Other Sellers on Amazon
$11.25
+ $4.49 shipping
+ $4.49 shipping
Sold by:
kaybook
Sold by:
kaybook
(8671 ratings)
97% positive over last 12 months
97% positive over last 12 months
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Shipping rates
and
Return policy
$11.75
+ $3.99 shipping
+ $3.99 shipping
Sold by:
kenbe_books-ceramics-collectibles, etc.
Sold by:
kenbe_books-ceramics-collectibles, etc.
(712 ratings)
100% positive over last 12 months
100% positive over last 12 months
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Shipping rates
and
Return policy
$17.99
& FREE Shipping
& FREE Shipping
Sold by:
Yanakman
Sold by:
Yanakman
(256 ratings)
98% positive over last 12 months
98% positive over last 12 months
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Shipping rates
and
Return policy
Add to book club
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club?
Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Flip to back
Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
OK
The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else Paperback – July 9, 2003
by
Hernando De Soto
(Author)
|
Price
|
New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry"
|
$0.00
|
Free with your Audible trial | |
Enhance your purchase
-
Print length288 pages
-
LanguageEnglish
-
PublisherBasic Books
-
Publication dateJuly 9, 2003
-
Dimensions5.38 x 0.75 x 8 inches
-
ISBN-100465016154
-
ISBN-13978-0465016150
-
Lexile measure1460L
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more
Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
-
Apple
-
Android
-
Windows Phone
-
Android
|
Download to your computer
|
Kindle Cloud Reader
|
Frequently bought together
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
The Bible: Designed to be Read as Living Literature, the Old and the New Testaments in the King James VersionErnest Sutherland BatesHardcover$89.61$89.61FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Free to Choose: A Personal StatementPaperback$10.89$10.89FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
The Charterhouse of Parma (Penguin Classics)Paperback$13.00$13.00FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
StalinEdvard RadzinskyHardcover$35.97$35.97FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Basic EconomicsHardcover$25.49$25.49FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of InnovationPaperback$11.89$11.89FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
Free to Choose: A Personal StatementPaperback$10.89$10.89FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
The Undercover EconomistPaperback$18.00$18.00FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal ScienceCharles WheelanPaperback$13.19$13.19FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic EconomicsPaperback$9.59$9.59FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Friday, Sep 17
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The blueprint for a new industrial revolution."―The Times (London)
"The most intelligent book yet written about the current challenge of establishing capitalism in the developing world."―Economist
"The Mystery of Capital makes a powerful case...An important book."―Washington Post Book World
"If a nonmathematician can win a Nobel Prize in Economics, I nominate de Soto."―Lawrence Minard, Forbes Global
"In his smart new book, The Mystery of Capital, de Soto answers the question why capitalism succeeds in the West and fails in so many other places."―Thomas Friedman, New York Times
"Some books are good, some are bad, but very few are real gems. One of the few gems is the recently published book, The Mystery of Capital."―Thomas Sowell
"The most intelligent book yet written about the current challenge of establishing capitalism in the developing world."―Economist
"The Mystery of Capital makes a powerful case...An important book."―Washington Post Book World
"If a nonmathematician can win a Nobel Prize in Economics, I nominate de Soto."―Lawrence Minard, Forbes Global
"In his smart new book, The Mystery of Capital, de Soto answers the question why capitalism succeeds in the West and fails in so many other places."―Thomas Friedman, New York Times
"Some books are good, some are bad, but very few are real gems. One of the few gems is the recently published book, The Mystery of Capital."―Thomas Sowell
About the Author
Hernando de Soto is President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD), headquartered in Lima, Peru. He was named one of the five leading Latin American innovators of the century by Time magazine in its May 1999 issue on "Leaders for the New Millennium." De Soto played an integral role in the modernization of Peru's economic and political system as President Alberto Fujimori's Personal Representative and Principal Adviser.
His previous book, The Other Path, was a bestseller throughout Latin America and the U.S. He and ILD are currently working on the practical implementation of the measures for bringing the poor into the economic mainstream introduced in The Mystery of Capital. He lives in Lima, Peru.
His previous book, The Other Path, was a bestseller throughout Latin America and the U.S. He and ILD are currently working on the practical implementation of the measures for bringing the poor into the economic mainstream introduced in The Mystery of Capital. He lives in Lima, Peru.
