The Inaugural Nick Crafts Lecture by Prof James A Robinson

We were delighted to welcome Professor James Alan Robinson back to Warwick last Friday when he was here to deliver the final Keynote Lecture at the CAGE conference - Evidence from 10 Years of Research. It was announced by Professor Sascha Becker (Deputy Head of Department and Research Director of CAGE) as the Inaugural Nick Crafts Lecture in honour of CAGE and its outgoing Director - Professor Nick Crafts.

Jim completed his Master's degree at Warwick Economics in 1986 and is one of our most notable alumni. He is a prominent political scientist and economist who has conducted influential research in the field of political and economic development and the factors that are the root causes of conflict. His research interests are also in comparative economics with a particular interest in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Jim is Director of the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts based at the University of Chicago and previously, he was the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government at Harvard University and a faculty associate at Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Social Science and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

Professor Sharun Mukand commented on Jim’s lecture:

"It was a privilege to have Jim provide us with an early preview of his forthcoming book in the Inaugural Crafts lecture. Jim was especially excited that with the lecture he was able to honour Nick's work and legacy at Warwick."

Jim delivered a lecture entitled "The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies and the Fate of Liberty" based on the forthcoming book he co-authors with Daron Acemoglu (MIT), to be published by Penguin Random House in September 2019. They explore the question why liberty flourishes in some states but fails in others and how it can overcome new threats.

Their first book ‘Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty’ became an international bestseller and won numerous prizes.