...Why Nations Fail Whether a nation succeeds or fails is based on their institutions, extractive and inclusive. Inclusive institutions have unlimited growth with a free market so the people can choose their education, any job, and the chance to own property or businesses. Extractive institutions are ruled by elites, the whole market is under strict control and whatever happens within that economy it only benefits the highest in power. Extractive institutions have poor education and it stops the economy from flourishing and monopolies make it hard for people to own property or businesses. Why Nation’s Fail talks about why certain countries are able to succeed while others fall. Many people debate on how China will end up in the coming years. China’s economy is one of the quickest growing economies in the world because in the past twenty years, China has been growing at an extremely fast rate. It does not seem likely that it will change anytime soon either. Economists’ have been plotting trying to figure out if China’s economy will decline at all for a couple of years now. If they switch to an inclusive economy, it will most likely die off. By having an extractive economy, it will eventually slow down and level out. For example, most of Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and parts of Asia have all had a fast growing economy, but all ended up leveling off. Rapid growth can also mean rapid crash, just like what happened to the Soviet Union. In the beginning,...
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...A Review of Acemoglu and Robinson’s Why Nations Fail by Michele Boldrin, David K. Levine and Salvatore Modica Acemoglu and Robinson’s Why Nations Fail [2012] is a grand history in the style of Diamond [1997] or McNeil [1963]. Like those books, this book is exceptionally fun to read and full of interesting historical examples and provocative ideas. The basic theme of the book is that what matters most in why some nations fail – and others succeed, for the book is as much about success as failure – are not – as earlier authors have argued - economic policies, geography, culture, or value systems – but rather institutions, more precisely the political institutions that determine economic institutions. Acemoglu and Robinson theorize that political institutions can be divided into two kinds - “extractive” institutions in which a “small” group of individuals do their best to exploit - in the sense of Marx - the rest of the population, and “inclusive” institutions in which “many” people are included in the process of governing hence the exploitation process is either attenuated or absent. Needless to say Acemoglu and Robinson’s theory is more subtle than this simple summary. They argue that for any economic success political institutions must be sufficiently centralized to provide basic public services including justice, the enforcement of contracts, and education. Given that these functions are carried out, inclusive institutions enable innovative energies to emerge and lead to continuing...
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...Why Nations Fail In this essay, I am reviewing a book entitled Why Nations Fail written by Daron Acemoglu, and James Robinson. The book was written in 2012, and the authors mention the ongoing Arab Spring as they were putting together their ideas in writing. This coincidence makes me wonder if these authors were also impacted by the information revolution or the information outburst as Nye (2013) often chooses to call. In fact, the authors did not mention the term ‘information revolution’ in the book; they simply state that Egyptians are on the street not because they are poor, as many scholars and political analysts suggest, but because power has resided in the hands of a few elites, and these elites have used political power to amass personal wealth at the expense of the bigger mass. But why the Egyptian revolution took place at this particular time, instead of a decade ago, for example? As far as I understand political theories, the answer lies behind globalization and information revolution which opened a new gate to information. That is, since billions of people around the globe are capable of reaching the internet (about 1.7 million according to Nye), many are able to read online news, or even watch them live as they are being broadcasted. Thus, it is possible to associate the Egyptian revolution or the Arab Spring to globalization and information revolution. Acemoglu et al, (2012) also indicate that Egypt’s ex-president, Hosni Mubarak gathered a huge amount of...
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...Why Nations Fails book review Why Nations Fail In this essay, I am reviewing a book entitled Why Nations Fail written by Daron Acemoglu, and James Robinson. The book was written in 2012, and the authors mention the ongoing Arab Spring as they were putting together their ideas in writing. This coincidence makes me wonder if these authors were also impacted by the information revolution or the information outburst as Nye (2013) often chooses to call. In fact, the authors did not mention the term ‘information revolution’ in the book; they simply state that Egyptians are on the street not because they are poor, as many scholars and political analysts suggest, but because power has resided in the hands of a few elites, and these elites have used political power to amass personal wealth at the expense of the bigger mass. But why the Egyptian revolution took place at this particular time, instead of a decade ago, for example? As far as I understand political theories, the answer lies behind globalization and information revolution which opened a new gate to information. That is, since billions of people around the globe are capable of reaching the internet (about 1.7 million according to Nye), many are able to read online news, or even watch them live as they are being broadcasted. Thus, it is possible to associate the Egyptian revolution or the Arab Spring to globalization and information revolution. Acemoglu et al, (2012) also indicate that Egypt’s ex-president, Hosni...
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...The Origins of Power, Prosperity And Poverty By: Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson This book tells about the town of Nogales which located between the U.S and Mexico borders. The city has the same ethnic, political, geographical, and climate situation which adopted by the Mexican and American style. However, there is one big differences between the North and South side of Nogales, the prosperous and wealth condition between them. The North side which stand for the U.S border, have good health condition of the residents and good sanitating system supported by the welfare and the wealthy condition of the population of the North side itself. On the other hand, the South side share very same condition as their foreign neighbours, Mexico. The health and sanitation condition is bad and the population itself have high stress condition and low rate of living age since they have low wealth condition. The books try to find a way of how can a city with same demographic and geographical condition can have such social inequality which focusing on the adapted countries (U.S and Mexico). The root of all the inequality based on the colonization era of both countries in 1950s, whereas Aztecs and Inca (ancestors of mexico) being undertake by Spanish kingdom by taking their elder into custody and force the people of Mexico into doing labor force since they have tight population but without any law and resources such as gold, nickel, etc. Meanwhile, England, led by John Smith, colonialized...
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...Ourselves Within every great nation lies that of a great leader, and behind every great leader lies that of a sophisticated council of intelligent individuals guiding their decisions through logic and reason; But what happens when the council is divided and the leader has no clear goal in mind? In a country based on democracy, we are challenged with the task of thinking for ourselves and nominating the most qualified individuals to that of leadership roles in which they make crucial decisions on our behalf for our benefit. But how does a country that’s divided within itself make the right choice? As competent Americans, we must use what resources we have at our disposal to point out the motives of those who long for our support in order to lead our great nation into prosperity. The Nation magazine and National Review magazine present us with such a debate to consider. Should we, or should we not pull our military forces out of the Middle East? “Stay” poses a very liberating debate on why our troops should stay in Iraq. With talk about military success, the National Review uses large amounts of logos when referring to the onslaught of Iraqi resistance and how we are making significant progress and pulling troops out of the country would destroy any hope of success. They fail to personalize the reader with any real emotional ties beyond simply comparing our military force to theirs and stating that if we leave they won’t be able to fend for themselves and they fail to drive their ultimate...
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...Table of Contents 1. Essay Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Geoengineering: What is it? 4. Environmental Issues & Science 5. Human Impact 6. Ethical & Justice Issues 7. Conclusion 8. Bibliography Geoengineering: A global issue Essay Abstract Geoengineering is a set of new technologies which aim to change the environment in human favour. Considering the technology is nascent, the morality, ethics, technological knowhow and the human impact are all uncertain as they relate to geoengineering. This paper argues that on these grounds, the geoengineering issue should be a global issue. Local governments fail to implement this technology effectively. The subsidiarity test should be passed when it relates to the geoengineering issue. Introduction With rising CO2 levels, changing weather patterns and an ever increasing intensity of weather events, governments and environmental groups are trying to address the global warming issue. There are many theories on how to deal with climate change; from a reduction in pollution to carbon capture. Geoengineering is a relatively new idea in the field of science which “describes this array of technologies that aim, through large-scale and deliberate modifications of the Earth’s energy balance, to reduce temperatures and counteract anthropogenic climate change.” (Bracmort et all., 2011: 1) The vast majority of technology is nascent and at a theoretical stage but it has the potential to affect populations...
