Having spent a good deal of time in the last few years following the work of Jeffrey Sachs, and his theoretical arguments that poor geography is the chief determining factor for poverty (and, inversely, if we tackle the geographic limitations, such as disease and land productivity burdens, we can eradicate poverty), it has been interesting to see his research dismantled by the duo, Acemoglu and Robinson, in Why Nations Fail:
" Tropical diseases obviously cause much suffering and high rates of infant mortality in Africa, but they are not the reason that Africa is poor. Disease is largely a consequence of poverty and of governments being unable to undertake the public health measures necessary to eradicate them."
Certainly a valid point, yet, the authors do not fully address the issue of poverty traps, a central theory in Sachs' work. And although I do agree with Acemoglu and Robinson on this point (something about Singapore being malaria-free while remaining in the tropics raised an initial red flag in my mind), they do not address the practical steps that need to be taken to address the current state of affairs in many of these nations. If nations are stuck in cycles of poverty and disease and incapacity in handling public health measures, how do we create the inclusive economic and political structures needed to then address the institutional change necessary for country-wide shifts?
Certainly a valid point, yet, the authors do not fully address the issue of poverty traps, a central theory in Sachs' work. And although I do agree with Acemoglu and Robinson on this point (something about Singapore being malaria-free while remaining in the tropics raised an initial red flag in my mind), they do not address the practical steps that need to be taken to address the current state of affairs in many of these nations. If nations are stuck in cycles of poverty and disease and incapacity in handling public health measures, how do we create the inclusive economic and political structures needed to then address the institutional change necessary for country-wide shifts?
