Best Selling Books by James A. Robinson

This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources. Thus democracy is preferred by the majority of citizens, but opposed by elites. Dictatorship nevertheless is not stable when citizens can threaten social disorder and revolution. In response, when the costs of repression are sufficiently high and promises of concessions are not credible, elites may be forced to create democracy. By democratizing, elites credibly transfer political power to the citizens, ensuring social stability. Democracy consolidates when elites do not have strong incentive to overthrow it. These processes depend on (1) the strength of civil society, (2) the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization.

From the winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics and the authors of the international bestseller Why Nations Fail "Why is it so difficult to develop and sustain liberal democracy? The best recent work on this subject comes from a remarkable pair of scholars, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. In their latest book, The Narrow Corridor, they have answered this question with great insight." —Fareed Zakaria, The Washington Post In Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson argued that countries rise and fall based not on culture, geography, or chance, but on the power of their institutions. In their new book, they build a new theory about liberty and how to achieve it, drawing a wealth of evidence from both current affairs and disparate threads of world history. Liberty is hardly the "natural" order of things. In most places and at most times, the strong have dominated the weak and human freedom has been quashed by force or by customs and norms. Either states have been too weak to protect individuals from these threats, or states have been too strong for people to protect themselves from despotism. Liberty emerges only when a delicate and precarious balance is struck between state and society. There is a Western myth that political liberty is a durable construct, arrived at by a process of "enlightenment." This static view is a fantasy, the authors argue. In reality, the corridor to liberty is narrow and stays open only via a fundamental and incessant struggle between state and society: The authors look to the American Civil Rights Movement, Europe’s early and recent history, the Zapotec civilization circa 500 BCE, and Lagos’s efforts to uproot corruption and institute government accountability to illustrate what it takes to get and stay in the corridor. But they also examine Chinese imperial history, colonialism in the Pacific, India’s caste system, Saudi Arabia’s suffocating cage of norms, and the “Paper Leviathan” of many Latin American and African nations to show how countries can drift away from it, and explain the feedback loops that make liberty harder to achieve. Today we are in the midst of a time of wrenching destabilization. We need liberty more than ever, and yet the corridor to liberty is becoming narrower and more treacherous. The danger on the horizon is not "just" the loss of our political freedom, however grim that is in itself; it is also the disintegration of the prosperity and safety that critically depend on liberty. The opposite of the corridor of liberty is the road to ruin.

NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • From two winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, “who have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity” “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.”—The New York Times FINALIST: Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Financial Times, The Economist, BusinessWeek, Bloomberg, The Christian Science Monitor, The Plain Dealer Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, or geography that determines prosperity or poverty? As Why Nations Fail shows, none of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Drawing on fifteen years of original research, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is our man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or the lack of it). Korea, to take just one example, is a remarkably homogenous 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 differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created those two different institutional trajectories. Acemoglu and Robinson marshal extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, the Soviet Union, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, among them: • Will China’s economy continue to grow at such a high speed and ultimately overwhelm the West? • Are America’s best days behind it? Are we creating a vicious cycle that enriches and empowers a small minority? “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.”—BusinessWeek

Critically acclaimed author James Robinson''s book JSA- THE GOLDEN AGE is printed in a new edition! Presenting the thought-provoking alternate comic book-history tale of the Justice Society of America in a new edition. The JSA, the heroes of WWII, find themselves face to face with a new kind of oppression in "McCarthy Era" America! Some of the greatest heroes of the 1940s, including the original Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman and Starman, among others, return in this epic tale. The story follows their postwar adventures as they battle evil in a world they fear may no longer need them. And as their importance wanes, a new hero, Dynaman, rallies the nation behind a fascist agenda... Collects JSA- THE GOLDEN AGE #1-4.

"Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger"

I have the power! One of the most popular TV series ever comes to the printed page here, as the complete comics adventures of He-Man, She-Ra, Skeletor and the Masters of the Universe are collected in one giant-size omnibus! Prince Adam sets out to reclaim the mantle of HE-MAN, a legendary power that he can wield for the powers of good. But around every turn the evil villain Skeletor seeks to destroy the young hero and keep him from finding his fellow Masters. But their adventures aren''t confined to just one universe. After narrowly escaping his last battle with He-Man, Skeletor has fled to the most unexpected realm to recover: EARTH! Once there, he sets a plan in motion to siphon off Earth''s core magic. Forging an unlikely hunting party, He-Man and company go in search of Skeletor and find themselves at odds with the heroes of the DC Universe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe must find a way to stop Skeletor and his mysterious new master! It''s called Eternia--the homeworld of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Here, this legendary hero harnesses the Power of Grayskull to protect his planet against the evil forces of Skeletor, the skull-faced embodiment of evil. Then dimensions away, another evil has set its sights on Eternia''s champion. The menace of Mumm-Ra is spreading, even as his hated rival, Lion-O, is crowned king of the Thundercats. Mumm-Ra knows only one weapon can stand against Lion-O''s unstoppable Sword of Omens: He-Man''s Sword of Power. And he and his merciless minions are prepared to take it by any means necessary. From such legendary creators as James Robinson (Starman), Dan Abnett (Aquaman) and Keith Giffen (Justice League International), the further tales of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe are here! Collects He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1-19, He-Man: The Eternity War #1-15, DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe #1-6, DC Comics Presents #47 and He-Man/Thundercats #1-6.

We construct a simple model where political elites may block technological and institutional development, because of a "political replacement effect." Innovations often erode elites'' incumbency advantage, increasing the likelihood that they will be replaced. Fearing replacement, political elites are unwilling to initiate change, and may even block economic development. We show that elites are unlikely to block development when there is a high degree of political competition, or when they are highly entrenched. It is only when political competition is limited and also their power is threatened that elites will block development. We also show that such blocking is more likely to arise when political stakes are higher, and that external threats may reduce the incentives to block. We argue that this model provides an interpretation for why Britain, Germany and the U.S. industrialized during the nineteenth century, while the landed aristocracy in Russia and Austria-Hungary blocked development. Keywords: Political Economy, Institutions, Development, Industrialization. JEL Classification: H2, N10, N40, O1, O3, O4

Health Unplugged is about keeping it simple. When you go to your doctor and he or she tells you that you have to lose weight, that’s all they tell you. Then they send you to a registered dietician and they give you a food pyramid chart and you still can’t figure out what foods to eat. They use words like Glycemic Index, Amino Acid, BMI, Carbohydrates, and HDL, LDL. What does all of that mean? So you go out to the book store and buy books written for and by doctors and you still can’t understand the words, a month later you still haven’t lost weight. On my journey to losing weight, I have purchased at least 5 books/dvd’s trying to figure out what to eat and what exercise to do. Half of the books I never finished reading because I just wanted to get to the parts that I needed. Health Unplugged has a grocery list of foods that you can eat and an exercise schedule that you can start today. My book goes straight to the point for people like me that just want to lose weight without the mumble jumble.

Originally published in single magazine form in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA (2006 series) #49-53 and STARMAN/CONGORILLA #1.

Heartless, mechanical cruelty meets dogged human courage and perseverance! In the aftermath of the events in James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984), John Connor sends a strike team into the past to destroy Cyberdyne, the company that will eventually create the world-controlling computer Skynet. But the machines counter by sending a team of Terminators to block the attempt—turning Los Angeles into a war zone! Before Terminator 2: Judgment Day or any of the other film sequels, Dark Horse Comics carried the torch for the Terminator saga, creating a continuity that carried the action across the world and across time. The story in this volume, by John Arcudi and Chris Warner, paved the way for a rich parade of sequel tales. Also included in this volume: The Terminator: One Shot, by writer James Robinson and artist Matt Wagner! Introduction by John Arcudi.

From the visionary mind of Matt Wagner, the world of Grendel returns with two value-priced omnibus volumes collecting all Grendel Tales stories! Featuring some of the best writers and artists in the industry and never-before-collected material, Grendel Tales Omnibus Volume 1 is sure to be a hit with longtime fans of this iconic character or newcomers just discovering Wagner''s strange, dystopian future, where the angry spirit of Grendel is part of everyone''s lives! With over 400 pages of story and art to enjoy and all cover work reproduced, Dark Horse is proud to present the Grendel Tales Omnibus collections!

