Why Nations Fail By Daron Acemoglu And James Robinson

For individuals in very poor and economically unstable countries, globalization tends to do more harm than good. Through the economic, political and cultural examples stated above, globalization has not aided these countries climb out of poverty, develop an influential government or have a strong cultural identity, in fact, it has done the exact opposite. L’Huillier quotes Charles Darwin, “if the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by out institution, great is our sin” (2017 381). The business model that globalization suggests is an unattainable utopia for those in developing countries. These traits of poverty and war have always existed yet, many of today’s countries are the way they are because of the models that are favored and paraded under globalization

In his argument on the universal value of democracy Amartya Sen discusses the relationship between democracy and economic development. He notes that it is often claimed that nondemocratic systems are better at bringing about economic development than democratic ones. Sen disagrees with this claim. He asserts that this hypothesis is based on "very selective and limited information" (3). He admits that it is true that some disciplinarian states, like South Korea, Singapore, and postreform China, have had faster rates of economic growth than many less authoritarian ones, like India, Jamaica, and Costa Rica (3). However, he points out that this very selective evidence cannot be used to establish the general hypothesis that nondemocratic systems are better at bringing about economic development (3). "There is no convincing evidence that authoritarian governance and the suppression of political and civil rights are

For instance, most of the developments in the developed countries are based on growth, that is, they are depend on natural resources like minerals, gas and oil for their economic development. Moreover, the emerging developing countries such as India, china and brazil need a lot of natural resources to develop. This means that countries which are rich in resources in Latin America have emphasized and focused on the extraction of natural resources for their development and export. Neo extractivisim has been coined to refer to policies and regulations which strengthen states role in the ownership and exploitation of natural resources, a development which has gained great momentum inmost parts of the developing nations (Burchardt, Hans-Jürgen, and Kristina, 2014). Extractivisims is a development model that has political, natural and socioeconomic influences (class structure, interaction between public and state and gender) within a country majorly in countries with abundant resources in the

In the essay, “The Art of Failure” by Malcolm Gladwell we are given the meanings of “choking” and panicking while being in a stressful situation. Gladwell began to illustrate his writing by giving us other people's story, with the stories of Jana Novotna, John F Kennedy Jr, to name a few. Gladwell starts off by telling the story of Jana Novotna a professional volleyball player who developed stress when she saw who her opponent was, as she was getting near her chance of winning the championship; she lost it when “choking” took over her.

Within the last 60 years, Third World development has been a global priority, at the top of virtually every Western agenda. And with the rise of the global population and poverty levels continuing to rise along with it, it is very easy to see why human development is becoming such a topic of focus and discussion among members of the academia. But one question that everyone wants the answer too is, how does Third World development fit into Globalization? Despite apparent compatibility, when closely examined it is clear to see that Globalization actually contradicts Third World development due to the conflict of agendas. Both Globalization and Development hold views concerning market reform, social structure and regulation, which are

Throughout the world, many countries have found a way or a (niche) to which they (the country) can profit from global trade (import and export). This particular niche could be a multitude of things such as manufacturing (machining metals or developing electrical components) or agriculture (raising animals or growing plants) or raw minerals (metal ore or oil). Some countries are capable of doing almost all things listed above, but not all countries are capable of this. Which leads to my point, that some countries are setup better, whether it be land, technology, or the raw materials which lead to a thriving economy. Another variable for which the countries well-being can be affected is how that country’s government is setup (republic-democracy, communism, etc). Many will say that the United States is a rich country; however, I would have to completely disagree. For example, the national

However, I always understood that in order for anything to change, the country itself had to be educated on what current societies look like in developed countries. Reading this chapter changed my views on undeveloped countries because I now see they are attempting to adapt their traditions to provide all individuals with fair treatment. Obviously, this will take time, help, and effort from both undeveloped and developed countries but I have a strong respect for the changed and struggles they have gone through to reach this point of understanding.

