Welcome to the LSE Events Podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Get ready to hear from some of the most influential international figures in the social sciences.
Welcome everyone.
My name is Gillette Levy.
I'm a professor at the Economics Department here at LSE.
And I'm extremely happy to welcome Professor James Robinson here to the LSE.
And you, the audience here in the old theater in the old building, looking very young.
And also our audience online.
Professor Robinson is the director of the Pearson Institute.
He's a Pearson professor and a university professor in the Harris School of Public Policy in the University of Chicago.
I'm sure you've heard.
He's also the latest recipient of the various Rick's Bank prize for the economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel together with two other co-authors.
I'm sure you've heard about this
because LSE was very happy to bask in the glory as Jim was an undergraduate here at the LSE.
The groundbreaking research that Jim, I can call you Jim.
Jim.
Jim together with Simon Johnson and Darren Asimoglu produced groundbreaking and extremely influential.
Looked at the super important question of why do some states or places or regions succeed and why do some of them fail economically and politically.
And have looked particularly at different institutions that were initiated under colonial regimes.
For example, in Africa.