The conventional wisdom in political science is that for a democracy to be consolidated, all groups must have a chance to attain power. If they do not then they will subvert democracy and choose to fight for power. In this paper we show that this wisdom is seriously incomplete because it considers absolute, not relative payoffs. Although the probability of winning an election increases with the size of a group, so does the probability of winning a fight. Thus in a situation where all groups have a high chance of winning an election, they may also have a high chance of winning a fight. Indeed, in a natural model, we show that democracy may never be consolidated in such a situation. Rather, democracy may only be stable when one group is dominant. We provide a test of a key aspect of our model using data from "La Violencia", a political conflict in Colombia during the years 1946-1950 between the Liberal and Conservative parties. Consistent with our results, and contrary to the conventional wisdom, we show that fighting between the parties was more intense in municipalities where the support of the parties was more evenly balanced.

Why do soft budget constraints exist and persist? In this paper we argue that the prevalence of soft budget constraints can be best explained by the political desirability of softness. We develop a political economy model where politicians cannot commit to policies that are not ex post optimal. We show that because of the dynamic commitment problem inherent in the soft budget constraint, politicians can in essence commit to make transfers to entrepreneurs which otherwise they would not be able to do. This encourages such entrepreneurs to vote for them. Though the soft budget constraint may induce economic inefficiency, it may be politically rational because it influences the outcomes of elections. In consequence, even when information is complete, politicians may fund bad projects which they anticipate they will have to bail out in the future.

"Develops the empirical and theoretical case that differences in economic institutions are the fundamental cause of differences in economic development." - abstract.

Many developing countries have suffered under the personal rule of "kleptocrats", who implement highly inefficient economic policies, expropriate the wealth of their citizens, and use the proceeds for their own glorification or consumption. We argue that the success of kleptocrats rests, in part, on their ability to use a "divide-and-rule" strategy, made possible by weakness of the institutions in these societies. Members of society need to cooperate in order to depose a kleptocrat, yet such cooperation may be defused by imposing punitive rates of taxation on any citizen who proposes such a move, and redistributing the benefits to those who need to agree to it. Thus the collective action problem can be intensified by threats which remain off the equilibrium path. In equilibrium, all are exploited and no one challenges the kleptocrat. Kleptocratic policies are more likely when foreign aid and rents from natural resources provide rulers with substantial resources to buy off opponents; when opposition groups are shortsighted; when the average productivity in the economy is low; and when there is greater inequality between producer groups (because more productive groups are more difficult to buy off). Keywords: dictatorship, divide-and-rule, economic development, institutions, kleptocracy, personal rule, political economy. JEL Classifications: O12, H00

Earth 2: an alternate reality where the Crime Syndicate of Amerika, made up of the world''s gravest super-villains, holds absolute power.

In this paper we present historical evidence and a theoretical analysis of the origins of political stability and instability in Colombia for the period 1850-1950, and their relationship to political, particularly electoral, institutions. We show that the driving force behind institutional change over this period, specifically the move to proportional representation (PR), was the desire of the Conservative and Liberal parties to come up with a way of credibly dividing power to avoid civil war and conflict, a force intensified by the brutal conflict of the War of a Thousand days between 1899 and 1902. The problem with majoritarian electoral institutions was that they did not allocate power in a way which matched the support of the parties in the population, thus encouraging conflict. The strategic advantage of PR was that it avoided such under-representation. The parties however could not initially move to PR because it was not `fraud proof'' so instead, in 1905, adopted the "incomplete vote" which simply allocated 2/3 of the legislative seats to the winning party and 1/3 to the loser. This formula brought peace. The switch to PR arose when the Liberals became confident that they could solve problems of fraud. But it only happened because they were able to exploit a division within the Conservatives. The switch also possibly reflected a concern with the rising support for socialism and the desire to divide power more broadly. Our findings shed new light on the origins of electoral systems and the nature of political conflict and its resolution.

"Originally published in single magazine form in Superman secret files 2009 1, Superman annual 1, Superman 692-697, Adventure comics 11"--Tp verso.

