One of the central questions of economics is "Why are some countries rich and some countries poor? And how did rich countries become rich in the first place?" Economic historian Joel Mokyr joins the podcast to discuss these questions and more.  Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in England, and not elsewhere? How did political fragmentation lead to the flourishing of innovations? What lessons can we draw from the Republic of Letters?  And what does this teach us about promoting economic growth today? Dr. Mokyr tackles all these questions and more! Further reading: A Culture of Growth - https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691180960/a-culture-of-growth Plagues Upon the Earth - https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691192123/plagues-upon-the-earth The Enlightened Economy - https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300189513/enlightened-economy   To make sure you hear every episode, join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/neoliberalproject. Patrons get access to exclusive bonus episodes, our sticker-of-the-month club, and our insider Slack.  Become a supporter today! Got questions for the Neoliberal Podcast?  Send them to mailbag@neoliberalproject.org Follow us at: https://twitter.com/ne0liberal https://www.instagram.com/neoliberalproject/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1930401007051265/   Join a local chapter at https://neoliberalproject.org/join