Why Nations Fail: FROM THE WINNERS OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty
Mar 2012 · Profile Books
4.6star
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320
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About this ebook
BY THE NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING ECONOMISTS DARON ACEMOGLU & JAMES A. ROBINSON
Shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award
Why are some nations more prosperous than others? Why Nations Fail sets out to answer this question, with a compelling and elegantly argued new theory: that it is not down to climate, geography or culture, but because of institutions. Drawing on an extraordinary range of contemporary and historical examples, from ancient Rome through the Tudors to modern-day China, leading academics Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson show that to invest and prosper, people need to know that if they work hard, they can make money and actually keep it - and this means sound institutions that allow virtuous circles of innovation, expansion and peace.
Based on fifteen years of research, and answering the competing arguments of authors ranging from Max Weber to Jeffrey Sachs and Jared Diamond, Acemoglu and Robinson step boldly into the territory of Francis Fukuyama and Ian Morris. They blend economics, politics, history and current affairs to provide a new, powerful and persuasive way of understanding wealth and poverty.
Shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award
Why are some nations more prosperous than others? Why Nations Fail sets out to answer this question, with a compelling and elegantly argued new theory: that it is not down to climate, geography or culture, but because of institutions. Drawing on an extraordinary range of contemporary and historical examples, from ancient Rome through the Tudors to modern-day China, leading academics Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson show that to invest and prosper, people need to know that if they work hard, they can make money and actually keep it - and this means sound institutions that allow virtuous circles of innovation, expansion and peace.
Based on fifteen years of research, and answering the competing arguments of authors ranging from Max Weber to Jeffrey Sachs and Jared Diamond, Acemoglu and Robinson step boldly into the territory of Francis Fukuyama and Ian Morris. They blend economics, politics, history and current affairs to provide a new, powerful and persuasive way of understanding wealth and poverty.
Ratings and reviews
4.6
61 reviews
Jacques Kuun
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October 23, 2018
The argument made in this book is extremely convincing. The authors support it with NUMEROUS cases, from the Aztecs to America to the French revolution, to Japan and Botswana and so many more. The cases are so good that the book serves as a good book on history in its own right. The authors actually answer the question of why nations fail, and they do so convincingly. This is the kind of book any person, especially academics, interested in politics should read. It will change your outlook on the world.
3 people found this review helpful
Asola Akbar
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November 20, 2015
Its a history lesson, yet half my questions are answered. Many countries with distributable power and politics running democracy and still poor. Example : Indonesia. Thus! Their theory still not applicable and invalid.
7 people found this review helpful
Mustafa Kamal
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January 20, 2023
good book but too repetitive in its main point, which in my opinion is also debatable
About the author
Daron Acemoglu is the Killian Professor of Economics at MIT. He has received the John Bates Clark Medal in 2005 for his work on political economy and was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2024 for his work on global inequality.
James A. Ronson is the Florence Professor of Government at Harvard University, and a world-renowned expert on Latin America and Africa. He received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2024 for his work on global inequality.
They are the authors of Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, which won numerous prizes.
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