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Economic Gangsters
Book

Economic Gangsters

Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations

Princeton UP, 2010 plus...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Economists Raymond Fisman and Edward Miguel tour Africa and Asia to point out where old-fashioned economic cost-benefit analyses can explain corruption, poverty and some gruesome crimes against humanity. They find compelling examples, including the murders (albeit rare) of suspected witches in Tanzania and the parking habits of diplomats in New York City. Their study is a great read about people’s psychological and economic motivations. getAbstract recommends their work to investors, academicians, NGOs, charities and policy makers seeking insight into the seemingly intractable problems of poverty and corruption in the developing world.

Take-Aways

  • Exactly why some nations thrive while others struggle is unclear.
  • South Korea and China are among the developing countries that have cast off poverty.
  • Yet citizens of other nations, especially those in Africa, remain destitute.

About the Authors

Raymond Fisman is the Slater Family Chair in Behavioral Economics at Boston University. Edward Miguel is Oxfam Professor in Environmental and Resource Economics in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.


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    T. S. 8 years ago
    To many inflammatory statements and baseless conclusions ...episodes or interesting stories do not make it for facts and good policies prescriptions !