Daron Acemoglu on Why Nations Fail
EconTalk
00:00
The Black Death and the Evolution of Institutions
David Frum: I think it's taking a step backwards to say, well, these guys had good institutions. These guys had bad. And the contrast that we give as between western europe and eastern england is quite fascinating. What happened in western europe is that the cities were able to get better hand-to-hand protection for their workers. But against that, once labor came more scarce, its political power increased. When wasmost pull from urban areas, there was no way you could bargain with your employer because he or she would be dependent on you. So now, if wages are high, i can take even more of that.
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