Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?
Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities.
The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories.
Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including:
- China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West?
- Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority?
- What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions?
Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.
Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?
Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities.
The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories.
Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including:
- China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West?
- Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority?
- What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions?
Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.
Reviews-
-
February 1, 2012
Following up on their earlier collaboration (Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, 2005), two scholars examine why some nations thrive and others don't. Neither geography, nor culture, nor mistaken policies explain the vast differences in prosperity among nations. The reasons for world inequality, write Acemoglu (Economics/MIT) and Robinson (Government/Harvard Univ.), are rooted in politics, in whether nations have developed inclusive political institutions and a sufficiently centralized state to lay the groundwork for economic institutions critical for growth. In turn, these economic institutions give citizens liberty to pursue work that suits their talents, a fairly enforced set of rules and incentives to pursue education and technological innovation. When these conditions are not met, write the authors, when the political and economic institutions are "extractive," failure surely follows. It matters not if the Tsars or the Bolsheviks governed Russia, if the Qing dynasty or Mao ruled China, if Ferdinand and Isabella or General Franco reigned in Spain--all absolutism is the same, erecting historically predictable barriers to prosperity. The critical distinction between, say, North and South Korea, lies in the vastly different institutional legacies on either side, one open and responsive to the needs and aspirations of society, the other closed with power narrowly distributed for the benefit of a few. In their wide-ranging discussion, Acemoglu and Robinson address big-picture concepts like "critical junctures" in history--the Black Death, the discovery of the Americas, the Glorious Revolution--which disrupt the existing political and economic balance and can abruptly change the trajectory of nations for better or worse. They also offer a series of small but telling stories in support of their thesis: how the wealth of Bill Gates differs from the riches of Carlos Slim, why Queen Elizabeth I rejected a patent for a knitting machine, how the inmates took over the asylum in colonies like Jamestown and New South Wales and why the Ottoman Empire suppressed the printing press. For economics and political-science students, surely, but also for the general reader who will appreciate how gracefully the authors wear their erudition.COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
-
November 15, 2011
No, it's not geography or technology or the clash of civilizations that determine a nation's success or failure, it's that nation's particular institutions--the economic, political, and social rules that both shape and bind societies. So argue Acemoglu, Killian Professor of Economics at MIT, and Robinson, Florence Professor of Government at Harvard. Provocative stuff, backed by lots of brain power, and I like the broad-ranging approach.
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-
March 1, 2012
Advancing a theory about why poor countries are poor, Acemoglu and Robinson, academics at MIT and Harvard, respectively, expound economic historyan activity that repeatedly if surprisingly produces popular books, such as those by Jared Diamond, Niall Ferguson, Steve Levitt, and Charles Mann. Perhaps the reason for high interest in the dismal science lies in a desire for concise, credible explanations about the formidable complexities of economics. If so, Acemoglu and Robinson deliver. They hold that countries become impoverished by despotic government. Opponents of globalization, corporations, and finance find no support in their argument, which recounts economic events from the Roman Empire to Zimbabwe. For each polity under scrutiny, the authors categorize its political institutions as extractive or inclusive. Using Britain's Glorious Revolution of 1688 as an analytical touchstone, Acemoglu and Robinson maintain throughout that laws and customs that protect property pave the road to prosperity, while the caprices of autocracy put property at risk and ultimately stifle growth. With historical examples to keep the exposition moving, Acemoglu and Robinson should recruit general-interest readers curious about economic development.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.) -
February 15, 2012
Coauthors Acemoglu (economics, MIT) and Robinson (David Florence Professor of Government, Harvard Univ.) won high praise for their previous collaboration, Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, an examination of what influences democracy to take root, persist, or collapse. They have tackled an equally important and difficult topic in their latest effort in seeking to explain what causes countries to be rich or poor. In their opinion, neither climate, geography, nor culture paves or blocks the way to prosperity--institutions do. To illustrate their point, the authors use diverse examples from world history, e.g., the Mayan city-states of 250-900 C.E., the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and the Egyptian uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak in 2011. VERDICT The authors make what could be a weighty topic both engaging and accessible. It will appeal not only to students of economics and political science but also to anyone looking to gain insight into the current state of our global economy, its origins, and the kind of transformations that might level the playing field. [See Prepub Alert, 10/23/11.]--Sara Holder, McGill Univ. Lib., Montreal
Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-
Jared Diamond, New York Review of Books
"Should be required reading for politicians and anyone concerned with economic development."
- Washington Post "...bracing, garrulous, wildly ambitious and ultimately hopeful. It may, in fact, be a bit of a masterpiece."
- Kirkus Reviews "For economics and political-science students, surely, but also for the general reader who will appreciate how gracefully the authors wear their erudition."
- Library Journal "Provocative stuff; backed by lots of brain power."
- Financial Times "This is an intellectually rich book that develops an important thesis with verve. It should be widely read."
- The Daily "A probing . . . look at the roots of political and economic success . . . large and ambitious new book."
- The Wall Street Journal "Why Nations Fail is a splendid piece of scholarship and a showcase of economic rigor."
- Bloomberg BusinessWeek "Ranging from imperial Rome to modern Botswana, this book will change the way people think about the wealth and poverty of nations...as ambitious as Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel."
- The Observer (UK) "The main strength of this book is beyond the power of summary: it is packed, from beginning to end, with historical vignettes that are both erudite and fascinating. As Jared Diamond says on the cover: 'It will make you a spellbinder at parties.' But it will also make you think."
- Bloomberg (Jonathan Alter) "A brilliant book."
- The New York Times (Chrystia Freeland) "Why Nations Fail is a wildly ambitious work that hopscotches through history and around the world to answer the very big question of why some countries get rich and others don't."
- Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics "Why Nations Failis a truly awesome book. Acemoglu and Robinson tackle one of the most important problems in the social sciences--a question that has bedeviled leading thinkers for centuries--and offer an answer that is brilliant in its simplicity and power. A wonderfully readable mix of history, political science, and economics, this book will change the way we think about economic development. Why Nations Fail is a must-read book."
-
Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize--winning author of the bestsellers
