Daron Acemoglu Books

Our journey begins in medieval Europe, where technology first altered the organization of society. Watermills and windmills in the Middle Ages boosted productivity, transforming agriculture and craftwork. Yet these innovations did not necessarily uplift peasants or artisans. Instead, they often rein...

From Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

The Industrial Revolution is often hailed as the dawn of modern prosperity, but our analysis reveals a more complex story. The arrival of mechanized factories in Britain created unparalleled wealth for a small elite. Steam engines, spinning jennies, and power looms transformed labor but also margina...

From Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

Let us begin with the fundamental idea. Throughout human history, the relationship between the state and society has been deeply ambivalent. A strong state can protect citizens, enforce laws, build infrastructure, and create stability. Yet, the same strength can crush dissent and turn the ruler into...

From The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty

History offers a panorama of failed attempts to secure liberty. Every civilization has wrestled with the problem of how much power the state should hold. We can categorize their failures into two broad types: the absent Leviathan and the despotic Leviathan. The absent Leviathan describes societies ...

From The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty

Our first task is clarity. Before we can trace the causes of prosperity and poverty, we must define the institutional structures that sustain them. We draw a sharp distinction between two archetypes: inclusive and extractive institutions. An inclusive economic institution is like fertile soil—it nur...

From Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

History shows us this institutional logic in action. Consider the Americas after European colonization. The Spanish built extractive systems in their colonies: forced labor under encomienda and later hacienda systems, where indigenous and African populations were ruthlessly exploited. These arrangem...

From Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty