Why Nations Fail

Here is a lecture by Prof. Daron Acemoglu on his new book co-authored with Prof. James Robinson; "Why Nations Fail", for which I am preparing a book review on. 


The book is an excellent read and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the role of institutions in comparative development. It answers the central question that interests anyone studying economics: 'why some nations are rich while others are poor?' In praising the book I even came across opinions that its contribution is as important as Smith's "Wealth of Nations". 

Here is Acemoglu and Robinson's blog on the book and other issues covered in it, here is a podcast of Acemoglu talking to Russ Roberts on Econlog, and here is a good review from the NYT's Thomas Friedman. 

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