World News Insights
1-3 Minute Gist
Search, personalize, or simply browse. Follow the world around you from gist and context to insights.
Who we are | Our Credo | Ways of using Lyrarc | FAQ | Send Feedback | First Letter From the Editor
Sign up. It's free and easy to use
Create an account
to personalize your feed of articles and topics.
All Topics Article
Why Nations Fail
Keywords: Why Nations Fail,
Friedman reviews Acemoglu and Robinson's new book, "Why Nations Fail." Acemoglu says that nations fail when wealth and opportunities are concentrated in the hands of few people, that a condition for societies to succeed is to create opportunities for more people. For this to happen it is important to create inclusive political and economic institutions. This is an important insight, but for Western society this is an insight as old as Adam Smith when he pointed out the importance of this aspect of western societies after the feudal period in his "Wealth of Nations." For Smith it was the failure to create inclusive societies that led to the gradual unravelling of societies in the river valleys of the Yangste and the Ganges, in China and India, of increasing poverty and the gradual disappearance of what constituted the middle class in India and China. Chapter 8 titled "Of Wages and Labor" in the "Wealth of Nations" makes specific reference to this.
Friedman reviews "Why Nations Fail" by Acemoglu and Robinson
01/15/2011
The need for an inclusive society to generate growth and create opportunities. The failure of societies which concentrate power and many in the hands of a few. The experience of Britain and the U.S. in the modern period of the age of enlightenment and the industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries compared to the decline in Asia. Similiar views expressed by Adam Smith in his "Wealth of Nations," documenting the changes in Britain in the period from the feudal to the industrial period that brought progressive change and improvement in the lives of the people. The lessons for today in a period of increasing inequality in the U.S. and China, are self-evident.
Grouped Articles
Japan Is a Model Not a Cautionary Tale
New York Times 06/09/2013
New York Times 09/12/2013
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says
New York Times 01/23/2014
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
Bad Stock-Market Timing Fueled Wealth Disparity
Wall Street Journal 10/27/2014
Income Inequality Is Costing the U.S. on Social Issues
New York Times 04/28/2015
China's difficult political-economic choices in the post 2010 period.
01/06/2008
The difficult choices in the new environment- transition to a new leadership, how to change the export model without serious disruptions, how to deal with western demands for balanced global growth, dealing with the inequality and corruption generated in the kind of growth China experienced (by the fiat of the State), opening up freedom of expression to curb corruption and to provide representation for hitherto blocked out voices, transition to freedom of expression and democratic processes without serious disruption to thegrowth needed for employment and improvements in the standard of living across all parts of society and regions, reducing or channelling to constructive ends prevailing nationalistic, anti-western or anti-Japanese sentiment. The new leadership of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang is expected to be more outward looking than than of Hu Jintao and Wen Biao and comes at atime when China needs to make some difficult choices about future direction.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/01/2013
The Slowing of Two Economic Giants
New York Times 07/14/2013
Wall Street Journal 07/15/2013
How China Lost Its Mojo: One Town's Story
Wall Street Journal 09/16/2013
Chinaâs Economy, Back on Track
New York Times 10/04/2013
Xia Yeliang: The China Americans Don't See
Wall Street Journal 10/26/2013
Growing inequality in China in 2010, after three decades of exports driven development.
10/13/2010
Grouped Articles
Survey in China Shows a Wide Gap in Income
New York Times 07/19/2013
Wall Street Journal 11/06/2013
Hong Kong Wealth Gap on Display in Protests
New York Times 10/05/2014
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
China Seeks a New Self Through an Old Method
Wall Street Journal 10/13/2010
Villagerâs Suspicious Death Ignites Fury in China
New York Times 12/28/2010
Inequality, education and economic mobility in the U.S. compared with Western Europe and Canada
01/11/2010
Issues raised by Jeb Bush, Krugman, and people in leadership positions.
Grouped Articles
Japan Is a Model Not a Cautionary Tale
New York Times 06/09/2013
New York Times 06/22/2013
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
New York Times 09/12/2013
Patchwork of Local Wage Laws Fuels Debate Over Raising Federal Minimum
Wall Street Journal 12/01/2013
The Economy Needs a Bit of Ingenuity
New York Times 08/06/2010
Inequality in America and taxes
01/15/2011
Grouped Articles
New York Times 09/12/2013
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
Economic-Ladder Concerns Trump Income Gap in Poll
Wall Street Journal 05/05/2015
What Could Raising Taxes on the 1% Do? Surprising Amounts
New York Times 10/16/2015
Donât Tax the Rich. Tax Inequality Itself.
