Daron Acemoglu, V4.0: Rebooting Culture & Economics!

Professor Daron Acemoglu is famous for his careful empirical research, demonstrating the economic importance of institutions. But actually, he’s done a 180 to embrace culture!

In this podcast we discuss his new theory of culture, what drives liberty and prosperity, the limitations of democracy, and the importance of geography!

1. Culture

   1. What is culture? How does ‘culture’ causally influence behaviour? What drives conformity?

   2. Did Confucianism enable democratisation, or was it more about high employment in manufacturing?

   3. How does your model account for the fact that religions with similar theological foundations (Judaism and Islam) have since diverged?

2. ‘The Narrow Corridor’

   1. Do you downplay the importance of top-down nation-building?

   2. Do strong societies necessarily mobilise for liberty?

   3. What’s the main constraint in India: caste or protectionism?

3. Is democracy always good for growth?

   1. Did authoritarianism enable effective industrial policy in East Asia?

   2. Might democracy actually inhibit growth in poor countries?

4. Geography

   1. Did MENA’s patchwork of agriculture and pastoralism contribute to weak states?

A full transcript is below. You can also listen on Spotify, or iTunes, or watch on YouTube.

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Below is a full transcript of our conversation, autogenerated by Riverside studios.