U.S. Department of Commerce

Victoria Houed is an engineer turned policy entrepreneur who has dedicated her career to improving the tech policy ecosystem and government modernization. She was most recently the Director of AI Policy and Strategy in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce and senior advisor at the POPVOX Foundation. She was previously a manager at Schmidt Futures where she funded key science and technology policy initiatives and educated relevant stakeholders on how to best advocate for their policy ideas in the legislative and executive branches.

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President, The Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)

Rob Johnson is the President of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), which he co-founded in 2009 with George Soros, William Janeway, and James Balsillie. He has convened global initiatives with leading economic minds through conferences worldwide, the Commission on Global Economic Transformation, and other groundbreaking initiatives that challenge economic orthodoxy.  Previously, Johnson was a Managing Director at Soros Fund Management, and served as Chief Economist of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and Senior Economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. Johnson holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Princeton University and dual B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Economics from MIT.

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Chief Growth Officer, Nortal

Elizabeth “Liz” Kiehner is an enterprise transformation leader focused on experience in all forms and manifestations (physical, digital and virtual). Kiehner is driven by the simple principle that customer experience and employee experience are two sides of the same coin. In her current role as the Chief Growth Officer at Nortal, she leads sales, marketing, and strategic growth. With leadership roles at IBM, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Capgemini, and as a co-founder of design venture, Kiehner brings deep expertise in business transformation and UX strategy. Kiehner’s passion for human rights and equality manifests in many ways from her writing and activism to board membership with the Polaris Project and Nerdy Girl Success.

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Co-Founder of WorkFour; Former Chief Strategy Officer, Kickstarter

Jon Leland is the co-founder of WorkFour and former Chief Strategy Officer at Kickstarter. During his tenure at Kickstarter, he championed the implementation of a four-day, 32-hour workweek, aiming to enhance productivity and employee well-being. This initiative led to significant improvements in employee retention and engagement.  In addition to his role at Kickstarter, Leland co-founded WorkFour, an organization dedicated to promoting the four-day workweek. He has also testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, advocating for a 32-hour workweek without loss of pay to benefit the economy and society. Leland's efforts reflect his commitment to redefining work structures to foster a better work-life balance and societal well-being.

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Scientist; Founder; Best-Selling Author; Professor, NYU Stern School of Business

Gary Marcus is a leading voice in AI. He is a scientist, best-selling author, and serial entrepreneur. He is well-known for his challenges to contemporary AI, anticipating many of the current limitations decades in advance, and for his research in human language development and cognitive neuroscience. An Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at NYU, he is the author of five books, including, The Algebraic Mind, Kluge, The Birth of the Mind, and the New York Times Bestseller Guitar Zero. He has often contributed to The New Yorker, Wired, and The New York Times. His most recent book, Rebooting AI, with Ernest Davis, is one of Forbes’s 7 Must Read Books in AI.

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Chief Technology Officer, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Genny Mayhew is the Chief Technology Officer at SEIU, where she oversees the IT and Data Systems and Analytics Departments. Genny has worked for labor unions throughout her career, including the New York State United Teachers, NEA, and the AFL-CIO. Genny earned her Ph.D. in American Politics from the University of Maryland, where her research focused on large-scale field experiments and mass membership organizations.

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Founder & Executive Chairman of Gust, Founder & Chairman Emeritus of New York Angels, and Serial Entrepreneur

David S. Rose is an Inc. 500 CEO, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, best selling author and keynote speaker who has founded or funded over 100 pioneering companies. He has been described by Forbes as "New York's Archangel", by BusinessWeek as a "world conquering entrepreneur", by Crain's New York Business as "the father of angel investing in New York", and by Red Herring magazine as "patriarch of Silicon Alley". He is the New York Times best selling author of both Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money & Having Fun Investing in Startups and The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business.

