Govt 1: Why Are Some Countries Rich and Some Countries Poor? (Institutions)

Government. The Big G. We like to imagine the free market and the invisible hand as being independent from political influence. But Nobel laureate, Simon Johnson, says that influence has been there since the birth of economics. Call it political economy. Call it government and business. Call it our big topic each Wednesday through Labor Day. We're kicking off another semester of Planet Money Summer School asking the biggest question: Why are some nations rich and others poor? With stories from India, New York City and Peru, we look at the ways in which government bureaucracy can help make or break an economy. Tickets for Planet Money Live at the Bell House available here Planet Money+ supporters get a 10 percent discount off their tickets. Go to Plus.npr.org to sign up, if you haven't already, and listen to the July 8th bonus episode to get the discount code. The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford and Sierra Juarez. Engineering by Neal Rausch. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts. Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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Govt 1: Why Are Some Countries Rich and Some Countries Poor? (Institutions) is an episode from Planet Money Summer School by NPR.

This episode is 35:46 long.

This episode was published on Jul 9, 2025.

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