Why Nations Fail

choi

Creating economic wealth | The Big Why; Nations fail because their leaders are greedy, selfish and ignorant of history. Economist, Mar 10, 2012
http://www.economist.com/node/21549911
(book review on Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The origins of power, prosperity and poverty. Crown, 2012)

Note:
(a) Jared Diamond (1937- ) is a professor of both Department of Geography and Department of Physiology, UCLA.
http://149.142.237.180/faculty/diamond.html

(i) Jared M Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel; The fates of human societies. WW Norton, 1997.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel
(ii) Jared M Diamond, Taiwan's Gift to the World; Study of the giant austronesian language tells us a great deal about the history of Pacific people and boatbuilding, as well as about Aboriginal Australia. Nature, 403: 709-710 (2000)
http://bcrc.bio.umass.edu/course ... re/11d-9_Taiwan.pdf
or
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38601813/Jared-Diamond-Taiwan’s-gift-to-the-world
(Based on linguistic study, aborigenes from Taiwan populated pacific islands)

(b) David S Landes (born 1924) is a professor emeritus of economics at Harvard University.

David S Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why some are so rich and some so poor. WW Norton, 1998.

(c) The review says, "Neither culture nor geography can explain gaps between neighbouring American and Mexican cities, they argue."

There are many cities on that border divided by a fence, such as Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
(d) extractive (adj):
"1a : of, relating to, or involving extraction
b : tending toward or resulting in withdrawal of natural resources by extraction with no provision for replenishment <extractive agriculture>"
(e) The review states, "When European exploration began, Britain’s more constrained crown left trade in the hands of privateers."

For instance, (British) East India Company and the colonists in North America (who received royal charters before or soon after they arrived)

(f) commenda (n). Black's Law Dictionary (2nd ed).
http://blackslawdictionary.org/commenda/
(g)
* put paid to (vt): "chiefly British : to finish off : bring an end to"

All definitions are from www.m-w.com unless otherwise specified.
* put paid to. The Phrase Finder, undated.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/293200.html
(h) Botswana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana
(2010 population estimate  2 million)

Quote: "Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa when it gained independence from Britain in 1966, with a GDP per capita of about US$70. Botswana has since transformed itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world to a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $14,000. The country also has a strong tradition as a representative democracy.

(i) propitious (adj): "favorably disposed : BENEVOLENT"