Marian Miner Cook
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Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

Wed, March 23, 2022
Dinner Program
Daron Acemoglu

Why are some nations extremely rich while others remain cripplingly poor? And why is the gap between the two widening? What separates the haves from the have-nots, Daron Acemoglu, professor of applied economics at MIT, argues has nothing to do with geography or natural resources, as is commonly believed. Instead, nations live or die on the soundness of their institutions, the fairness of their laws, and the transparency of their governments. Drawing on powerful examples from America to Mexico to Sierra Leone to Singapore, Acemoglu shows us that, with strong institutions in place, individuals (and nations) are given the incentive and the opportunities to achieve and innovate. And increasingly pressing today, how can we protect democratic institutions, the foundations of political systems, as financial crises, polarizing politics, and reduced wages erode trust in democracy itself?

As one of CMC’s 75th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers, Professor Acemoglu will highlight issues in “Civilization and Commerce,” one of the three academic collaboration themes of our special 75th Anniversary celebration.

Photo credit: L. Barry Hetherington

Daron Acemoglu is a professor of applied economics at MIT and a fellow of the Econometric Society, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Society of Labor Economists. In 2019, he was named Institute Professor, MIT’s most distinguished faculty honor. He has a wide academic focus, specializing in political economy, labor economics, and economic development, amongst other disciplines. 

Acemoglu has received numerous honors, awards, and distinctions for his academic work, including the Carnegie Fellowship, the Kiel Institute’s 2019 Global Economy Prize, the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize, the John Bates Clark Medal, the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize, and the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award. He has been named to Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers twice.

He has authored five books: Why Nations Fail, The Narrow Corridor, Epilogue from Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, and Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Acemoglu has also written for Esquire and Foreign Policy and contributed to academic publications such as The Journal of Economic Growth, The Economic Journal, the American Economic Review, and the Journal of Political Economy, amongst others. 

 

View Video: YouTube with Daron Acemoglu

Food for Thought: Podcast with Daron Acemoglu

Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

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