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Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu

Writing for PS since 2012
87 commentaries

Daron Acemoglu, a 2024 Nobel laureate in economics and 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. Will We Squander the AI Opportunity?
    acemoglu84_Ludovic MarinGettyImages_ai_action_summit

    Will We Squander the AI Opportunity?

    Feb 19, 2025 Daron Acemoglu worries that the technology is on track to disempower, rather than complement, most of humanity.

  2. A Sputnik Moment for AI?
    acemoglu83_Anna BarclayGetty Images_deepseek Anna Barclay/Getty Images

    A Sputnik Moment for AI?

    Feb 4, 2025 Daron Acemoglu considers what an apparent Chinese breakthrough means for the US tech industry, and innovation more broadly.

  3. Are High-Skill Immigrants a Problem?
    acemoglu82_Evgenia ParajanianGettyImages_h1b_visa Evgenia Parajanian/Getty Images

    Are High-Skill Immigrants a Problem?

    Jan 9, 2025 Daron Acemoglu highlights some underappreciated risks of policies like the United States’ H-1B visa program.

  4. The World Needs a Pro-Human AI Agenda
    acemoglu79_Getty Images Getty Images

    The World Needs a Pro-Human AI Agenda

    Dec 16, 2024 Daron Acemoglu fears that the tech industry’s current priorities will result in the worst of all possible worlds.

  5. The Fall and Rise of American Democracy
    acemoglu81_Kent NishimuraGettyImages_capitol_post_protest Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

    The Fall and Rise of American Democracy

    Dec 3, 2024 Daron Acemoglu is not surprised that so many voters ignored warnings about the threat Donald Trump poses to US institutions.

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  1. yu80_Morris MacMatzenGettyImages_us_trade Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images
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    Can America Maintain External Sustainability?

    Yu Yongding explains why demand for foreign capital inflows to offset the country’s savings shortfall may go unmet.
  2. rodrik232_ ROBERTO SCHMIDTAFP via Getty Images_trumpflag Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Coming Showdown in Trumpworld

    Dani Rodrik points out that a coalition comprising incompatible financial and ideological interests cannot last.
  3. roach175_Brandon BellGettyImages_egg_prices Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Self-Fulfilling Crisis

    Stephen S. Roach shows how the US president’s policies could create the very problems he falsely claims to be confronting.
  4. patten173_Carl Court - PoolGetty Images_starmertrump Carl Court - Pool/Getty Images
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    Britain Must Downgrade the Special Relationship

    Chris Patten outlines steps UK policymakers must take to mitigate the strategic threat posed by the Trump administration.
  5. zucman3_Roberto SchmidtGettyImages_musk_schmidt Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
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    America’s Oligarchs Are Trump’s Achilles’ Heel

    Gabriel Zucman proposes that countries targeted by US tariffs retaliate with taxes on Elon Musk and his peers.
  6. op_jilevy4_Robert Daemmrich Photography IncCorbis via Getty Images_obamahope Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images
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    The Opacity of Hope

    Jonathan Levy

    Former US President Barack Obama tried to move beyond the fearmongering of the George W. Bush era and unite the country around his own political persona. But as initial optimism gave way to disillusionment, fear once again took hold, setting the stage for the rise of Donald Trump.

     reflects on how the politics promoted by America’s first Black president gave rise to its first felonious one.
  7. alsulayman1_Karim SahibGettyImages_uae_solar Karim Sahib/Getty Images
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    A New Gulf Growth Model

    Faris Al-Sulayman & Steffen Hertog explain why the region’s governments are well positioned to capitalize on recent geo-economic trends.
  8. ahassan1_Etienne TorbeyGettyImages_cyprus_starling_murmuration Etienne Torbey/Getty Images
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    Small States Mean Big Returns

    Adnan Hassan sees lucrative investment opportunities in countries capable of adapting efficiently to rapid economic change.
  9. turner73_VCGGettyImages_intelligent_manufacturing _plant VCG/Getty Images
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    AI Will Not Supercharge GDP Growth

    Adair Turner expects the technology to be everywhere but in the measured GDP statistics.

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