Why do nations fail?

🕰️ This episode was recorded in 2021.

Daron Acemoglu co-authored a book that analyses the various factors leading to failed states. As I live in Africa, this is particularly relevant to me.

Almost every country on the continent could be labelled a 'failed state' and it’s something I’ve often thought about. Is it because Black people can’t govern effectively? If so, what about the North African countries governed by Arabs?

I don't know but it's probably more nuanced.

And it is, say Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson who authored Why Nations Fail.

Daron is a professor at MIT and James is a professor at the University of Chicago. Both received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2024.

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