"Off and on, of late years, I have studied the history and development of all religions with immense interest as being for me, at least, the most illuminating ''case histories'' of the inner life of man."--Eugene O''Neill writing to M. C. Sparrow, 1929 While it is commonly accepted that Euu00adgene O''Neill studied Oriental mystical religions and that this study may be detected in some of his less successful experimental plays (Lazarus Laughed, The Fountain, Marco Millions) there has not been an effort to conu00adsider systematically his "immense interest" and the influence it had on O''Neill''s thought and writing. Robinson explores the tension between Occidental and Oriental elements in the playwright''s art, examining both the sources of the conflict and its manifestation in selected plays written between 1916and 1942. Through an examination of O''Neill''s coru00adrespondence, research library, and manuscript materials (some of which have preu00adviously been unavailable for study) Robinson is able to reveal the origins of O''Neill''s Oriu00adentalism. An easy familiarity with the comu00adplex interrelationships of Eastern and Westu00adern religions and the Oriental thought that underlies the ideas of many Western philosou00adphers, allows Robinson to address the inu00adtricate problem of Oriental influences on O''Neill''s favorite Western sources, including Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Jung, Strindberg, and Emerson. Finally in a play-by-play exegesis, Robinu00adson traces the course of O''Neill''s mysticism from its apparent repudiation in the deeply flawed Dynamo to its synthesis in The Iceman Cometh, Long Day''s Journey Into Night, and Hughie, where Eastern ideas of maya, dyu00adnamic polarity, and the emptiness of the uniu00adverse are again evident.

The Gods separated Themyscira from the world for a good reason: it serves as the prison for the God of War, and the most powerful army ever created stands guard around him! So what happens when the greatest evil in the universe decides he wants that army for himself? The power of the ancient gods has returned Darkseid to his former self, but he wants more--he wants the throne of Apokolips back! But to put down the rebellions and civil war raging on his homeworld, he''ll need an army more powerful than he''s ever had before. That sounds suspiciously like the Amazons! Meanwhile, Wonder Woman''s brother Jason has always longed to meet his mother, Hippolyta, but the machinations of the gods have made it impossible. But now, with the barrier between worlds at its thinnest, could they come face-to-face at last? Should Wonder Woman help him return home, if it could lead to the destruction of the Amazons? From superstar writer James Robinson and artist Carlo Pagulayan comes the next great Wonder Woman epic in Wonder Woman Vol. 7! Collects Wonder Woman #38-45.

Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented interest on the part of both scholars and the media in Taiwan''s politics in general and its political development more specifically. John Copper''s new book, Taiwan''s 1991 and 1992 Non-Supplemental Elections: Reaching a Higher State of Democracy, examines Taiwan''s departure from holding only supplemental electionsóa practice that allowed many delegates to remain in office for years and thus called into question the competitive nature of Taiwan''s electoral systemómarks a new phase in Taiwan''s democratization. Copper points out, though, that these elections need to be related to other factors of political development. He discusses how economic and cultural factors such as Taiwan''s rapid economic growth in the ''60s and ''70s and the resulting urbanization of the country contributed to a political atmosphere that would allow the departure from supplemental elections.

Um livro que vai mudar a maneira como você vê e entende o mundo Nesse clássico moderno da economia e das ciências humanas, Daron Acemoglu e James A. Robinson investigam a história de civilizações separadas tanto pelo tempo quanto pela geografia para responder a uma questão que há séculos intriga os estudiosos: por que algumas nações são ricas e outras são pobres? Por meio de uma teoria de base universal, os autores afirmam que as estruturas sociais criadas pelo homem são o que sustenta o sucesso econômico — e o fracasso — das nações. Os países só escapam à pobreza quando dispõem de instituições adequadas, com a preservação do direito à propriedade privada e da livre concorrência. Acemoglu e Robinson defendem, ainda, a tese original de que a probabilidade de os países desenvolverem boas instituições é maior quando contam com um sistema político pluralista e aberto, com disputa de cargos, eleitorado amplo e espaço para a emergência de novos líderes. A partir desses argumentos, demonstram como algumas mudanças podem contribuir para instituições mais plurais, inovações progressistas e êxito econômico, enquanto outras, ao contrário, só estabelecerão mais instituições repressoras e extrativistas que levarão os países à decadência e à estagnação.

Three generations of crime-fighters join together for the greater good: Sentinel, Wildcat, the Flash, Black Canary, Starman, Sand, Hourman, Atom Smasher, the Star-Spangled Kid and Hawkgirl. The heroes of the present and legends of the past come together to form the Justice Society of America! They have been called upon to save one of their own from one of the darkest powers ever to walk this earth… Celebrated comics writer Geoff Johns began his career here, as he mixed in younger, edgier characters with the elder statesmen of superheroes to create one of the standout DC Comics series in the 2000s. Johns is joined by acclaimed screenwriter David Goyer (The Dark Knight trilogy) and artists including Stephen Sadowski (Avengers/Invaders), Michael Bair (HAWKMAN) and others. JSA BY GEOFF JOHNS BOOK ONE collects JSA SECRET FILES #1 and JSA #1-15.