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Economist; Professor Emeritus, NYU Stern School of Business

Nouriel Roubini is CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, Chief Economist for Atlas Capital Team LP, as well as Co-Founder of Rosa & Roubini Associates, and a leading global economist known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis. He served as a senior economist at the White House and U.S. Treasury, advising on global financial crises. A Professor Emeritus at NYU Stern, he co-founded Roubini Global Economics and has consulted for the IMF and World Bank. He also served as the senior economist and advisor for the White House Council of Economic Advisors and the U.S. Treasury Department. His books, including Crisis Economics and Megathreats, analyze economic risks. A frequent media commentator and speaker, his insights shape global economic discourse. Roubini holds a doctorate from Harvard and has taught at Yale.

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Founder and President of the Income To Support All Foundation

Scott Santens is a leading advocate and researcher of Universal Basic Income (UBI) since 2013. He has sustained himself through a crowdfunded basic income floor since 2016, allowing him to focus entirely on promoting UBI. Santens founded and serves as President and CEO of the Income To Support All (ITSA) Foundation and is the editor of Basic Income Today, a daily UBI news hub. He has been acknowledged by figures like Andrew Yang for shaping their perspectives on UBI and has authored Let There Be Money, a book exploring UBI and Modern Monetary Theory. Santens also hosts the "Scott Santens UBI Enterprise" podcast and "The Basic Income Show" on YouTube, where he discusses UBI-related news and topics.

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President, Economic Policy Institute

Heidi Shierholz is the president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan think tank that uses the power of its research on economic trends and on the impact of economic policies to advance reforms that serve working people, deliver racial justice, and guarantee gender equity. Shierholz previously served as EPI’s policy director and Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor under Secretary Thomas Perez. Prior to her government service, she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Toronto and a labor economist at EPI. Shierholz holds a Ph.D. in economics and an M.A. from the University of Michigan, an M.S. in statistics from Iowa State University, and a B.A. in mathematics from Grinnell College. Throughout her career, she has been a leading voice for worker-centered policies that promote economic and racial justice. 

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Professor Emeritus, Computer Science, University of Maryland

Ben Shneiderman is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland and a pioneer in human-computer interaction and information visualization. He founded the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory and is the most cited faculty member at the university. His innovations include direct manipulation, clickable web links, touchscreen keyboards, and treemaps. A member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the ACM and AAAS, he has received multiple lifetime achievement awards. His influential books, including Designing the User Interface and Leonardo’s Laptop, have shaped HCI research and practice, making lasting contributions to computing and user experience design.

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Managing Partner, Machina Ventures

Matthew Stepka is the Managing Partner of Machina Ventures, an investment firm specializing in early-stage companies enabled by artificial intelligence and data science. He serves as a Lecturer at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, sits on the Board of Qoria, a leading cyber safety company protecting children, as serves on the Knight Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Previously, Matthew was Vice President of Business Operations and Strategy at Google, where he led and incubated strategic initiatives with high social impact, including projects in internet access expansion, clean energy development, and robotics innovation. He holds a J.D. from UCLA School of Law and dual B.S. degrees in Computer Engineering and Management from Case Western Reserve University.

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Managing Director, Insights at Jobs for the Future (JFF) Labs

Alex Swartsel is managing director of the Insights practice at JFFLabs and is leading the launch of the Center for Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Work. She helps education-to-career decision-makers understand and prepare for emerging technologies and innovations shaping the future of work and learning. Before joining JFFLabs, Swartsel was chief of development, finance, and external affairs for Teach for America’s Washington, DC, region and a senior advisor to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. She has bachelor’s degrees in political science and music from Wellesley College and an MBA from Yale School of Management.

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Professor, Strategy, UCLA School of Management; Professor, Economics, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Wesley "Wes" Yin is a professor of economics at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs and Anderson School of Management. He also serves as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and is a faculty affiliate with MIT's Jameel Poverty Action Lab. During 2023–2024 he served as the Chief Economist for the White House Office of Management and Budget, and had previously served as the acting chief economist and deputy assistant secretary at the US Treasury Dept and in the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Yin's research centers on healthcare, consumer finance, and economic inequality. His work has been published in leading journals, covered by major news outlets, and has informed policy decisions at both state and federal levels.