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

If you’ve ever wondered why some countries are rich while others are poor — and why some ascend as other collapse — you’ll find some interesting and unexpected answers in Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. MIT economics professor Daron Acemoglu and University of Chicago economist James Robinson — Nobel Prize winners for 2024 — show that man-made institutions are a big determinant, looking at examples like North and South Korea. Although this book was originally published in 2012, it’s very apropos for any Social Capital leader trying to make sense of what’s going on in the world today.