Why Nations Fail

Presentations by two speakers from the 2013 Festival of Ideas: Professor Örjan Sölvell and Tim Harcourt.

Professor Sölvell and Tim reference the book "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty", James A Robinson and Daron Acemoglu, Profile Books, London, UK, 2012, pp. 529, in discussing the role that Sweden's history played in the country becoming innovative.

Professor Örjan Sölvell is Professor of International Business, Stockholm School of Economics and Director of the European Cluster Observatory.

Tim Harcourt, The Airport Economist, is the J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics at the Australian School of Business at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Tim was also for over a decade the first chief economist of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). Tim is currently the inaugural Adviser-Global Engagement to the Hon Jay Weatherill, MP, the Premier of South Australia a position he holds on a part-time basis.