Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron AcemoğluMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a second read for me. I like to read books like this when they are a bit out of date to see if they stand the test of time. This one seemed to, at least re: China.
I agreed with his premise, but disagreed with some of their examples, at least toward the beginning.
It is true that some countries will not prosper because it isn't in their leaders' interest to allow a democratic government. The authors seem against the idea that these leaders just "need to be educated" as to the correct strategy, a la IMF and World bank, and I tend to agree.
The poorest parts of South America are the parts that were most under control of the conquistadores (is this true?)
Section 256 of Alabama's constitution still has segregation. Segregation is still law in Alabama. (This is still true today. I looked it up).
I like the idea that (Schumpeter's) Creative Destruction is required for an economy to persevere in the long term, i.e. past the downturns.
All in all this was a good second read. I'm curious to see how these theories have been updated by the authors.
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