Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (Paperback)

Why Nations Fail by economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson tackles one of the biggest questions in economics: why are some countries so much richer than others? Their answer is institutions rather than climate, geography or culture.

When people can expect to keep the rewards of their work, they invest, innovate and prosper, and sound institutions keep that cycle going. The authors test the idea against history from ancient Rome and the Tudors to modern China, and take on rival theories from thinkers such as Max Weber, Jeffrey Sachs and Jared Diamond.

• Central argument: political and economic institutions shape prosperity
• Wide sweep: case studies across many centuries and continents
• Debate: a direct response to competing explanations of wealth and poverty
• Recognition: shortlisted for the 2012 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year
• Authors: Acemoglu and Robinson shared the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

Details

• Authors: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
• Publisher: Profile Books
• Published: February 2013
• Format: Paperback, 544 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9781846684302