068: Daron Acemoglu on Why Nations Fail and Why Inequality Exists Between Countries

Daron Acemoglu is the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. Daron’s principal interests are political economy, development economics, economic growth, technology, income and wage inequality, human capital and training, and labour economics. Daron received his M.Sc. in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics and his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. Daron is co-author of ‘Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty’ which can be found at whynationsfail.com In this episode you will learn: why nations fail and others prosper. why Daron despises the term capitalism refereeing it as ‘and ugly term’. why macro variables are second order to the type of institution when explaining the prosperity of a country. why we should study political systems in an economics course. how economic decisions get made. if democracy is good for economic growth. if the political economy or the type of institution of a country explain inequality. and much more. Check out the show notes page at www.economicrockstar.com/daron. Become a PATRON of the Economic Rockstar podcast: www.patreon.com/EcoomicRockstar