New York Times 12/18/2011
New York Times 01/10/2012
Inequality, the middle class and economic growth
01/15/2011
Grouped Articles
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
New York Times 12/15/2013
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
Bad Stock-Market Timing Fueled Wealth Disparity
Wall Street Journal 10/27/2014
In State of the Union, Obama Makes Middle-Class Pitch
Wall Street Journal 01/21/2015
Occupy Wall Street movement, inequality and Latin America
01/20/2010
Grouped Articles
Officials Cast Wide Net in Monitoring Occupy Protests
New York Times 05/22/2014
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
On the Middle Class, Lessons From Latin America
New York Times 12/10/2011
The 1 Percent Clubâs Misguided Protectors
New York Times 12/10/2011
The Luxury Market Is Robust Despite Troubles in Lower Income Brackets
New York Times 12/17/2011
Donât Tax the Rich. Tax Inequality Itself.
New York Times 12/18/2011
The Occupy Wall Street movement and inequality in America
01/15/2011
Kristof points to the excessive income inequality in America in 2011 where the top 1% own more wealth than the 90% at the bottom.
Grouped Articles
Officials Cast Wide Net in Monitoring Occupy Protests
New York Times 05/22/2014
Income Inequality Is Costing the U.S. on Social Issues
New York Times 04/28/2015
The CNN Democratic debate transcript, annotated - The Washington Post
Washington Post 10/14/2015
What Could Raising Taxes on the 1% Do? Surprising Amounts
New York Times 10/16/2015
New York Times 11/19/2011
Gap Between Rich and Poor In Bay Area Widest in Berkeley
New York Times 11/19/2011
A disappearing U.S. middle class in 2012-2015
01/20/2010
Meyerson, Ignatius and others ask the tough questions about America and the prospects for a future with a disappearing middle class, pointing to the need to structure globalization and build cooperation between workers, management and the government in new constructive ways.
Grouped Articles
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
More Men in Prime Working Ages Don't Have Jobs
Wall Street Journal 02/06/2014
New York Times 02/08/2012
Falling Wages at Factories Squeeze the Middle Class
New York Times 11/20/2014
Washington Post 11/22/2014
Conspicuous consumption, the middle class and poverty in China
11/22/2006
Grouped Articles
Financial Rescue Sleight of Hand
New York Times 11/30/2011
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
New York Times 03/31/2012
In China, Growth at Whose Cost? - WSJ.com
Wall Street Journal 11/22/2006
China Tries to Shut Rising Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 12/10/2012
Inequality: The rich and the rest
Economist 01/15/2011
The view that the burden of U.S. deficit reduction is falling on the elderly, the poor and the middle class
01/20/2010
Bernie Sanders and other leaders who see this as a problem with the plans for U.S. deficit reduction that are under discussion.
Grouped Articles
Low Interest Rates Are Squeezing Seniors
Wall Street Journal 03/30/2010
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
Bernie Sanders’s Revolutionary Roots Were Nurtured in ’60s Vermont
New York Times 07/03/2015
Similarities Aside, Bernie Sanders Isn’t Rerunning Howard Dean’s 2004 Race
New York Times 08/09/2015
Livin’ Bernie Sanders’s Danish Dream
New York Times 02/12/2016
The homeowner lending boom pushed by unscruplous elements turns out to be a scourge for minorities.
10/11/2007
HUD Sec. Shaun Donovan calls the subprime lending a scourge for minorities, as foreclosures are hitting the minority neighborhoods the hardest. It may even widen the disparity in incomes between minorities and whites as the middle class black homeowners in places like New York State are losing ground.
Grouped Articles
Racial Wealth Gap Widened During Recession
New York Times 04/28/2013
What would MLK say to President Obama? - The Washington Post
Washington Post 08/28/2011
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
Economic Recovery Yields Few Benefits for the Voters Democrats Rely On
New York Times 05/19/2014
New York Times 05/19/2014
Foreclosures in the U.S., the homeless and poverty.
