Making poor nations rich : entrepreneurship and the process of economic development / edited by Benjamin Powell.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Powell, Benjamin, 1978-

Independent Institute (Oakland, Calif.)

Series:

Independent studies in political economy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Entrepreneurship.

Economic development.

Physical Description:

xxi, 452 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford Economics and Finance ; Oakland, Calif. : Published in association with the Independent Institute, [2008]

Summary:

Why do some nations become rich while others remain poor? Traditional economic theory has done little to answer this question. Now, through case studies from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, Making Poor Nations Rich argues for examining the critical role entrepreneurship, private property rights, and economic freedom play in economic development. This volume begins by explaining how entrepreneurs create economic growth and why some institutional environments encourage more productive entrepreneurship than others. The book then addresses countries and regions that have failed to develop because of barriers to entrepreneurship. Finally the authors turn to countries that have developed by reforms that protect private property and grant greater levels of economic freedom. Making Poor Nations Rich demonstrates that pro-market reforms are essential to promoting the productive entrepreneurship that leads to economic growth, and where this institutional environment is lacking, sustained economic development will remain illusive.

Contents:

Part I Institutions and Entrepreneurship

2 Big Bills Left on the Sidewalk: Why Some Nations Are Rich, and Others Poor / Mancur Olson Jr. 25

3 Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth / Randall G. Holcombe 54

4 Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive, and Destructive / William J. Baumol 79

5 Economic Freedom and Property Rights: The Institutional Environment of Productive Entrepreneurship / Robert A. Lawson 112

Part II Failures in Entrepreneurial Development

6 The African Development Conundrum / George B. N. Ayittey 137

7 The Case of Latin America / Alvaro Vargas Llosa 189

8 Entrepreneurship or Entremanureship? Digging Through Romania's Institutional Environment for Transition Lessons / Peter J. Boettke, Christopher J. Coyne, Peter T. Leeson 223

9 Sweden's Slowdown: The Impact of Interventionism on Entrepreneurship / Dan Johansson 250

Part III Reform and Success in Entrepreneurial Development

10 China's March Toward the Market / James A. Dorn 283

11 India: The Elephant in the Age of Liberation / Parth J. Shah, Renuka Sane 309

12 Economic Freedom and Growth: The Case of the Celtic Tiger / Benjamin Powell 342

13 Why Have Kiwis Not Become Tigers? Reforms, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Performance in New Zealand / Frederic Sautet 364

14 Look, Botswana: No Hands! Why Botswana's Government Should Let the Economy Steer Itself / Scott A. Beaulier 396.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780804757317

0804757313

9780804757324

0804757321

OCLC:

164802029