> The Economist acts like good governance is a feature of geography
Where did they say that? It's a common and well researched problem that institutions are not easily transplanted.
I am also not really sure what "government is people" is supposed to mean. Creating and maintaining institutions that produce wealth and stability is very difficult and dependent on many conditions like path dependencies and global embeddedness. In no case it was ever as easy as saying something like: Those people are just great institution builders!
Things like corruption aren't personal traits but rational under specific systemic environments.
Where did they say that? It's a common and well researched problem that institutions are not easily transplanted.
I am also not really sure what "government is people" is supposed to mean. Creating and maintaining institutions that produce wealth and stability is very difficult and dependent on many conditions like path dependencies and global embeddedness. In no case it was ever as easy as saying something like: Those people are just great institution builders!
Things like corruption aren't personal traits but rational under specific systemic environments.
There is a great book by Acemoglu and Robinson on that topic named "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty": https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity-e...