Lessons from the Poor Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Combining rigorous economic and political analysis with narrative highlights, this volume chronicles remarkable rags-to-riches stories that will inspire and educate readers. As an important contribution to the literature on economic development, Lessons from the Poor is a must-read for global investors, microlenders, foreign policy analysts, political economists, international relations experts, and anyone interested in helping the poor find a way out of poverty. With stories that look at the textile and soft drink industries in Peru, the growth of Kenya's chain stores and one-person kiosks, the rise of barter clubs in Argentina, and Nigerian clothing design, these studies provide insights into entrepreneurship and the role that government regulations often play in impeding development. Book jacket.

Alvaro Vargas Llosa is the director of the Center on Global Prosperity at the Independent Institute; a lecturer on world economic and political issues at such venues as the World Economic Forum, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Council on Foreign Affairs, and the Inter-American Dialogue; and has contributed to the BBC World Service, the Los Angeles Times, the Miami Herald, the New York Times, Time magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. Among his books are The Che Guevara Myth, the award-winning Liberty for Latin America, and The Madness of Things Peruvian. He lives in Washington, DC. James D. Gwartney is professor of economics, holder of the Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair, and director of the Stavros Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Economic Education at Florida State University. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida.