The economics Nobel for this year went to three academics who specialise in asking a very simple question: What makes countries rich? The motivation with which Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson began their investigation was simple: Why were some countries rich in the medieval period but poor today, while others that had been poor had become rich? Was there something causal or mechanistic that underlay this “great reversal”? Their answer was deceptively simple: “Institutions”, notes our lead editorial. Read here

New capability of SpaceX will significantly improve space exploration, argues our second editorial. Read here