James A. Robinson

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government. Leading political scientist in the areas of political economy, comparative political development, and economic development. Research interests include comparative economic and political development with a focus on the long-run and a particular interest in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Co-authored several books on theories of democracy, long-run development, and comparative politics, including Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (with Daron Acemoglu, 2006) and Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (with Daron Acemoglu, 2012). Previously taught at the University of Melbourne, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Berkeley. Currently conducting research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Haiti, and Colombia.