Book · 2013 · Business & Economics
Why Nations Fail
The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
- mentions
- 27
- people
- 7
- podcasts
- 7
- episodes
- 14
- critical mentions
- 0
Living in the United States in the 21st century, it seems normal, almost inevitable, that there's rule of law, that there are property rights, that there's democracy, but looking back over human history—and I hadn't really fully understood this till I read 'Why Nations Fail'—not only are all of these pretty rare, but the set of circumstances that led to.
Steve Levitt · People I (Mostly) Admire · Oct 2024 Listen at 14:30 What they say about it
- Calls it a favorite“my two favorite books of his”4
- Discusses publication year“back in 2012 you and James Robinson published a book called”4
- Mentions fascinating examples“You give fascinating examples in the book”3
- Read and understood history“I hadn't really fully understood this till I read”2
The best things said about it
Okay, so back in 2012, you and James Robinson published a book called 'Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty.' I remember at the time thinking it took a lot of audacity to tackle a topic that was so huge and so fundamental and so complex that it wasn't likely to have an easy answer.
Steve Levitt People I (Mostly) Admire · Oct 2024 You give fascinating examples in the book 'Why Nations Fail,' like there was this guy named William Lee who invented something called a stocking frame that dramatically sped up the rate at which people could knit, and one would expect this guy would get a hero's welcome. But you tell the story in the book that it was quite the.
Steve Levitt People I (Mostly) Admire · Oct 2024 If you want more of Daron Acemoglu’s thinking, my two favorite books of his are the ones we talked about today: 'Why Nations Fail' and his most recent book, 'Power and Progress.'.
Steve Levitt People I (Mostly) Admire · Oct 2024 Well related to what I just was talking about right now the importance of good governance for successful Nations and all I mean the book that comes to mind is there are several but one that comes to mind is why Nations fail by Daren asogo and James Robinson this is good read.
When I first heard that you won the prize and I read your work about the importance of what you call culture in economic progress, I immediately compared it in my mind to the work of Deron Osamoglu and Jim Robinson who argue that institutions are the main driver of progress.
Stephen Dubner Freakonomics Radio · Mar 2026 Asimoglu is also the co-author with the Harvard political scientist James Robinson of a book called Why Nations Fail. In it, they argue that the type and quality of the political institutions in a country greatly influence its economic success.
Stephen Dubner Freakonomics Radio · Oct 2014 Where and when it comes up
How it comes up
7 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson is a seminal economic and political text investigating the root causes of power, prosperity, and poverty through the lens of institutional structures. The book has garnered widespread critical acclaim and recommendations from various podcast hosts and prominent figures. On People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt frequently recommended the book alongside Power and Progress for listeners eager to dive deeper into Acemoglu's ideas, reflecting on the sheer audacity required to tackle a topic as huge and complex as global prosperity. Salam Fayyad also recommended the book on The Ezra Klein Show to illustrate the critical importance of good governance for successful nations and the dangerous perils of concentrated power. Additionally, Stephen Dubner discussed the authors' focus on institutions as the primary driver of progress on Freakonomics Radio, contrasting it with alternative historical theories. Kemi Badenoch similarly cited the volume on Honestly with Bari Weiss as an influential text shaping her political and economic worldview. Throughout these conversations, the book is hailed as a monumental achievement in economic history that explains why certain societies thrive while others falter based on their political and economic institutions.
Every mention
Steve Levitt if you want more of donon aim mogo's thinking my two favorite books of his are the ones we talked about tod… 14
Discussed
“so back in 2012 you and James Robinson published a book called why Nations fail the origins of power prosperity and poverty”
Discussed
“Okay, so back in 2012, you and James Robinson published a book called 'Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty.' I remember at the time thinking it took a lot of audacity to tackle a topic that was so huge and so fundamental and so complex that it wasn't likely to have an easy answer.”
Discussed
“you give fascinating examples in the book why Nations fail”
Discussed
“You give fascinating examples in the book 'Why Nations Fail,' like there was this guy named William Lee who invented something called a stocking frame that dramatically sped up the rate at which people could knit, and one would expect this guy would get a hero's welcome. But you tell the story in the book that it was quite the”
Discussed
“and I hadn't really fully understood this till I read why Nations fail”
Discussed
“Living in the United States in the 21st century, it seems normal, almost inevitable, that there's rule of law, that there are property rights, that there's democracy, but looking back over human history—and I hadn't really fully understood this till I read 'Why Nations Fail'—not only are all of these pretty rare, but the set of circumstances that led to”
Recommended
“if you want more of donon aim mogo's thinking my two favorite books of his are the ones we talked about today why Nations fail and his most recent book power and progress”
Recommended
“If you want more of Daron Acemoglu’s thinking, my two favorite books of his are the ones we talked about today: 'Why Nations Fail' and his most recent book, 'Power and Progress.' And next week, we are back with a brand new episode featuring Richard Reeves; his research into the struggles of boys and men is stunning, sobering, and extremely”
Discussed
“so back in 2012 you and James Robinson published a book called why Nations fail the origins of power prosperity and poverty”
Discussed
“Okay, so back in 2012, you and James Robinson published a book called "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty."”
