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Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
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Books on Tape 2012
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Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: 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? 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. 
Includes a bonus PDF with maps from the book
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Format:
OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen
Edition:
Unabridged
Street Date:
03/20/2012
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780307987471
Lexile measure:
1300
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APA Citation (style guide)

Daron Acemoglu. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Unabridged Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Daron Acemoglu. 2012. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Daron Acemoglu, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Books on Tape, 2012.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Daron Acemoglu. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Unabridged Books on Tape, 2012.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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        James A. Robinson, a political scientist and an economist, is the David Florence Professor of Government at Harvard University. A world-renowned expert on Latin America and Africa, he has worked in Botswana, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. He is also the co-author of The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty.
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title
Why Nations Fail
fullDescription
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: 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? 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. 
Includes a bonus PDF with maps from the book
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      • value: Grade 11
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      • premium: False
      • source: Jared Diamond, New York Review of Books
      • content:

        "Should be required reading for politicians and anyone concerned with economic development."

      • premium: False
      • source: Washington Post
      • content: "...bracing, garrulous, wildly ambitious and ultimately hopeful. It may, in fact, be a bit of a masterpiece."
      • premium: False
      • source: Kirkus Reviews
      • content: "For economics and political-science students, surely, but also for the general reader who will appreciate how gracefully the authors wear their erudition."
      • premium: False
      • source: Library Journal
      • content: "Provocative stuff; backed by lots of brain power."
      • premium: False
      • source: Financial Times
      • content: "This is an intellectually rich book that develops an important thesis with verve. It should be widely read."
      • premium: False
      • source: The Daily
      • content: "A probing . . . look at the roots of political and economic success . . . large and ambitious new book."
      • premium: False
      • source: The Wall Street Journal
      • content: "Why Nations Fail is a splendid piece of scholarship and a showcase of economic rigor."
      • premium: False
      • source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
      • content: "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."
      • premium: False
      • source: The Observer (UK)
      • content: "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."
      • premium: False
      • source: Bloomberg (Jonathan Alter)
      • content: "A brilliant book."
      • premium: False
      • source: The New York Times (Chrystia Freeland)
      • content: "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."
      • premium: False
      • source: Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics
      • content: "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."
      • premium: False
      • source: Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize--winning author of the bestsellers Guns, Germs
      • content: "
        "You will have three reasons to love this book. It's about national income differences within the modern world, perhaps the biggest problem facing the world today. It's peppered with fascinating stories that will make you a spellbinder at cocktail parties--such as why Botswana is prospering and Sierra Leone isn't. And it's a great read. Like me, you may succumb to reading it in one go, and then you may come back to it again and again."
      • premium: True
      • source: AudioFile Magazine
      • content: The authors offer a comprehensive institutional theory for the wealth and poverty of nations, extolling Òinclusive institutionsÓ as the sources of prosperity and stability and Òextractive institutionsÓ as the sources of poverty and nation failure. England's ÒGlorious RevolutionÓ of 1688 becomes the yardstick with which to measure the development of inclusive institutions around the world. Dan Woren's deep, resonant voice effectively presents the authors' sometimes complex political observations. His narration is measured and clear. As will happen when a book draws examples from around the world, Woren's pronunciation sometimes leaves something to be desired. For example, the phrase Òancien régimeÓ and the names of Communist Chinese officials create problems. F.C. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
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shortDescription
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: 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? 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...
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      • description: Political Science / Public Policy / Economic Policy