Book description
Why do oil and diamonds lead to economic disaster more often than
boom? Why doesn't Africa grow cocaine? Why might believing in God be
good for your balance-sheet?
In 2001 Argentina's government bankrupted itself, yet for the past
two hundred years it had enjoyed a vista of economic opportunity
almost identical to that of the USA. Why did the USA succeed while
Argentina stalled? Botswana and Sierra Leone are both blessed with
abundant diamonds. Why did Botswana became the world's fastest-growing
economy while Sierra Leone suffered a decade of brutal civil war?
The path to prosperity is rarely obvious and the sources of success
are often unexpected. Time and again, world leaders have failed to
learn the lessons of economic history, and their mistakes continue to
have surprising and catastrophic consequences. In False
Economy, Alan Beattie uses extraordinary stories of economic
triumph and disaster to explain how some countries went wrong while
others went right, and why it's so difficult to change course once
you're on the path to ruin.
