WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis M. Kelleher, Cofounder, President and CEO, issued the following statement congratulating Simon Johnson and his fellow awardees, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, for being awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science:
“We congratulate Simon Johnson, along with his fellow awardees Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, for being awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science. As the Nobel Committee so well-articulated, these three distinguished and accomplished economists, and their pathbreaking insights on the “vast differences in prosperity between nations,” well deserve the Prize.
“We want to single out Simon Johnson for special recognition, a friend of Better Markets since its founding in 2010. Simon has been at the forefront of the key economic and financial issues facing the United States and the world for decades. While his academic and theoretical work will deservedly get most of the attention, Simon’s many contributions as an engaged, passionate, and courageous public intellectual are equally impressive and deserve recognition. He brought facts, data, analysis, and historical perspectives to critical, cutting-edge issues at the top of the Washington agenda. Notably, he spoke up even when people didn’t want to hear and he had the integrity to stick to the facts even when there was enormous pressure to bend.
“Simon convened and sparked conversations among many policymakers on controversial and difficult subjects, like financial reform, too-big-to-fail financial institutions, and the power of finance in Washington. His work on those subjects, including especially his 2011 book, 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, remains must-reading for anyone who wants to understand the 2008 global financial crisis or, in fact, what is happening in Washington today as the lessons of that catastrophic crash are ignored. The Nobel Committee singled out the awardee’s work related to the relationship between institutions and prosperity, which has been at the core of Simon’s public advocacy as well. If only the politicians, policymakers, and regulators in Washington listened and understood as well as those on the Nobel Prize selection committee.
“It is a rare person who has the intellectual firepower to win a Nobel Prize, the courage to fearlessly speak truth to power in Washington and on Wall Street, and the talent to be a respected, successful, and popular teacher. Simon is that rare person and we heartily congratulate him and his fellow awardees.”
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