01/05/2009
About 10% nationwide and 15% in the midwest of people who are at homeless shelters are there because of foreclosures according to social service agencies.
Grouped Articles
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
Wall Street Journal 10/11/2013
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says
New York Times 01/23/2014
New Data Muddle Debate on Economic Mobility
Wall Street Journal 01/24/2014
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
Increasing disparities in income in major U.S. urban areas in 2009-2013
01/20/2009
High unemployment and poverty in major urban areas of the US including Washington D.C. This is especially true for those without a college education.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 06/22/2013
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/2013
Peterson and Hanushek: The Vital Link of Education and Prosperity
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
Wall Street Journal 10/11/2013
Patchwork of Local Wage Laws Fuels Debate Over Raising Federal Minimum
Wall Street Journal 12/01/2013
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says
New York Times 01/23/2014
Malnutrition in India, China and other parts of the developing world.
09/15/2005
Experts say 43% of Indian children under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition. Because of poverty and general skinniness among the poor, experts say its hard for many Indians to see this in their neighborhoods.
Grouped Articles
India's Lower House Passes Food Bill to Help Poor
Wall Street Journal 08/26/2013
Bill Gates: What I Learned in the Fight Against Polio
Wall Street Journal 11/10/2013
Wall Street Journal 12/14/2013
India, U.S. Reach Agreement on Food Stockpiling, Clearing Way for WTO Deal
Wall Street Journal 11/13/2014
World Bank Report Puts Agriculture at Core of Antipoverty Effort
New York Times 10/20/2007
Economist 09/15/2005
Poverty and hardship in Ireland after austerity measures by the government in 2010
01/04/2009
Grouped Articles
The New Generation Leaving Ireland
BusinessWeek 02/11/2010
Ireland Faces Seventh Year of Austerity
Wall Street Journal 10/16/2013
New York Times 04/03/2009
Ireland Faces Battle Over Europe Stability Treaty
New York Times 05/01/2012
Irish Cutbacks Pile It on for 'New Poor'
Wall Street Journal 11/27/2010
Ireland's new government: Enda the party
Economist 03/05/2011
Poverty rates in regions around the world and differing experiences tackling it.
09/15/2005
China, India, Africa and places like New York city.
Grouped Articles
In Booming China, Protests by Poor Escalate
Wall Street Journal 12/21/2006
Globalization's Gains Come With a Price
Wall Street Journal 05/24/2007
Zoellick Defends Aid for Nations in ‘Middle’
New York Times 10/11/2007
Economist 10/11/2007
World Bank Report Puts Agriculture at Core of Antipoverty Effort
New York Times 10/20/2007
Education Push Yields Little for India’s Poor
New York Times 01/17/2008
Changes in China's tax system to reduce inequality
01/15/2011
Grouped Articles
China Plans Tax Change to Address Inequality
Wall Street Journal 04/21/2011
New York Times 04/20/2011
Technology Widens Gap Between Rich and Poor
Wall Street Journal 05/04/2011
China's Economy Faces Three Contradictions
Wall Street Journal 06/16/2011
New York Times 11/12/2011
Mayor Bloomberg Confronts Occupy Wall Street
New York Times 11/15/2011
Fragility of social cohesion in the U.S. with unemployment concentrated in the lower middle and working classes.
03/11/2009
Figures from the Center of Labor Market Studies of Northeastern University in Boston showing unemployment of 9% in the $40,000 to $50,000 annual household income group and going up to 31% at the lowest income group. Higher inequality as differences in education between lower income and higher income Americans grows. The problem of the long term unemployed is a serious one.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 09/14/2011
Japan Is a Model Not a Cautionary Tale
New York Times 06/09/2013
New York Times 06/22/2013
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
U.S. Schools Chief Arne Duncan Labors to Straddle Political Divide
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2013
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/2013
Increasing disparity in incomes, higher inequality and the middle class.
01/03/2010
The situation in the US, Germany, Britain, China, India, Brazil and other countries.
