STOCKHOLM - Three US-based academics won the 2024 Nobel economics prize on Monday for their research into why global inequality persists, especially in countries dogged by corruption and dictatorship.

Simon Johnson and James Robinson, both British-American, and Turkish-American Daron Acemoglu were commended for their work on "how institutions are formed and affect prosperity", the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

"Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time's greatest challenges. The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this," said Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences.

"They have identified the historical roots of the weak institutional environments that characterize many low-income countries today," he told a press conference.

The award came a day after World Bank report showed that the world's 26 poorest countries - home to 40 per cent of its most poverty-stricken people - are more in debt than at any time since 2006, highlighting a major reversal in the fight against poverty.

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