#AcademicRunPlaylist - 5/16/25

I enjoyed my last day in London, and while spending some time outside before heading to the airport I listened to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an interesting talk by Shahin Jabbari on robust algorithmic recourse approaches at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHvEXLpskuA

Last was "Why Nations Fail" by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. This book lives up to the hype, convincingly arguing that institutional histories and random pivot points that set these institutions on different trajectories are primarily responsible for the shape of national economic growth and stability. Using examples from through the centuries, Acemoglu and Robinson demonstrate the failing of other models, while being able to fold notorious outliers Japan and Argentina into a unified framework with other countries. They also close with prescient arguments that economic growth without institutional change is not likely to bring democracy or more equitable outcomes. Highly recommend https://dn790008.ca.archive.org/0/items/WhyNationsFailTheOriginsODaronAcemoglu/Why-Nations-Fail_-The-Origins-o-Daron-Acemoglu.pdf