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...receive good news even at the expense of reality. However, let’s be frank: Most Islamic countries are being left behind in social progress as compared with other nations. There are essentially five reasons for this situation. First, we must consider the educational curriculums adopted in Islamic countries, knowing that education is the first step toward refining the talent and minds of scientists, inventors and innovators. Yet, our curriculums and our teachers, being the products of cultural norms in most Muslim countries, remain wedded to the past and unable to produce persons of creative minds and innovative ways of thinking. Why is this so? Because these curriculums and the attitudes of teachers fail to value or embrace the disciplines that are vital for today, such as subjects like mathematics, chemistry, physics, philosophy and logic, which have been disregarded and replaced, with all due respect, by mostly religious subjects and teachers who seek to impose religious dogma upon their students. While there is nothing wrong with religious classes at educational institutions devoted exclusively to religious instruction and training, such classes may impair scientific study if they are taught intensively in non-religious educational institutions. It has been proven throughout history (and beyond any doubt) that no nation can progress if it uses an educational system that focuses on purely religious curriculums that are based on memorization and blind obedience. Instead, the curriculums...
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...Toghrul Novruzlu Essay question: Why are some countries rich and some countries poor? Income Inequality across the Nations The citizens of the 30 richest countries, occupying the top of the list, the variable of which is the GDP per capita across the world nations, enjoy yearly income exceeding $ 30000, while in the 30 countries placed at the bottom of the list, the average income per year remains below $ 2000 - These statistics provided by the International Monetary Fund(IMF) in 2012 indicate the persistence of a problem in the 21st century , on account of which the world has remain polarized for many centuries. Pointed out by these IMF –presented statistics is the income disparity across the world countries, an issue that has drawn the lines dividing the world and challenging its unity. The coexistence of the prosperous nations with flourishing economies and high income, which are mainly the Western nations and recently the states of the Far East, and the poverty-stricken third-world trapped into intractable socio-economic problems is one of the many striking contrasts of today’s world. At a time when the international development is discussed more than at any time in the history, the study of the reasons for the income disparity between the poor and the rich countries remains of great interest and importance for the world. Increasing the importance of such studies is the endeavors of the international organizations to redress the economic imbalance in the world....
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...regional trade agreements being established. This is a result of the WTO reaching a period of impasse. Moreover, new rising powers such as Brazil, China, and India must maintain a careful balance as they negotiate their way to the top (Narlikar, 2010). This analysis seeks to answer the following question: will rising powers integrate into today’s world trade order? This analysis will begin by discussing how the emergence of the developing world within the WTO has affected the institution, followed by a discussion on the resistance shown by developed nations in welcoming emerging economies into the international arena. The emergence of developing economies has had positive and negative impacts on the effectiveness of the WTO. The positive impact, as Narlikar explains, is the WTOs ability to distribute power on a more equal scale to its members. Conversely, a multipolar system with several leading positions is one of the primary reasons why the Doha Round is currently in deadlock. By including emerging economies - namely, Brazil, India, and China - in core decision-making processes, we see a greater diversification of ideas. We are also provided with insight on countries that are in different stages of development that have their own distinctive negotiating cultures. These negotiating cultures can present a roadblock, hindering the WTO’s efficiency. Even if the WTO were to implement institutional mechanisms to help overcome the current impasse with the Doha Round, we would still...
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...if we truly are a nation that takes pride in equality, then why are over 610,000 people homeless each year in the US (Henry) while 7.1 million citizens are millionaires (Morgan)? The answer is capitalism. Capitalism is a greedy way of organizing an economy in which the people have the ability to buy, sell, or trade whatever and however they want. The problem with this is what is called a poverty cycle. The poverty cycle is a never-ending cycle in which a family and future generations in a family get trapped in constant poverty due to a lack of money, education, and sanitation (Cycle). However in a socialist economy/government, everything is shared equally amongst the people and the class/poverty system is abolished. Socialism, a system of government in which all private property is distributed equally and means of production are given to the state, is more beneficial than capitalism because it establishes a true equality across a nation, protects the country by allowing government intervention in economic activities, and boosts...