The kingdom of Gulephistan is a country that sits atop vast quantities of oil, but it has numerous religious and ethnic divides. There is also a troublesome rebellion going on in the east. The country is in urgent need of political and economic development and I take charge of the kingdom of Gulephistan today. This country thereby becomes a non democratic and an authoritarian regime. This decision is based on the issues going in the country and it needs high degree of capacity and autonomy. Authoritarian, non-democratic regimes are capable of producing economic growth higher than that of democratic countries and able to sustain this growth (Arsenault, 2008, pg. v). They have several unique institutional traits, which encourage economic growth (Arsenault, 2008, pg. v). This will make it easy for major policies to be carried out and fulfill basic tasks to solve these issues without public intervention. Huntington said that if the political system is opened first, it is likely to complicate economic reform. The oil in the country will be exploited but won’t be depended on in order not to suffer from resource curse. Oil serves as a source of revenue and it will also be used to support this regime. The oil revenue will result into taxing the citizens lightly or not at all so that the regime will not be accountable to the public. There will be a tradeoff between economic benefits and political rights. While authoritarianism deprives people of their political rights, it also serves

In this chapter, dual economy was introduced it is said in this that dual economy was an artifact of colonization and imposed in these extractive institutions. It is also said in this chapter that underdeveloped societies are not able to go through to also increase wealth and income because of growth being the result of extractive institutions

First it is of vital importance to define what we precisely mean by institutional change. In his acclaimed book, Douglass North mentions that institutional change will only be driven when relative prices and preferences of organizations change. Institutions are overwhelmingly incremental and will adapt and change its organization through continuous marginal adjustment. Institutions conforming nation-states are thus, non-static and will continuously adapt to different circumstances. North also mentions that change in preferences and prices can be exogenous, namely a plague, an economical crisis, or a colonizing power. However, North stresses the importance that the process of institutional change also includes “maximizing efforts of endogenous

In less developed countries, democracy and capitalism help expand peace and justice in many ways. These systems promote equal opportunity and choice, which often result in growth in many of the interconnected sectors. However, simple growth in these nations is not enough, as growth does not require two of the most important attributes for expanding peace and justice; that is, the elements of sustainability and equality are not accounted for.

In the Acemeglu, Johnson and Robinson article, “Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long Term Growth”, the authors emphasize how institutions are the main determinant of economic development because stronger institutions allow for more growth in education, security, and health. To observe whether strong institutions determine economic growth it is important to mention the characteristics of a strong institution that allows for fast growth. Strong institutions are able to enforce property rights, a fair judiciary, efficient bureaucracies, intellectual property rights, corporation government bankruptcy laws, and democracy (e.g. “(Lecture 13)”). Going in depth

Lack of development in countries in the so-called `Third World' has many political and economical reasons. Historians explain the inadequacy of developing countries with the early imperialism and the resulting colonization of the South. Exploitation of mineral resources, deforestation, slavery, and the adaptation of foreign policies shaped the picture of today's suffering and struggling civilizations and natural rich continents. The omission of concessions and equal negotiations between dependency and supremacy give rise to the contrast of enormous resources and immense poverty in developing countries is. In the last years the outcry of justice and the emancipation of the Third World became louder throughout developing and industrialized

Why Nations Fail takes an in depth look into why some countries flourish and become rich powerful nations while other countries are left in or reduced to poverty. Throughout this book review I will discuss major arguments and theories used by the authors and how they directly impact international development, keeping in mind that nations are only as strong as their political and economical systems.

During the last decades the idea that high quality institutions are positively related to economic growth and development (Acemoglu et al., 2005) has gained relevance in the mainstream academic scene as well as within international organizations and cooperation agencies. The phrase Institutions Matter! epitomizes the essence of the New Institutional Economics approach and its policy implications. Certainly, a set of “Global Standard Institutions”, focused in the consolidation of free market, transaction costs and property rights frameworks, has inspired the contemporary policy agenda of multilateral organizations such as World Bank and the Monetary International Fund, eliciting several structural reforms in developing countries. In this regard, for instance, the World Bank created a specific research group for “… study the causes and consequences of governance for development” (Daniel Kauffman et al. 2009: 1), which has consistently monitored key governance indicators in 212 countries and territories between 1996 and 2008, gathering cross-sectional information as critical inputs for the Bank and Governments´ policy design and implementation. However, failures and contradictory outcomes in many developing countries elicited changes in the multilateral policy approaches during recent years, shifting to a more contextual-sensitive approach (Stiglitz, 2002). In this regard, Douglas North has highlighted