Inédito no Brasil, O corredor estreito estuda as condições necessárias para que os países vejam o nascimento da liberdade — ou sua extinção. Após o sucesso de Por que as nações fracassam, best-seller do The New York Times, os renomados economistas Daron Acemoglu e James A. Robinson fazem um levantamento das formas que a relação entre sociedade e Estado podem tomar a partir de uma base elementar: a liberdade — ou a ausência dela. No centro de sua teoria, explicam que a liberdade só é mantida por meio de um embate constante entre a população e quem a governa. Se um Estado forte é necessário para conter a violência, impor a ordem, fomentar a prosperidade econômica e oferecer meios para que a população possa seguir os caminhos que escolher, é igualmente importante uma sociedade forte e mobilizada para controlar e limitar os excessos do poder estatal. A liberdade é rara: no jogo de poder que a estabelece, a vontade individual encontra seu limite no outro, e os dois lados precisam ter forças equivalentes para que floresça. Há, porém, exemplos na história em que a tensão dá espaço ao diálogo, e o que antes era um campo de batalha se torna um corredor estreito que tanto a sociedade quanto o Estado podem trilhar em sua cooperação para pavimentá-lo. Em tempos de incertezas e instabilidade — em que o corredor estreito da liberdade corre o risco de se tornar um atalho para a ruína —, a genialidade de Acemoglu e Robinson constrói neste livro os caminhos pelos quais sociedade e Estado podem colaborar para o desenvolvimento mútuo.

Der Klassiker – von den Wirtschaftsnobelpreisträgern 2024, eine Pflichtlektüre! Warum sind Nationen reich oder arm? Starökonom Daron Acemoglu und Harvard-Politologe James Robinson geben eine ebenso schlüssige wie eindrucksvolle Antwort auf diese grundlegende Frage. Anhand zahlreicher, faszinierender Fallbeispiele – von den Conquistadores über die Industrielle Revolution bis zum heutigen China, von Sierra Leone bis Kolumbien – zeigen sie, mit welcher Macht die Eliten mittels repressiver Institutionen sämtliche Regeln zu ihren Gunsten manipulieren - zum Schaden der vielen Einzelnen. Ein spannendes und faszinierendes Plädoyer dafür, dass Geschichte und Geographie kein Schicksal sind. Und ein überzeugendes Beispiel, dass die richtige Analyse der Vergangenheit neue Wege zum Verständnis unserer Gegenwart und neue Perspektiven für die Zukunft eröffnet. Ein provokatives, brillantes und einzigartiges Buch. »Dieses Buch werden unsere Ur-Ur-Urenkel in zweihundert Jahren noch lesen.« George Akerlof, Nobelpreisträger für Wirtschaftswissenschaften »Eine absolut überzeugende Studie.« Gary S. Becker, Nobelpreisträger für Wirtschaftswissenschaften »Ein wirklich wichtiges Buch.« Michael Spence, Nobelpreisträger für Wirtschaftswissenschaften »Acemoglu und Robinson begeistern und regen zum Nachdenken an.« Robert Solow, Nobelpreisträger für Wirtschaftswissenschaften »Ein wichtiges, unverzichtbares Werk.« Peter Diamond, Nobelpreisträger für Wirtschaftswissenschaften »Ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Debatte, warum Staaten mit gleicher Vorrausetzung sich so wesentlich in wirtschaftlichen und politischen Entwicklungen unterscheiden.« Kenneth J. Arrow, Nobelpreisträger für Wirtschaftswissenschaften »Diese faktenreiche und ermutigende Streitschrift lehrt uns, dass die Geschichte glücklich enden kann, wenn ihr kein Mensch mehr als Versuchsobjekt dient.« Michael Holmes, NZZ am Sonntag »Anderthalb Jahrzehnte Arbeit eines Pools von Wissenschaftlern, auf 600 Seiten zusammengefasst durch zwei Forscher von Weltrang – und dies kommt heraus: eine Liebeserklärung an Institutionen, die im Sinne ihrer Bürger funktionieren. [...] bestechend.« Elisabeth von Thadden, Die Zeit »Sie werden von diesem Buch begeistert sein.« Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Preisträger und Autor der Weltbestseller »Kollaps« und »Arm und Reich« » Ein höchst lesenswertes Buch.« Francis Fukuyama, Autor des Bestsellers »Das Ende der Geschichte« »Ein phantastisches Buch. Acemoglu und Robinson gehen das wichtigste Problem der Sozialwissenschaften an – eine Frage, die führende Denker seit Jahrhunderten plagt – und liefern eine in ihrer Einfachheit und Wirkmächtigkeit brillante Antwort. Eine wunderbar lesbare Mischung aus Geschichte, Politikwissenschaft und Ökonomie, die unser Denken verändern wird. Pflichtlektüre.« Steven Levitt, Autor von »Freakonomics«