Start reading The Mystery of Capital on your Kindle in under a minute.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Product details
- Publisher : Basic Books; Reprint edition (July 9, 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0465016154
- ISBN-13 : 978-0465016150
- Lexile measure : 1460L
- Item Weight : 9.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.38 x 0.75 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #100,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
414 global ratings
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
The works of Hernando de Soto should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding good government. The importance of property rights, the rule of law, and inclusion are essential. (Personal commentary here: The word "inclusion" can be misunderstood. In this context it means justice for everyone--regardless of class/race/religion/etc.--and eliminating cronyism. Not "social justice" which is often a cloaked excuse for redistribution, but real justice. Justice is not possible when the force of government is used to take by force from some people and give to others. That's not justice but injustice. When some people see that other people have an unfair advantage, anger and violent revolt are the result. That's true whether from the perspective of the poor or the rich.) However, this is more the message of "The Other Path" than "The Mystery of Capital." The latter focuses on how property rights and rule of law tend to evolve almost organically, as a necessity of market exchange, and how much raw capital exists extra-legally. I suggest reading "The Other Path"first, then the "Mystery of Capital." Both are great books.
17 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2021
1) Document the economic potential of all assets
“Capital is born by representing in writing-in a title, a security, a contract, and in other such records- the most economically and socially useful qualities about the asset as opposed to the visually more striking aspects of the asset. The moment you focus your attention on the title of the house, for example, and not the house itself, you have automatically stepped from the material world into the conceptual world where capital lives”
2) Integrate Asset Documentation into one System that Anyone Can Access
“The reason capitalism triumphed in the West and sputtered in the rest of the world is because most of the assets in Western nations have been integrated into one formal representational system. Developing and former communist nations have not done this. In all countries I have studied, I have never found just one legal system but dozens or even hundreds managed by all sorts of organizations. Consequently what people in those countries can do with their property is limited to the imagination of the owners and their acquaintances. In western countries where property information is standardized and universally available what owners can do with their assets benefits from the collective imagination of a larger network of people”
3) Hold People Accountable to the System
“Once inside a formal property system, owners lost their anonymity. By becoming inextricably linked to real estate and business that could be easily identified and located. People who do not pay for goods or services they have consumed can be identified, charged interests penalties, fined, embargoed and have their credit ratings downgraded”
4) Make Use of the Systems Liquidity
“Representations also enable the division of assets without touching them. Whereas an asset such as a factory may be an indivisible unit in the real world, in the conceptual universe of formal property representation it can be subdivided into any number of portions. Citizens of advanced nations are thus able to split most of their assets into shares, each of which can be owned by different persons, with different rights, to carry out different functions. Thanks to formal property, a single factory can be held by countless investors, who can divest themselves of their property without affecting the integrity of the physical asset. Farmers in many developing countries have no such option and must continually subdivide their farms for each generation until the parcels are too small to farm profitably, leaving the descendants with two alternatives: starving or stealing”
5) Use the System to Network the Business Community
“Property’s real breakthrough is that it radically improved the flow of communications about assets and their potential. Without knowing who has the rights to what, and without an integrated legal system where the ability to enforce obligations has been transferred from extralegal groups to government, utilities would be hard pressed to deliver services properly. On what other basis could they identify subscribers, create utility subscription contracts, establish service connections and ensure access to parcels and buildings? How would they implement billing systems, meter readings, collection mechanisms, loss control, fraud control, delinquent charging procedures and enforcement services such as meter shut offs?”
6) Use the System to Encourage Trade
“Although they are established to protect both the security of ownership and that of transactions, it is obvious that western systems emphasize the latter. Security is principally focused on producing trust. The Western emphasis on the security of transactions allows citizens to move large amounts of assets with very few transactions. How else can we explain that in developing and former communist nations people are still taking their pigs to market and trading them one at a time as they have done for thousands of years, whereas in the West traders take representations of their rights over pigs to the market? Traders at the Chicago Commodities Exchange for example deal through representations which give them more information about the pigs they are trading than if they could physically examine each pig. They are able to make deals for huge quantities of pigs with little concerned about the security of transactions.”
I reworded the titles for simplicity but you get my drift.
His driving theory is that the majority of the world poverty exists because the governments of developing nations haven’t taken these steps.