Discussed
“You give fascinating examples in the book "Why Nations Fail," like there was this guy named William Lee who invented something called a stocking frame that dramatically sped up the rate at which people could knit, and one would expect this guy would get a hero's welcome, but you tell the story in the book that it was quite the”
Discussed
“But looking back over human history, and I hadn't really fully understood this until I read "Why Nations Fail," not only are all of these pretty rare, but the set of circumstances that led to rule of law and property rights and democracy taking hold first in England and then spreading actually seems somewhat miraculous, that at some point early”
Recommended
“my two favorite books of his are the ones we talked about today why Nations fail and his most recent book power and progress”
Recommended
“If you want more of Daron Acemoglu's thinking, my two favorite books of his are the ones we talked about today: "Why Nations Fail" and his most recent book, "Power and Progress."”
Salam Fayyad well related to what I just was talking about right now the importance of good governance for successful Na… 1
Recommended
“well related to what I just was talking about right now the importance of good governance for successful Nations and all I mean the book that comes to mind is there are several but one that comes to mind is why Nations fail by Daren asogo and James Robinson this is good read”
Stephen Dubner Asimoglu is also the co-author with the Harvard political scientist James Robinson of a book called Why Nat… 6
Discussed
“When I first heard that you won the prize and I read your work about the importance of what you call culture in economic progress, I immediately compared it in my mind to the work of Deron Osamoglu and Jim Robinson who argue that institutions are the main driver of progress.”
Discussed
“I don't think there is a resource curse. James Robinson of the University of Chicago is co-author of the book Why Nations Fail. The consequences of natural resources for a society's development are completely conditional on their institutions.”
Discussed
“That's Darren Asimoglu, an economist at MIT and co-author of Why Nations Fail, the Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty.”
Discussed
“I don't think there is a resource curse. James Robinson of the University of Chicago is co-author of the book Why Nations Fail. The consequences of natural resources for a society's development are completely conditional on their institutions.”
Discussed
“Robinson is the co-author, along with Daron Asimoglu, of an important book called Why Nations Fail. In it, they tried to propose a simple way.”
Discussed
“Asimoglu is also the co-author with the Harvard political scientist James Robinson of a book called Why Nations Fail. In it, they argue that the type and quality of the political institutions in a country greatly influence its economic success.”
Bryan Callen I love the quote from from why nations fail I believe China yes they put their users in concentration camps 1
Discussed
“I love the quote from from why nations fail I believe China yes they put their users in concentration camps”
Daron Acemoglu that's what triggered the why Nations fail book which you have so kindly explained in the master way 1
Discussed
“that's what triggered the why Nations fail book which you have so kindly explained in the master way”
Kemi Badenoch Um I might be misremembering now. It's all it's all 20 years ago. But there was that book, and then later o… 1
Discussed
“Um I might be misremembering now. It's all it's all 20 years ago. But there was that book, and then later on, books like Why Nations Fail”
Yeonmi Park like i don't know if you read that book why nation affairs the system 1
Discussed
“like i don't know if you read that book why nation affairs the system”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker2
Discussed
“You know, 'Why Nations Fail,' the book that I wrote with Jim Robinson, for example, was really what I would have loved to write as a teenager.”
Discussed
“then our colleagues durin s mo glory Gems Robinson wrote this amazing book called why nations fail okay and their and their answer was very was really straightforward”
Other mentions (9: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“My guest today, Daron Acemoglu, is a professor of economics at MIT and co-author of a number of influential books written for a popular audience, including 'Why Nations Fail' and 'Power and Progress.' He is also, without a doubt, one of the greatest economists I have ever met.”
Plugged
“that's what triggered the why Nations fail book which you have so kindly explained in a masterful way”
Passing
“my guest today donon Asam moglu is a professor of Economics at M and co-author of a number of influential books written for a popular audience including why Nations fail and Power in progress”
Passing
“My guest today, Daron Acemoglu, is a professor of Economics at MIT and co-author of a number of influential books written for a popular audience, including "Why Nations Fail" and "Power and Progress."”
Plugged
“That's what triggered the "Why Nations Fail" book, which you have so kindly explained in such a masterly way, and that's also what motivated my more recent book "Power and Progress."”
Plugged
“you know why Nations failed the book that I wrote with Jim Robinson for example was really what I would have loved to write as a teenager”
Plugged
“you know I've always been a big admirer of Schumpeter and his ideas and we make creative destruction an important part of our overall narrative in why nations fail James and I James Robinson and I”
Passing
“That, again, is Darren Asimoglu, co-author of Why Nations Fail. So the image that you might want to have here in your head is, if you were a politically powerful group or dictator or a warlord,”
Passing
“Darren Asimoglu has not spent a lot of time studying Norway and its Scandinavian neighbors. His book, after all, is called Why Nations Fail, Not Why Nations Succeed. Even so, he knows a success story when he sees one.”