Bazată pe cincisprezece ani de cercetare, cartea abordează, printr-o lectură plăcută și accesibilă, o temă crucială din economia politică actuală: diferența enormă de venit și de standard de viață dintre țările bogate și cele sărace ale lumii. Acemoglu şi Robinson demonstrează că ţările ies din sărăcie numai când au instituţii economice adecvate, când au un sistem politic pluralist deschis, în care există concurenţă pentru funcţiile politice şi deschidere către noi lideri politici. Aducând argumente din economie, politică și istorie, autorii oferă o modalitate nouă, puternică şi convingătoare de înţelegere a bogăţiei şi a sărăciei. Acemoglu şi Robinson – doi dintre cei mai importanţi experţi din lume în domeniul dezvoltării – ne arată că nu geografia, bolile sau cultura, ci chestiunea instituţiilor şi a politicii explică, mai degrabă, de ce unele naţiuni sunt bogate şi altele sărace. Această carte extrem de accesibilă oferă o perspectivă pătrunzătoare binevenită atât pentru specialişti, cât şi pentru publicul larg. Francis Fukuyama

Daron Acemoglu és James A. Robinson nagyon egyszerű, de annál fontosabb alapkérdéseket feszegetnek: Miért gazdag az egyik ország, és miért szegény a másik? Mivel magyarázható a nemzetek eltérő fejlődése: kulturális különbségekkel, vagy a földrajzi, éghajlati adottságokkal Világsikerű könyvükben új megvilágításba helyezik eddigi elképzeléseinket a világ egyenlőtlen fejlődéséről. Tizenöt éves közös kutatásuk alapján arra a következtetésre jutottak, hogy a nemzetek társadalmi-gazdasági jóléte vagy elszegényedése elsősorban az intézményi, hatalmi struktúrától függ. Számos történelmi példát vonultatnak fel, a Római Birodalomtól kezdve a maja városállamokon, a középkori Velencén, a Szovjetunión, Latin-Amerikán, Anglián, Európán és az Egyesült Államokon át egészen Afrikáig, hogy igazolják új politikai gazdaságtani elméletüket. A történelmet, a politikatudományt és a közgazdaságtant remekül ötvöző, magával ragadó mű mindannyiunk számára tanulságokkal szolgál a fejlődés kérdéseiről.

Nogales (Arizona) y Nogales (Sonora) tienen la misma población, cultura y situación geográfica. ¿Por qué una es rica y otra pobre? ¿Por qué Botsuana es uno de los países africanos con mayor desarrollo y, en cambio, países vecinos como Zimbabue, Congo o Sierra Leona están sumidos en la más desesperante pobreza? ¿Por qué Corea del Norte es uno de los países más pobres del mundo y Corea del Sur uno de los más prósperos? Por qué fracasan los países responde a estas y otras cuestiones con una nueva y convincente teoría: la prosperidad no se debe al clima, a la geografía o a la cultura, sino a las políticas dictaminadas por las instituciones de cada país. Debido a ello, los países no conseguirán que sus economías crezcan hasta que no dispongan de instituciones gubernamentales que desarrollen políticas acertadas. Asimismo, los autores responden a las siguientes cuestiones: • China está creciendo a un ritmo trepidante. ¿Hasta cuándo podrá seguir creciendo al mismo ritmo? ¿Acabará por aplastar al mundo occidental? • ¿Hasta cuándo será Estados Unidos una potencia mundial? ¿Su sistema económico es apto para competir en las próximas décadas? • ¿Cuál es el mejor método para sacar de la pobreza a millones de personas? ¿Realmente las ayudas de Occidente ayudan a erradicar las hambrunas? A través de una cuidada selección de ejemplos históricos y actuales (desde la antigua Roma pasando por los Tudor y llegando a la China moderna) los reconocidos profesores Daron Acemoglu y James A. Robinson harán que usted vea el mundo, y sus problemas, de un modo completamente distinto.