“ Allowing people to make their own decisions via markets is the best way for a society to efficiently use its resources. When the state or a narrow elite controls all these resources instead, neither t… Daron Acemoğlu
“ When a critical juncture arrives, these small differences that have emerged as a result of institutional drift may be the small differences that matter in leading otherwise quite similar societies to… Daron Acemoğlu
“ The secret ballot was introduced and moves were made to eliminate corrupt electoral practices such as treating (essentially buying votes in exchange for which the voter received a treat, usually money… Daron Acemoğlu
“ The rulers were, in serious senses, whether willingly or unwillingly, the prisoners of their own rhetoric; they played games of power according to rules which suited them, but they could not break tho… Daron Acemoğlu
“ Growth under extractive institutions is limited not only because of lack of technological progress but also because it will encourage infighting from rival groups wishing to take control of the state… Daron Acemoğlu
“ Yes, countries such as Syria and Egypt are poor, and their populations are primarily Muslim. But these countries also systemically differ in other ways that are far more important for prosperity. For… Daron Acemoğlu
“ WE SAW HOW INCLUSIVE economic and political institutions emerge. But why do they persist over time? The history of the Black Act and the limits to its implementation illustrate the virtuous circle, a… Daron Acemoğlu
“ Under the Song dynasty, between 960 and 1279, China led the world in many technological innovatons. The Chinese invented clocks, the compass, gunpowder, paper and paper money, porcelein and the blast… Daron Acemoğlu
“ Though the extractive institutions that the Mayas created produced sufficient wealth for the cities to flourish and the elite to become wealthy and generate great art and monumental buildings, the sys… Daron Acemoğlu
“ There are two important lessons here. First, foreign aid is not a very effective means of dealing with the failure of nations around the world today. Far from it. Countries need inclusive economic and… Daron Acemoğlu
“ The reasoning of the Ming and Qing states for opposing international trade is by now familiar: the fear of creative destruction. Daron Acemoğlu
“ The leaders of the French Revolution and, subsequently, Napoleon exported the revolution to these lands, destroying absolutism, ending feudal land relations, abolishing guilds, and imposing equality b… Daron Acemoğlu
“ Slavery and the slave trade in Africa further disrupted family and marriage structures and may also have reduced fertility. Daron Acemoğlu
“ Noha Hamed, twenty-four, a worker at an advertising agency in Cairo, made her views clear as she demonstrated in Tahrir Square: We are suffering from corruption, oppression and bad education. Daron Acemoğlu
“ Lack of creative destruction and innovation is not the only reason why there are severe limits to growth under extractive institutions. The history of the Maya city-states illustrates a more ominous a… Daron Acemoğlu
“ In our theory, Peru is so much poorer than Western Europe and the United States today because of its institutions, and to understand the reasons for this, we need to understand the historical process… Daron Acemoğlu
“ Improved health and life expectancy were not the cause of England’s economic success but one of the fruits of its previous political and economic changes. Daron Acemoğlu
“ How to win lottery in Zimbabwe It was January 2000 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Master of Ceremonies Fallot Chawawa was in charge of drawing the winning ticket for the national lottery organized by a party st… Daron Acemoğlu
“ Fruits of unsustainable extractive growth: Zheng He’s ship alongside Columbus’s Santa Maria Gregory A. Harlin/National Geographic Stock Daron Acemoğlu
“ For example, a merchant in a colony such as New Spain, roughly modern Mexico, could not trade directly with anyone in New Granada, modern Colombia. These restrictions on trade within the Spanish Empir… Daron Acemoğlu
