Why nations fail : the origins of power, prosperity, and poverty / Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Acemoglu, Daron

Contributor:

Robinson, James A., 1960-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Political aspects.

Economics.

Economic history--Political aspects.

Economic history.

Poverty--Developing countries.

Poverty.

Economic development--Developing countries.

Economic development.

Revolutions--Economic aspects.

Revolutions.

Economic policy.

Social policy.

Failed states.

Developing countries--Economic policy.

Developing countries.

Developing countries--Social policy.

Physical Description:

529 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 23 cm

Edition:

Pbk. ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Crown Business, [2013], ©2012.

Summary:

Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography, or perhaps ignorance of the right policies? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. In this book the authors show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Based on fifteen years of original research, they marshall historical evidence from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union, from Korea to 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? Is America 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? Is it through more philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West, or learning lessons on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions?

Contents:

Why Egyptians filled Tahrir Square to bring down Hosni Mubarak and what it means for our understanding of the causes of prosperity and poverty

So close and yet so different: Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, have the same people, culture, and geography. Why is one rich and one poor?

Theories that don't work: poor countries are poor not because of their geographies or cultures, or because their leaders do not know which policies will enrich their citizens

The making of prosperity and poverty: how prosperity and poverty are determined by the incentives created by institutions, and how politics determines what institutions a nation has

Small differences and critical junctures, the weight of history: how institutions change through political conflict and how the past shapes the present

"I've seen the future, and it works" : growth under extractive institutions: what Stalin, King Shyaam, the Neolithic Revolution, and the Maya city-states all had in common and how this explains why China's current economic growth cannot last

Drifting apart: how institutions evolve over time, often slowly drifting apart

The turning point: how a political revolution in 1688 changed institutions in England and led to the Industrial Revolution

Not on our turf, barriers to development: why the politically powerful in many nations opposed the Industrial Revolution

Reversing development: how European colonialism impoverished large parts of the world

The diffusion of prosperity: how some parts of the world took different paths to prosperity from that of Britain

The virtuous circle: how institutions that encourage prosperity create positive feedback loops that prevent the efforts by elites to undermine them

The vicious circle: how institutions that create poverty generate negative feedback loops and endure

Why nations fail today: institutions, institutions, institutions

Breaking the mold: how a few countries changed their economic trajectory by changing their institutions

Understanding prosperity and poverty: how the world could have been different and how understanding this can explain why most attempts to combat poverty have failed.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 465-509) and index.

Originally published in hardcover in 2012.

Other Format:

Online version: Acemoglu, Daron. Why nations fail.

ISBN:

0307719227

9780307719225

9780307719232

0307719235

OCLC:

729065001

Publisher Number:

90101359669