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...Great Recession The question before me is if Lehman Brothers had been bailed out and not allowed to fail and declare bankruptcy, would it have prevented the Great Recession. My answer based upon my reading and research would lead me to the conclusion of no it would not have prevented the Great Recession. However, their failure did have an impact on the Great Recession. Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy in September of 2008. It was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States (MacEwan and Miller, p.110). They were the fourth largest investment bank in the nation and had been in existence since 1850. Their collapse was the result of being heavily invested in the subprime mortgage market that was a major factor in the US housing bubble. Prior to Lehman Brothers failure, there had already been a bailout by the US government of another large financial institution, Bear Stearns. The bailout involved the Federal Reserve insuring J.P. Morgan Chase against loses of up to $29 billion on the “ill liquid” assets it was obtaining in the purchase of Bear Stearns. This was the beginning of the bailout of the financial sector by the federal government and would reach unprecedented levels by the end of 2008. Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, justified these actions to Congress with an argument that had Bear Stearns been allowed to fail, the result would have been chaos and would not have been limited to the financial sector but would have resulted...
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...are just one of the many controversial things to come out of the scientific advancements of the past few years. Over the course of these years, drones have risen to be a very controversial weapons, being that they are almost invincible, which is due to being almost untraceable on sonar. Drones have killed many innocents (reaching 90%), and have angered many other nations,however U.S. drone strikes should still be used broadly since they reduce the death toll of our own people, and are far more effective against terrorist programs than sending down our own troops. Can you imagine sending people to their doom? That is the only other solution to counter terrorism (with minimal collateral damage). Would you rather kill your own soldiers, rather than just sending a drone? WOULD YOU? Although this seems harsh, in the end would you really sacrifice your own citizens? “[I]n many cases in which the United States needs to capture or eliminate an enemy, raid are too risky and costly,” this quote, from Daniel L. Byman’s website “Why Drones Work”, states how dangerous and expensive raids are compared to just sending in a drone. Why endanger the lives our own people, instead of just...
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...Labelling theory suggests that deviancy is a social process usually related to power differences but it doesn’t explain the causes of crime. It does however explain why some people or actions are described as deviant, and can help in understanding crime and deviance. Becker suggests that there is really no such thing as a deviant act. An act only becomes deviant when others perceive it as such. The application of a label to someone has significant consequences for how that person is treated by others and perceives him or herself. Lemert drew a distinction between primary and secondary deviance through a study of stuttering amongst a Native American nation. He observed that public oratory was important among the nation the displayed high levels of stuttering. When young boys showed any speech defect parents reacted with such concern that the child became worried about it and more nervous causing him to stutter. Therefore the primary deviance of the speech defect was not that important, it was the effect of the worried parents, labelling the child, causing the nervousness, leading to the secondary deviance of stuttering. Thus showing that if people are labelled in a certain way and treated accordingly it has greater consequences than the original deviance. Labelling can be said to be variable with the application of a label varying with diverse factors such as place, gender and age. This helps in our understanding of crime and deviance because the way people react to or see...
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...Zombie Bank The book presents an in-depth overview on what a zombie banks is, why they are allowed to operate, and why the approach will inevitably fail. Through the use of exclusive reports from bank executives, regulators, politicians, and policymakers, Onaran takes the reader on a global tour of these banks—which are being kept alive in countries from the United States to Germany, Spain, and Japan. Two of the largest, Bank of America and Citibank, are in the United States. In Zombie Banks, the author has shown us the practice of zombie banking, explained why it does not work, and laid out the steps needed to rid the global financial community of these dangerous institutions. Zombie bank started to appear in 1990s with the huge declining of the price of real estate and stocks. It pulled every Japanese banks into huge bad debt situation. However, Japan refused to accept the suggestion from the US and took a way that government secretly support those bad debt banks instead of bankrupt. This solution do nothing good to the improvement for its financial situation and made Japan’s economy depressed for a decade. While covering the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns in 2008, Onaran discovered that no one within those organizations had the complete picture of how the companies functioned and, therefore, no one had any answers. Zombie Banks is Onaran’s attempt to connect the dots that make up the current global financial landscape. Zombies are...
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