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Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu

Writing for PS since 2012
73 commentaries

Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor of Economics at MIT, is a co-author (with James A. Robinson) of Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty (Profile, 2019) and a co-author (with Simon Johnson) of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023).

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  1. Are We Ready for AI Creative Destruction?
    acemoglu71_tieroGetty Images_creativedestruction tiero/Getty Images

    Are We Ready for AI Creative Destruction?

    Apr 9, 2024 Daron Acemoglu proposes three principles to ensure that the benefits of the next wave of disruptive innovation outweigh the costs.

  2. What It Takes to Build Democratic Institutions
    acemoglu70_JAVIER TORRESAFP via Getty Images_chileconstitution Javier Torres/AFP via Getty Images

    What It Takes to Build Democratic Institutions

    Jan 16, 2024 Daron Acemoglu sees Chile's flawed efforts to draft a new constitution as a lesson in what to avoid.

  3. Clarifying America’s Great Inequality Debate
    acemoglu68_Getty Images_income inequality Getty Images

    Clarifying America’s Great Inequality Debate

    Jan 3, 2024 Daron Acemoglu thinks warring academic studies are confusing several technical issues and obscuring the larger problem.

  4. Dark Offshore Money Threatens Democracy
    james173_Getty Images_offshore accounts Getty Images

    Dark Offshore Money Threatens Democracy

    Jan 2, 2024 Simon Johnson & Daron Acemoglu call for a crackdown on the dozens of tax havens around the world and reform of financial secrecy laws.

  5. Kissinger’s Opening to China Will Haunt American Politics in 2024
    acemoglu67_Getty Images_kissinger china Getty Images

    Kissinger’s Opening to China Will Haunt American Politics in 2024

    Dec 15, 2023 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson show how US economic policies based solely on realpolitik have backfired but still cast a shadow.

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  1. jlevy3_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_imfworldbankmeetings Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Bretton Woods Institutions We Need

    Joaquim Levy, et al. explain how the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank can rise to current global challenges.
  2. gill6_NIPAH DENNISAFP via Getty Images_poverty NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
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    The World Cannot Afford to Ignore the Poorest Countries

    Indermit Gill & M. Ayhan Kose warn that a growing gap between the world’s haves and have-nots will undercut global goals.
  3. summers14_TONY KARUMBAAFP via Getty Images_sudanfamine Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    The World Is Still on Fire

    Lawrence H. Summers & N.K. Singh

    For the last several years, world leaders have made big promises and laid out bold plans to mitigate the climate crisis and help the neediest countries adapt. At this year's World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, they must demonstrate that they can fulfill these promises, rather than simply touting new ones.

     think policymakers need to get four things right to shore up the credibility of the international system.
  4. dross1_JACK GUEZAFP via Getty Images_israel JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    Israel Must End the Gaza War

    Dennis Ross

    With the exception of the extreme right, no one in Israel wants to be stuck in Gaza, responsible for 2.4 million Palestinians, and facing a likely insurgency. Israel can end this war soon and save those hostages who are still alive, having demilitarized Gaza and set the stage for an alternative to Hamas.

     thinks the only strategic objective that matters is close – or close enough – to being met.
  5. prasad24_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_nyse Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
    1

    A Weak, Uneven Global Recovery

    Eswar Prasad & Caroline Smiltneks explain why domestic political divisions and inflationary pressures jeopardize current market optimism.
  6. singer230_View PicturesPeter CookUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_cambridge View Pictures/Peter Cook/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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    Will Cambridge Support Free Speech?

    Peter Singer examines the university’s ongoing case against Nathan Cofnas, a research fellow who advocates “race realism.”
  7. bp china economy1 CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
    1

    Can China Get Out of Its Rut?

    China’s authorities have powerful economic-policy levers at their disposal to achieve their 5% growth target this year and put the economy on a more sustainable long-term growth path. But several trends – from the shift toward state capitalism to population aging to the loss of goodwill between Chinese and Americans – could thwart China’s ambition to join the ranks of high-income countries by mid-century.

  8. roach164_PEDRO PARDOPEDRO PARDOPOOLAFP via Getty Images_china development forum PEDRO PARDO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    China Stifles Its Own Debate

    Stephen S. Roach bemoans the transformation of the country’s most important platform for open dialogue into a schmooze-fest.
  9. pdoyle1_ISSOUF SANOGOAFP via Getty Images_cfa franc ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images
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    Leaving Africa’s Colonial-Era Currency Will Be Hard, But May Be Wise

    Peter Doyle considers how exiting the CFA franc zone could benefit Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, despite the challenges.

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