Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works [Hardcover]

Stephen C. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2005 | ISBN-10: 140396534X | ISBN-13: 978-1403965349 | Edition: First Edition

Over 800 million people suffer from chronic hunger, and over ten million children die each year from preventable causes. These may seem like overwhelming statistics, but as Stephen Smith shows in this call to arms, global poverty is something that we can and should solve within our lifetimes. Ending Global Poverty explores the various traps that keep people mired in poverty, traps like poor nutrition, illiteracy, lack of access to health care, and others and presents eight keys to escaping these traps. Smith gives readers the tools they need to help people overcome poverty and to determine what approaches are most effective in fighting it. For example, celebrities in commercials who encourage viewers to "adopt" a poor child really seem to care, but will sending money to these organizations do the most good? Smith explains how to make an informed decision. Grass-roots programs and organizations are helping people gain the capabilities they need to escape from poverty and this book highlights many of the most promising of these strategies in some of the poorest countries in the world, explaining what they do and what makes them effective.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"We have an opportunity, in this generation, to reduce global poverty, both through acts of charity and by working as citizens to influence public policy. Stephen Smith offers reliable information, stories of success, and good advice on how to get personally involved in this important fight. Read it, and then take action. " --David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World

"This practical and remarkably hopeful guide to ending world poverty delivers what it promises, clear-headed remedies for heart-breaking conditions. Stephen Smith finds solutions where others see only problems. All who truly place moral values at the top of their agendas will want to read this book. "--Forrest Church, author of The American Creed and Freedom from Fear

"A most comprehensive strategy for fighting poverty-of great interest to activists, scholars, and all who care about those most in need. Clearly written and with much conviction."--Amitai Etzioni, author of From Empire to Community

"Smith's book is a terrific contribution to our understanding of how to improve the well-being of impoverished people. [His] discussion of the keys to poverty traps dispels many popular misconceptions, and helps the reader understand the real issues. This book should help raise the effectiveness of donors, organizations, and governments in their efforts to help those in need." --Judith M. Dean, International Economist, Washington, DC

"Anyone who seeks a better understanding of human poverty should read this book. The author's optimism is a welcome antidote against the skepticism, pessimism and cynicism that often characterizes the debate on global poverty. He also offers a guide for those in rich countries who want to make a difference by supporting aid and relief organizations." --Jan Vandemoortele, Leader, Poverty Group, United Nations Development Program

"The world's leaders have repeatedly promised to tackle poverty on a massive scale, but they always seem to find excuses for failing to mobilize the necessary resources. Stephen Smith shows convincingly that even the poorest of the poor can help themselves - with a little help from the rest of us. Anyone who wants to understand why so many remain trapped in poverty, and what they and we can do about it, should read this inspiring book." --Ann Florini, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Director of the World Economic Forum's Global Governance Initiative

"Get this book. Read it. Step up. Amid a million reasons to shrink away in frustration, Stephen Smith offers a clear and engaging guide to meeting the greatest challenge of our time…and reports on practical innovations that he has witnessed around the world--new ideas that are already in place and working. The book, by a leading voice in development economics, offers simple steps, small and large, to push the fight forward."--Jonathan Morduch, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and co-author of The Economics of Microfinance

"Offers sensible guidelines to both individuals and corporations about how they can help, but its main contribution is to describe the successes of many programs on the ground, ranging from programs to improve nutrition to those working on education or microcredit, often run by local nongovernmental organizations, which have emerged to fill the gaps left by incompetent or corrupt governments." -Foreign Affairs

"A straightforward and accessible book on the causes of poverty and some successful programs for reducing it. Smith reports on a number of successful programs that have helped desperately poor communities overcome those traps. He emphasizes micro-projects that rely on the commitment, ingenuity and hard work of poor people themselves. Smith advocates a bottom-up approach that focuses on community efforts and relies on the generosity and involvement of individuals and non-government organizations." -Washington Post

From the Inside Flap

"We have an opportunity, in this generation, to reduce global poverty, both through acts of charity and by working as citizens to influence public policy. Stephen Smith offers reliable information, stories of success, and good advice on how to get personally involved in this important fight. Read it, and then take action. " --David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World

"This practical and remarkably hopeful guide to ending world poverty delivers what it promises, clear-headed remedies for heart-breaking conditions. Stephen Smith finds solutions where others see only problems. All who truly place moral values at the top of their agendas will want to read this book. "--Forrest Church, author of The American Creed and Freedom from Fear

"A most comprehensive strategy for fighting poverty-of great interest to activists, scholars, and all who care about those most in need. Clearly writen and with much convinction."--Amitai Etzioni, author of From Empire to Community: A New Approach to International Relations

"Smith`s book is a terrific contribution to our understanding of how to improve the well-being of impoverished people. It is accessible and informative for anyone who is interested in understanding clearly the fundamental causes of chronic poverty, and the innovative responses by organizations worldwide to address them. Smith`s discussion of the keys to poverty traps dispels many popular misconceptions, and helps the reader understand the real issues. His profiles of successful programs designed to address those traps shows the impact many organizations have already made worldwide, and highlights some of the lessons they have learned in the process. This book should help raise the effectiveness of donors, organizations, and governments in their efforts to help those in need." --Judith M. Dean, International Economist, Washington, DC; former Associate Professor of Economics, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, and former Board member, World Relief.

