POVERTY, INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMICS: HERNANDO DE SOTO ON PROPERTY RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Hernando de Soto's analysis of the high cost of establishing, protecting and trading in property rights in his home country of Peru and other developing nations demonstrates the centrality of institutions to economic analysis and outcomes. The effective denial of property rights to hundreds of thousands of poor people means that their economic potential and that of their countries is largely untapped. De Soto's Peruvian think-tank, the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, has worked for 20 years towards the implementation of reforms to clear property titles and reduce the excessive regulation that stifles developing world entrepreneurship.