In the WSJ Bill Easterly reviews Why Nations Fail By Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson:
Related overview of the book from KurzweilAi highlights the following points:
More here...it is institutions that determine the fate of nations. Success comes, the authors say, when political and economic institutions are "inclusive" and pluralistic, creating incentives for everyone to invest in the future. Nations fail when institutions are "extractive," protecting the political and economic power of only a small elite that takes income from everyone else.
Related overview of the book from KurzweilAi highlights the following points:
...countries with “extractive” political systems — in which power is wielded by a small elite — either fail to grow broadly or wither away after short bursts of economic expansion.