Tag: China

How Science was Held Back in China and the Islamic World

Posted in history of science, political institutions, social institutions

Science must be integrated into the fabric of society — institutionalized — if it is to succeed over the longer term. Science was successfully institutionalized in Europe during the twelfth century. China and the Islamic world were at different times the world leader in science, but neither society institutionalized it, and science eventually faltered in both societies…

Why Nations Fail: 
Extractive and Inclusive Institutions

Posted in economic institutions, facts of economic growth, political institutions, property rights, technological progress

Acemoglu and Robinson’s goal is to explain why some nations are rich and others are poor. They present a theory based on the interaction between political and economic institutions. Casual empiricism suggests that its explanatory power is quite strong…

The Russian Odyssey: 1985-1991

Posted in economic institutions, history of economic growth, political institutions

Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to introduce market-oriented economic reforms in the late 1980s. They were too little, too late. The Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991…