The mystery of capital Book

Written by a Peruvian author, this book is wonderfully enlightening for anyone interested in issues of 3rd World economic development.

De Soto's central thesis is quite simple: you can't solve the problem of stagnant, poverty-stricken economies unless you figure out how to make credit available so that people can start and operate businesses. But you can't get credit if you have no assets to secure it with. And you have no significant assets you can call your own if you can't establish title to your land and house. And that's precisely the problem of much of the 3rd world -- where you have vast squatter communities on the periphery of virtually every major city. Those squatters may have been there for decades, but no matter. They still can't establish title to land or house. Not only that, they're vulneable to eviction, which leads to another chronic problem of countries where property rights are shaky: violence. It takes armed force to protect your property, so societies without the rule of law for property rights also lack the rule of law for personal safety.

It's a compelling argument. I recommend the book highly.