Really interesting read, I found it especially so living in a less developed nation, able to witness and relate to the ‘extractive’ political and economic institutions discussed.

My main criticism of the book is that it’s simply too long, the same themes and arguments are repeated over and over again. It was also a shame after all the case study examples that very little attention was given to what I found was the most interesting part of the work, being how the theory can be applied to current day events and the economic development of China. It’s very easy to make your case in hindsight - I would have liked some concrete projections to actually prove the theory.

I buy the thesis that institutions, checks on the powerful, and the opportunity for innovation to happen from anyone are keys to nations to succeed. But I did not buy all the examples (of success and failure) that the authors listed.

By far one of the best books on the impact of institutions and policy.