Unraveling the Roots of Prosperity and Poverty

We all have our own theories of why some countries thrive and some fail to achieve prosperity. Understanding the roots of prosperity and poverty can shape our world view, influencing our perspectives on global inequality, economic development, and social justice. Using our own life experience as a guide, we tend to reach for explanation of why some countries are poor, which are rooted in culture, or geography, or race, or lack of knowledge. In this talk we will discuss an alternative explanation of countries' well-being, which is based on the type of political and economic institutions prevalent in each country. We will talk about the reasons for economic disparity between the United States and Mexico, about stark contrast between the North and South Korea, about the effects of the colonial policies on the now independent African nations. We will touch upon the reasons for economic growth followed by stagnation in the Soviet Union. We will talk about virtuous and vicious circles, which keep make rich nations richer and poor nations poorer. We will discuss the conditions which made Great Britain the cradle of the Industrial Revolution and whether it was a historic necessity for that momentous event to take place in that country. 

During the first session I will provide an overview of "Why Nations Fail" by D. Acemoglu and J. Robinson. During the second class, I would like to apply the principles discussed in the book to the analyzing the economic and political trends in today's United States, China, Russia. I will also present a critique of the theories presented by the authors.