Grouped Articles
Survey in China Shows a Wide Gap in Income
New York Times 07/19/2013
New York Times 09/12/2013
German elections pit Merkel, challenger over poverty problems - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/17/2013
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
Europe's Easy-Money Policy Snubs German Savers
Wall Street Journal 11/25/2013
Germany's Social Democrats Agree to Coalition Talks With Merkel
Wall Street Journal 10/21/2013
Inequality- high school droput rates and wages in New York City
01/15/2011
Grouped Articles
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
New York Times 09/12/2013
Bloomberg's Real Antipoverty Record
Wall Street Journal 12/18/2013
Immigration Remakes and Sustains New York, Report Finds
New York Times 12/18/2013
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
Outside the Spotlight, Bill de Blasio Wages a War on Inequality
New York Times 01/08/2015
Inequality in America in 2010-2014
12/06/2008
Grouped Articles
New York Times 09/12/2013
The Economy Needs a Bit of Ingenuity
New York Times 08/06/2010
New York Times 12/15/2013
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
Bad Stock-Market Timing Fueled Wealth Disparity
Wall Street Journal 10/27/2014
Outside the Spotlight, Bill de Blasio Wages a War on Inequality
New York Times 01/08/2015
Krugman and Stiglitz on Occupy Wall Street and inequality in America
04/01/2009
Grouped Articles
Japan Is a Model Not a Cautionary Tale
New York Times 06/09/2013
New York Times 09/12/2013
New York Times 12/15/2013
Geithner's Plan: Loopholes Galore
BusinessWeek 04/01/2009
New York Times 04/01/2009
Officials Cast Wide Net in Monitoring Occupy Protests
New York Times 05/22/2014
Prof. Xuetong of Tsinghua University, calls for less inequality, social justice and balanced development in China
01/15/2011
Grouped Articles
Survey in China Shows a Wide Gap in Income
New York Times 07/19/2013
Wall Street Journal 11/06/2013
Hong Kong Wealth Gap on Display in Protests
New York Times 10/05/2014
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
New York Times 11/20/2011
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
Wealth gaps and inequality in Israel
01/15/2011
Grouped Articles
Israel Approval Near for Austerity Budget
New York Times 05/13/2013
Overhaul of Israel's Economy Offers Lessons for the U.S.
New York Times 01/07/2014
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
New York Times 03/16/2015
Economic-Ladder Concerns Trump Income Gap in Poll
Wall Street Journal 05/05/2015
Protesters Force Israel to Grapple With Wealth Gap
New York Times 08/11/2011
China's dysfunctional health system and burden on middle class household finances.
12/30/2005
the whole system is geared to providing more expensive care with upfront cash required even if you have insurance or care is refused, and the private sector offers very little insurance. Government insurance coverage is also inadequate. Two thirds of China's people have no insurance at all.
Grouped Articles
Aging Chinese Face a Bleak Picture
Wall Street Journal 05/31/2013
China Sees Challenge On Health System
Wall Street Journal 09/24/2010
China's Workers See Thin Protection In Insurance Plans
Wall Street Journal 12/30/2005
Chinese City Bolsters Scant Consumer Spending With Free Vouchers
New York Times 03/19/2009
In China, Rx for Ailing Health System
Wall Street Journal 10/15/2009
Still No Healthy Budget Allocations in China
Wall Street Journal 03/08/2011
James Galbraith on the U.S. economy in 2010-2012
01/15/2011
The University of Texas professor on the American middle class, the supercommittee on deficit reduction and the minimum wage.
Grouped Articles
California Set to Raise State Minimum Wage
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
New York Times 12/01/2013
Recovery Has Created Far More Low-Wage Jobs Than Better-Paid Ones
New York Times 04/27/2014
Hiring Booms, but Soft Wages Linger
Wall Street Journal 01/10/2015
Tom Keene Talks to James K. Galbraith
BusinessWeek 11/23/2011
The shrinking U.S. middle class and what this may mean for consumption in the years ahead.
02/26/2008
If only 1.9 million hourly workers earned more than $20 per hour in April 2008, when the deep downturn that hit in October 2008 had not ocurred and the shift to part time employment and lower auto related wages was just underway, what would the numbers look like by 2010? And what does that mean for consumption? Does it prolong the downturn with demand slow to pick up? What does it mean for exports from China?
