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Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu

Writing for PS since 2012
76 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. If Democracy Isn’t Pro-Worker, It Will Die
    acemoglu74_ REMKO DE WAALANPAFP via Getty Images_geertwilders Remko de Waalanp/AFP via Getty Images

    If Democracy Isn’t Pro-Worker, It Will Die

    Jun 20, 2024 Daron Acemoglu argues that populists are making inroads because industrialized economies aren't delivering what was promised.

  2. Don’t Believe the AI Hype
    strain14_artificial intelligence drug development_ai Getty Images
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    Don’t Believe the AI Hype

    May 21, 2024 Daron Acemoglu finds nothing to support widely cited assessments of the technology’s near-term potential.

  3. History Already Tells Us the Future of AI
    acemoglu72_ Hulton ArchiveGetty Images_cottonhandweaving Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    History Already Tells Us the Future of AI

    Apr 23, 2024 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson find policy lessons for the 2020s in the work of the early-nineteenth-century economist David Ricardo.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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  1. ackerman3_Morteza NikoubazlNurPhoto via Getty Images_pezeshkain Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    Iran’s Election Could Bring Lasting Middle-East Peace

    Bruce Ackerman

    If opposition candidate Masoud Pezeshkian wins and succeeds President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month, US policymakers must respond constructively. Such a scenario could not only reduce the risk of a wider war in the Middle East, but also prepare the way for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.

     urges the US to respond constructively if opposition candidate Masoud Pezeshkian wins the presidency.
  2. leonard102_Maja HitijGetty Images_eu elections Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
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    Europe’s Coming Paralysis

    Mark Leonard thinks recent developments in France and Germany will leave the European Union rudderless.
  3. el-erian168_Christopher FurlongGetty Images_keirstarmereconomy Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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    The Growth Agenda for the United Kingdom

    Mohamed A. El-Erian

    After years of insufficient investment and sagging productivity in the UK, the Labour Party recognizes that achieving high-quality growth will require a comprehensive policy approach that builds on many intermediate objectives. But devising a strategy is only the first step; the real challenge lies in implementation.

     offers a broad outline of what it will take for the Labour Party to achieve its economic-policy goals.
  4. jaber2_Getty Images_ai climate Getty Images
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    Embracing the AI-Energy-Climate Nexus

    Sultan Al Jaber touts the enormous potential of the emerging technology for reducing emissions.
  5. varoufakis116_LUDOVIC MARINPOOLAFP via Getty Images_macronlepen Ludovic Marin/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    Three Myths Haunting the West

    Yanis Varoufakis blames elites on both sides of the Atlantic for their willful refusal to lift their heads out of the sand.
  6. galbraith32_Dustin Chambers for The Washington Post via Getty Images_industrial policy climate change Dustin Chambers for The Washington Post via Getty Images
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    Industrial Policy Is a Nostalgic Pipe Dream

    James K. Galbraith thinks a new economic-policy consensus among center-left economists largely misses the point.
  7. buchholz16_Zhang YaoChina News ServiceVCG via Getty Images_chinese ev Zhang Yao/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
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    Tariffs on Chinese Cleantech Jeopardize the Green Transition

    Jeffrey Frankel warns that US and EU efforts to protect domestic industries from low-cost competition could backfire.
  8. kruger76_Justin SullivanGetty Images_shipping Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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    Ending the Protectionist Scourge Would Benefit All

    Anne O. Krueger emphasizes the urgency of restoring an open multilateral trading system.
  9. Shareholder capitalism Volkan Furuncu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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    Todd G. Buchholz on US debt, Chinese trade practices, industrial policy, and more

    Todd G. Buchholz points out that not all the reasons for the US economy’s strong performance are positive, highlights the limits of antitrust enforcement, suggests that China is undermining both its own future growth and the world trading apparatus, and more.

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