James A. Robinson

Institute Director of The Pearson Institute; Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor and University Professor; Harris School of Public Policy and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago; Recipient of the 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

Publications

Persistence of Power, Elites and Institutions

Citation Robinson, James A, and Daron Acemoglu. 2008. “Persistence of Power, Elites and Institutions”. American Economic Review 98:267-293. Download (PDF) Persistence of Power, Elites and Institutions Abstract We construct a model to study the implications of changes...

The Persistence and Change of Institutions in the Americas

Citation Robinson, James A, and Daron Acemoglu. 2008. “The Persistence and Change of Institutions in the Americas”. Southern Economic Journal 75:282–299. Download (PDF) The Persistence and Change of Institutions in the Americas Abstract Though many empirical and...

On the Economic Origins of Democracy

Citation Robinson, James A, and Daron Acemoglu. 2007. “On the Economic Origins of Democracy”. Dædalus 160-162. Download (PDF) On the Economic Origins of Democracy

Property Rights and the Political Organization of Agriculture

Citation Robinson, James A, and Jonathan H Conning. 2007. “Property Rights and the Political Organization of Agriculture”. Journal of Development Economics 82:416–447. Download (PDF) Property Rights and the Political Organization of Agriculture Abstract We propose a...

De Facto Political Power and Institutional Persistence

Citation Robinson, James A, and Daron Acemoglu. 2006. “De Facto Political Power and Institutional Persistence”. American Economic Review 96:326-330. Download (PDF) De Facto Political Power and Institutional Persistence

Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective

Citation Robinson, James A, and Daron Acemoglu. 2006. “Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective”. American Political Science Review 100:115-131. Download (PDF) Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective Abstract We construct a simple model where political...

Economic Development and Democracy

Citation Robinson, James A. 2006. “Economic Development and Democracy”. Annual Review of Political Science 9:503-527. Download (PDF) Economic Development and Democracy Abstract In this essay, I review recent research on the effects of economic development on...

Political foundations of the resource curse

Citation Robinson, James A, Ragnar Torvik, and Thierry Verdier. 2006. “Political foundations of the resource curse”. Journal of Development Economics 79:447-468. Download (PDF) Political foundations of the resource curse Abstract In this paper we argue that the...

Equity, Institutions and the Development Process

Citation Robinson, James A. 2006. “Equity, Institutions and the Development Process”. Nordic Journal of Political Economy 32:17-50. Download (PDF) Equity, Institutions and the Development Process Abstract In this essay I argue that to develop institutions that promote...