Grouped Articles
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
More Men in Prime Working Ages Don't Have Jobs
Wall Street Journal 02/06/2014
Falling Wages at Factories Squeeze the Middle Class
New York Times 11/20/2014
Washington Post 11/22/2014
U.A.W. Contract With Fiat Chrysler Would Give 2nd-Tier Workers Big Raise
New York Times 09/18/2015
Brazil's Bolsa Familia program
09/15/2005
The program is designed to reduce poverty and at the same time improve education and health of children to pull the next generation out of poverty.
Grouped Articles
Economist 09/15/2005
Brazil's north-east: Catching up in a hurry
Economist 05/21/2011
India's Guaranteed Joblessness
Wall Street Journal 07/27/2011
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
New York Times 03/31/2012
Mexico’s failing schools spell defeat for ruling party - The Washington Post
Washington Post 06/09/2012
Global poverty
09/15/2005
Grouped Articles
Does Helping the Planet Hurt the Poor?
Wall Street Journal 01/22/2011
India's Boom Bypasses Rural Poor
Wall Street Journal 04/30/2011
Economist 09/15/2005
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
Jeffrey Sachs: How I would lead the World Bank as president - The Washington Post
Washington Post 03/02/2012
New York Times 03/31/2012
India- rural poverty and the government work program
09/15/2005
Grouped Articles
âAn Uncertain Glory,â by Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen
New York Times 09/06/2013
Wall Street Journal 12/14/2013
India's Boom Bypasses Rural Poor
Wall Street Journal 04/30/2011
Economist 09/15/2005
India's Guaranteed Joblessness
Wall Street Journal 07/27/2011
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
Poverty among white Americans in 2010-2015
03/11/2009
A previous generation could count on good jobs in manufacturing with only a high school education. The last two decades of globalization have hit manufacturing jobs and wages in the U.S. hard and the impact is greatest on people without a college education. Other problems aggravating income and causing poverty is the increase of dropout rates from the labor force of young white American men, the effects of drug use and the lack of stable marraiges. This creates an underclass of whites in America, similiar to the underclass among minorities.
Grouped Articles
Racial Wealth Gap Widened During Recession
New York Times 04/28/2013
Wall Street Journal 09/14/2011
New York Times 06/22/2013
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
U.S. Schools Chief Arne Duncan Labors to Straddle Political Divide
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2013
New York Times 02/10/2010
Poverty and hunger in the USA as unemployment exceeds 10%.
06/06/2009
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 10/11/2013
The Less Educated Take the Worst Hit
Wall Street Journal 06/06/2009
A Better Way to Measure Poverty
Wall Street Journal 10/19/2015
Hunger in U.S. at a 14-Year High
New York Times 11/17/2009
Utility Shutoffs Climb by 5% Despite Doubling of U.S. Aid
Wall Street Journal 12/18/2009
Living on Nothing but Food Stamps
New York Times 01/03/2010
Unsettling Vision of the Future- Poverty and Hunger in America.
11/17/2009
Grouped Articles
A Better Way to Measure Poverty
Wall Street Journal 10/19/2015
Hunger in U.S. at a 14-Year High
New York Times 11/17/2009
Utility Shutoffs Climb by 5% Despite Doubling of U.S. Aid
Wall Street Journal 12/18/2009
Utility Bill Is One More Casualty of Recession
New York Times 12/20/2009
Living on Nothing but Food Stamps
New York Times 01/03/2010
New York Times 02/10/2010
The case for increasing the minimum wage (3) Apple stores and "Why Nations Fail"
03/31/2012
Linked Articles
Apple Stores Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on Pay
New York Times 06/23/2012
New York Times 03/31/2012
We took a different way to help millions around the world build educated informed mindsets that affects and shapes their lives. For a future that is open, global and digital, with everyone having access to high quality information. We believe in the renewal of America, renewal of Europe, the renewal of India, the rest of Asia, Latin America and Africa. The renewal of our supply chains, health, education, infrastructure, as we rebuild our countries after the pandemic. Literacy and knowledge we believe cannot thrive and grow in a world of web bots, web crawlers, or AI. This requires human curiosity, human learning, and human imagination. We take as inspiration the saying- “One has to be free, and as broad as sky. One has to have a mind that is crystal clear, only then can truth shine in it.” Every contribution whether big or small is precious- in this crisis and ahead.
Support Lyrarc from as small as $1
Terms and Conditions | Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
