Daron Acemoğlu

​
 

Daron Acemoglu is a Turkish-American economist and Institute Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Born in Istanbul in 1967, he studied economics at the University of York before completing an MSc and PhD in economics at the London School of Economics. He joined MIT in 1993 and has since become one of the most influential economists working in political economy, economic development, inequality, and growth.

In 2012, Acemoglu co-authored Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty with political scientist James A. Robinson. The book argues that differences in national prosperity are primarily rooted in the institutions societies create. In particular, the authors distinguish between inclusive institutions, which distribute political and economic opportunities relatively broadly, and extractive institutions, which allow a small group to concentrate power and resources.

In 2024, Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson were awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.” 

Why I am reading Why Nations Fail

​

Before reading the book, my understanding of why nations succeed or fail is somewhat broader than simply “good institutions = prosperity.” I already tend to think that economic outcomes are the result of several forces interacting with one another: institutions, incentives, political power, human capital, technology, geography, and historical circumstances.

What interests me most about Why Nations Fail is therefore not simply whether Acemoglu and Robinson are right that institutions matter. I already expect them to matter. The more interesting question for me is how much they matter, and whether institutions themselves are the fundamental cause or partly a consequence of other forces.

For example, if two countries have very different levels of productivity and income, is the difference primarily explained by the institutions governing them? Or can geography, natural resources, education, technological development, colonial history, culture, and international economic relationships independently shape the institutional path a country takes?

I am interested in testing a hypothesis: to what extent are a nation's economic outcomes determined by the institutions that govern who holds power, who receives opportunities, and who benefits from economic growth?

That is the perspective I want to bring into the book—and then revisit once I have finished it.