SUMMARY - Why Nations Fail

* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes. As you read this summary, you will learn why the presence or absence of certain political and economic institutions encourage or retard progress toward prosperity. You will also discover that : Poor countries are not poor because their leaders do not know how to enrich their people; China's current growth will not last; In many countries, the ruling elites oppose economic development for fear of losing their omnipotence; Some countries have managed to overcome many natural and cultural handicaps; Colonization, far from promoting development, has on the contrary impoverished the countries that were victims of it; Institutions evolve with history and sometimes take the wrong path. Two localities that form one and have the same name: Nogales. One is in the United States, in the state of Arizona, and the other in Mexico, in the state of Sonora. The political boundary between the two cities is largely artificial: both have more or less the same population, the same culture. Why, then, is Nogales, Arizona, a rich city, while Nogales, Sonora, is a poor city? It's because they don't have the same institutions. The political and social institutions of Nogales-Arizona promote growth and economic development, while those of Nogales-Sonora discourage them. *Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!