"Anyone who seeks a better understanding of human poverty should read this book. It provides a rich set of anti-poverty initiatives and programs, ranging from playpumps in South Africa to phone ladies in Bangladesh. The author`s optimism is a welcome antidote against the skepticism, pessimism and cynicism that often characterizes the debate on global poverty. In readable language, he describes the many faces of human poverty and unbundles its complexities at the hand of concrete stories and practical approaches. He also offers a guide for those in rich countries who want to make a difference by supporting aid and relief organizations." --Jan Vandemoortele, Leader, Poverty Group, United Nations Development Program

"The world`s leaders have repeatedly promised to tackle poverty on a massive scale, but they always seem to find excuses for failing to mobilize the necessary resources. Stephen Smith shows convincingly that even the poorest of the poor can help themselves - with a little help from the rest of us. Anyone who wants to understand why so many remain trapped in poverty, and what they and we can do about it, should read this inspiring book." --Ann Florini, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Director of the World Economic Forum`s Global Governance Initiative

"Get this book. Read it. Step up. Amid a million reasons to shrink away in frustration, Stephen Smith offers a clear and engaging guide to meeting the greatest challenge of our time. The book is much more than a call to arms. Smith sifts through the latest research and reports on practical innovations that he has witnessed around the world--new ideas that are already in place and working. The book, by a leading voice in development economics, offers simple steps, small and large, to push the fight forward."--Jonathan Morduch, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and co-author of The Economics of Microfinance

"Offers sensible guidelines to both individuals and corporations about how they can help, but its main contribution is to describe the successes of many programs on the ground, ranging from programs to improve nutrition to those working on education or microcredit, often run by local nongovernmental organizations, which have emerged to fill the gaps left by incompetent or corrupt governments." -Foreign Affairs

"A straightforward and accessible book on the causes of poverty and some successful programs for reducing it. Ending Global Poverty (Palgrave), in fact, takes as its starting point the fact that pockets of intense poverty can persist even within growing economies because of self-reinforcing "traps" such as illiteracy, overpopulation and a lack of working capital. Smith reports on a number of successful programs that have helped desperately poor communities overcome those traps. He emphasizes micro-projects that rely on the commitment, ingenuity and hard work of poor people themselves. The book is part of a growing literature that questions the top-down approach taken by the United Nations, World Bank and regional development banks to alleviate poverty through major infrastructure projects, deregulation and reform of national economic institutions. Smith advocates a bottom-up approach that focuses on community efforts and relies on the generosity and involvement of individuals and non-government organizations." -Washington Post

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; First Edition edition (April 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140396534X
• ISBN-13: 978-1403965349
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #473,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical Insights, March 13, 2009

By 

Paul Park (Burke, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works (Paperback)

My sister had left this book on top of the living room table, and curious to the solutions presented, I decided to take a look.

The author is an economist, but he has gained a lot of knowledge from working on this issue. As such, you can't really compare this to a social science textbook for college, but it made for a stimulating read at the start, finding out the problems that the world's poor face.

The structure of the book is straightforward:

1. The nature of the problem.
2. Specific elements that cause poverty.
3. Case studies of successful organizations that addressed parts of #2.
4. What you can do to get involved.

#3 was thin and muddling at some parts, because the author's professional background seemed to incline him to get technical, as opposed to narrative, and there wasn't a big of a contrast to the success stories that organizations had for other poverty issues.

But on the whole, the book was a fine read for someone who has never been exposed to these type of issues. If there is a better book, I'm sure it will rise to the top. The price could be a few dollars cheaper and I would be completely satisfied to buy my own. Also, it seems to have a picture of the Great Depression for the cover, which the book doesn't get into at all.

Lots of links and resources at the end to get involved. A book that's worth the time and effort.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real solutions, April 9, 2009

By 

DM (ORegon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works (Paperback)

This is Stephen C. Smith's guide to ending poverty. What it is, how it happens, why it continues (he lists what he calls poverty traps) and what the world and you personally can do to help.

I did not read this book straight through, I skipped around starting at 'What you can do to help', then searching the index, then 'Escaping the cruel trap of poverty', then the introduction, then finally chapter one 'Understanding extreme poverty' and on to chapter two.

When I hit page 40 in chapter two 'The keys to capability, eight keys to escapeing poverty traps, the sixth key' and was told about Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, population estimated at one million. and the Flying toilets, I thought who would want to save a people like that? The children YES asap!. The adults, NO.

Paragraph 4. "Lacking public toilets, let alone sanitation in the home, people defecate into plastic bags and hurl them out the door onto their neighbors' roofs. This would be bad enough, but apparently the hurlers often fall short of their targets. A UN study found that the majority of the landlords of Kibera were actually government officials and politicians. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_toilet

"Piles of polyethene bags (full of human excrement) gather on roofs and attract flies. Some of them burst open upon impact and/or clog drainage systems. If they land on fractured water pipes, a drop in water pressure can cause the contents to be sucked into the water system. People can also be hit by the bags as they are blindly tossed. In the rainy season, drainage including excrement can enter residences; some children even swim in it. Such close contact leads to fears of diseases such as diarrhea, skin disorders, typhoid fever and malaria.

The practice of defecating outside, away from one's house, especially in the dark, causes concern for one's personal safety as well, especially among girls and women."

I couldn't read any more after that. There is no hope for the human species, imo, because we destroy every thing we touch. I'm ashamed.

Great book tho.

0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Professional and Timely Transaction, January 17, 2008

By 

Hubbart Lacy Jr. - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works (Hardcover)

This transaction was very professional and timely. I enjoyed doing business with this business person.