The Nobel prize in economics has been awarded to Turkish-American Daron Acemoglu and British-Americans Simon Johnson and James Robinson for research into wealth inequality between nations. By examining the various political and economic systems introduced by European colonisers, the three "have given us much better understanding for how institutions are formed" and "shown this huge impact of institutions on prosperity," says Jan Teorell, member of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES