The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time | Jeffrey Sachs

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time | Jeffrey Sachs | Historic Opportunity for Our Generation

books:

The End of Poverty...

	The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time Jeffrey Sachs Penguin (Non-Classics), 2006 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 115 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

A leading economist explains how society can end poverty

This is an excellent book by one of today's most prominent development economists. Jeffrey D. Sachs has been at the forefront of the most significant economic turnarounds - for better or worse - of the past quarter century. He helped end hyperinflation in Bolivia, advised Poland on its emergence from communism, and counseled Russia, China and Africa. On the basis of his extensive research and experience, he concludes that conventional economic solutions ignore some of the key factors responsible for poverty. Borrowing a page from physicians' diagnostic procedures, he shows how noneconomic factors can have economic implications. Along the way, he exposes the lamentable hypocrisy of the developed world and the institutions allegedly working for the development of the poor world. As an adviser to the leadership of the United Nations, Sachs believes that organization should be strengthened. He is not a dispassionate economist and doesn't pretend to be. He has a plausible case to make and he presses it hard, maybe now and then too hard, in this effort to convince the prosperous that effective help for the impoverished is practical, at least under some circumstances. We believe his well informed, heartfelt book belongs on the reading list of anyone who hopes the world can become a better place.

for more information click here

Historic Opportunity for Our Generation

Through clear illustrations and calculations, Jeffrey Sachs lays out a very optimistic and compelling argument that extreme poverty can be ended within our generation. Two major requirements of this plan are the rich nation's commitment to debt relief and their honoring of their promises to dedicate a meager 0.7% of GNP to Official Development Assistance (ODA). If properly invested in infrastructure, health, and education (a topic well covered in the book), these funds could put the extremely poor back on the economic ladder towards growth and development. Sachs sites numerous success stories such as the Marshall Plan and the eradication of African River Blindness and Smallpox where sufficient funding and dedication successfully accomplished development objectives.

In the process of laying out his strategy, Sachs convincingly dispels some commonly held myths about the extreme poor. He demonstrates that laziness and incompetence are not factors in their circumstances. The extreme poor are caught in a 'poverty trap' and cannot pull themselves out on their own. They need our assistance. Sachs also argues that we cannot wait to eliminate corruption before providing ODA. It is the other way around, we need to provide assistance so that progress can be made on economic growth and transparency and then corruption will decrease. Interestingly for an economist, he also downplays the benefits of reducing trade barriers on ending extreme poverty.

While Sach's plan to end extreme poverty was very interesting and stimulating, the middle section of this book (chapters 5 through 10) is dedicated to autobiographical case studies in how the author assisted developing countries get their economies on track. If you find case studies in global economic crises interesting, then try Robert Rubin's "In an Uncertain World" which was more dramatic and high profile. In this book, they provided an interesting backdrop, but slightly distracted the reader from the overall strategy to eliminate extreme poverty.

After World War I, the developed world did not take the reconstruction of Europe seriously and a global recession and World War II followed. That lesson was well learned and significant resources were dedicated to the highly successful Marshall plan after World War II. Hopefully we will remember this lesson and prioritize debt relief and meet our ODA commitments to end extreme poverty which is a root cause and facilitator of the global instabilities we are currently facing.

for more information click here

why we lost the poor

The End of Poverty is an excellent book. It shows how economic thinking can provide a better wealth situation in the underdeveloped world. Jeffrey Sachs describes his last twenty years on development economics. He is the driving force behind the mayor developments in Bolivia and Poland. The book contains his experiences in Bolivia, Poland and Russia. If you introduce economic measures in these countries you can take a big step to let the people help themselves. But if you go to Africa, it seams that these measures are really not the first aid you can give them.

I think the basic steps for development are summarised in three major levels. These are more essential than the economic analysis. It helps you to understand the problem on an easier way. He explains these basics in the later chapters, especially in investment against poverty.

The first step is a good provided health service and education system by the government.
The least developed countries are lacking this stage. It is like Malawi. They didn't have the change to get on the development ladder because they are to poor and malaria is the biggest threat for them.
The second step is a good infrastructure, a functional justice system and a stable energy system. Most of the underdeveloped countries are governed by a regime who is not interested in infrastructure projects and a fair justice system. They abuse the foreign aid and let the people starve.
The third step of development is innovation, free trade opportunities and a stable economic policy, especially in Malaysia the introduction of technologies were a big step to growth in this region. China's economic performances have been driven by free trade and foreign direct investment.

But the biggest part of the third world is traced by war, famine and AIDS. Africa suffers very badly from these defects. The millennium project begins with these countries. He explains who easily it can be to help a single village in Kenya to get development started.
The rich world countries are more aware of the problems. It is a consequence of the incidents on 9/11 and the problems the U.S. and Spain are having with the immigrants at their borders. This forces to get development on a faster track. I I think it is not easy to achieve the millennium goals

for more information click here