Verified Purchase
It’s like he’s taking apart a race car, piece by piece, and putting it back together, better, and with improved parts! Capitalism can seem difficult to grasp, but De Soto, who has actually built capitalist economies in developing countries, breaks it down into six parts
1) Document the economic potential of all assets
“Capital is born by representing in writing-in a title, a security, a contract, and in other such records- the most economically and socially useful qualities about the asset as opposed to the visually more striking aspects of the asset. The moment you focus your attention on the title of the house, for example, and not the house itself, you have automatically stepped from the material world into the conceptual world where capital lives”
2) Integrate Asset Documentation into one System that Anyone Can Access
“The reason capitalism triumphed in the West and sputtered in the rest of the world is because most of the assets in Western nations have been integrated into one formal representational system. Developing and former communist nations have not done this. In all countries I have studied, I have never found just one legal system but dozens or even hundreds managed by all sorts of organizations. Consequently what people in those countries can do with their property is limited to the imagination of the owners and their acquaintances. In western countries where property information is standardized and universally available what owners can do with their assets benefits from the collective imagination of a larger network of people”
3) Hold People Accountable to the System
“Once inside a formal property system, owners lost their anonymity. By becoming inextricably linked to real estate and business that could be easily identified and located. People who do not pay for goods or services they have consumed can be identified, charged interests penalties, fined, embargoed and have their credit ratings downgraded”
4) Make Use of the Systems Liquidity
“Representations also enable the division of assets without touching them. Whereas an asset such as a factory may be an indivisible unit in the real world, in the conceptual universe of formal property representation it can be subdivided into any number of portions. Citizens of advanced nations are thus able to split most of their assets into shares, each of which can be owned by different persons, with different rights, to carry out different functions. Thanks to formal property, a single factory can be held by countless investors, who can divest themselves of their property without affecting the integrity of the physical asset. Farmers in many developing countries have no such option and must continually subdivide their farms for each generation until the parcels are too small to farm profitably, leaving the descendants with two alternatives: starving or stealing”
5) Use the System to Network the Business Community
“Property’s real breakthrough is that it radically improved the flow of communications about assets and their potential. Without knowing who has the rights to what, and without an integrated legal system where the ability to enforce obligations has been transferred from extralegal groups to government, utilities would be hard pressed to deliver services properly. On what other basis could they identify subscribers, create utility subscription contracts, establish service connections and ensure access to parcels and buildings? How would they implement billing systems, meter readings, collection mechanisms, loss control, fraud control, delinquent charging procedures and enforcement services such as meter shut offs?”
6) Use the System to Encourage Trade
“Although they are established to protect both the security of ownership and that of transactions, it is obvious that western systems emphasize the latter. Security is principally focused on producing trust. The Western emphasis on the security of transactions allows citizens to move large amounts of assets with very few transactions. How else can we explain that in developing and former communist nations people are still taking their pigs to market and trading them one at a time as they have done for thousands of years, whereas in the West traders take representations of their rights over pigs to the market? Traders at the Chicago Commodities Exchange for example deal through representations which give them more information about the pigs they are trading than if they could physically examine each pig. They are able to make deals for huge quantities of pigs with little concerned about the security of transactions.”
I reworded the titles for simplicity but you get my drift.
His driving theory is that the majority of the world poverty exists because the governments of developing nations haven’t taken these steps.
1) Document the economic potential of all assets
“Capital is born by representing in writing-in a title, a security, a contract, and in other such records- the most economically and socially useful qualities about the asset as opposed to the visually more striking aspects of the asset. The moment you focus your attention on the title of the house, for example, and not the house itself, you have automatically stepped from the material world into the conceptual world where capital lives”
2) Integrate Asset Documentation into one System that Anyone Can Access
“The reason capitalism triumphed in the West and sputtered in the rest of the world is because most of the assets in Western nations have been integrated into one formal representational system. Developing and former communist nations have not done this. In all countries I have studied, I have never found just one legal system but dozens or even hundreds managed by all sorts of organizations. Consequently what people in those countries can do with their property is limited to the imagination of the owners and their acquaintances. In western countries where property information is standardized and universally available what owners can do with their assets benefits from the collective imagination of a larger network of people”
3) Hold People Accountable to the System
“Once inside a formal property system, owners lost their anonymity. By becoming inextricably linked to real estate and business that could be easily identified and located. People who do not pay for goods or services they have consumed can be identified, charged interests penalties, fined, embargoed and have their credit ratings downgraded”
4) Make Use of the Systems Liquidity
“Representations also enable the division of assets without touching them. Whereas an asset such as a factory may be an indivisible unit in the real world, in the conceptual universe of formal property representation it can be subdivided into any number of portions. Citizens of advanced nations are thus able to split most of their assets into shares, each of which can be owned by different persons, with different rights, to carry out different functions. Thanks to formal property, a single factory can be held by countless investors, who can divest themselves of their property without affecting the integrity of the physical asset. Farmers in many developing countries have no such option and must continually subdivide their farms for each generation until the parcels are too small to farm profitably, leaving the descendants with two alternatives: starving or stealing”
5) Use the System to Network the Business Community
“Property’s real breakthrough is that it radically improved the flow of communications about assets and their potential. Without knowing who has the rights to what, and without an integrated legal system where the ability to enforce obligations has been transferred from extralegal groups to government, utilities would be hard pressed to deliver services properly. On what other basis could they identify subscribers, create utility subscription contracts, establish service connections and ensure access to parcels and buildings? How would they implement billing systems, meter readings, collection mechanisms, loss control, fraud control, delinquent charging procedures and enforcement services such as meter shut offs?”
6) Use the System to Encourage Trade
“Although they are established to protect both the security of ownership and that of transactions, it is obvious that western systems emphasize the latter. Security is principally focused on producing trust. The Western emphasis on the security of transactions allows citizens to move large amounts of assets with very few transactions. How else can we explain that in developing and former communist nations people are still taking their pigs to market and trading them one at a time as they have done for thousands of years, whereas in the West traders take representations of their rights over pigs to the market? Traders at the Chicago Commodities Exchange for example deal through representations which give them more information about the pigs they are trading than if they could physically examine each pig. They are able to make deals for huge quantities of pigs with little concerned about the security of transactions.”
I reworded the titles for simplicity but you get my drift.
His driving theory is that the majority of the world poverty exists because the governments of developing nations haven’t taken these steps.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Bottom Up Look At How Capitalism Works!
By Jamiel Cotman on January 26, 2021
It’s like he’s taking apart a race car, piece by piece, and putting it back together, better, and with improved parts! Capitalism can seem difficult to grasp, but De Soto, who has actually built capitalist economies in developing countries, breaks it down into six partsBy Jamiel Cotman on January 26, 2021
1) Document the economic potential of all assets
“Capital is born by representing in writing-in a title, a security, a contract, and in other such records- the most economically and socially useful qualities about the asset as opposed to the visually more striking aspects of the asset. The moment you focus your attention on the title of the house, for example, and not the house itself, you have automatically stepped from the material world into the conceptual world where capital lives”
2) Integrate Asset Documentation into one System that Anyone Can Access
“The reason capitalism triumphed in the West and sputtered in the rest of the world is because most of the assets in Western nations have been integrated into one formal representational system. Developing and former communist nations have not done this. In all countries I have studied, I have never found just one legal system but dozens or even hundreds managed by all sorts of organizations. Consequently what people in those countries can do with their property is limited to the imagination of the owners and their acquaintances. In western countries where property information is standardized and universally available what owners can do with their assets benefits from the collective imagination of a larger network of people”
3) Hold People Accountable to the System
“Once inside a formal property system, owners lost their anonymity. By becoming inextricably linked to real estate and business that could be easily identified and located. People who do not pay for goods or services they have consumed can be identified, charged interests penalties, fined, embargoed and have their credit ratings downgraded”
4) Make Use of the Systems Liquidity
“Representations also enable the division of assets without touching them. Whereas an asset such as a factory may be an indivisible unit in the real world, in the conceptual universe of formal property representation it can be subdivided into any number of portions. Citizens of advanced nations are thus able to split most of their assets into shares, each of which can be owned by different persons, with different rights, to carry out different functions. Thanks to formal property, a single factory can be held by countless investors, who can divest themselves of their property without affecting the integrity of the physical asset. Farmers in many developing countries have no such option and must continually subdivide their farms for each generation until the parcels are too small to farm profitably, leaving the descendants with two alternatives: starving or stealing”
5) Use the System to Network the Business Community
“Property’s real breakthrough is that it radically improved the flow of communications about assets and their potential. Without knowing who has the rights to what, and without an integrated legal system where the ability to enforce obligations has been transferred from extralegal groups to government, utilities would be hard pressed to deliver services properly. On what other basis could they identify subscribers, create utility subscription contracts, establish service connections and ensure access to parcels and buildings? How would they implement billing systems, meter readings, collection mechanisms, loss control, fraud control, delinquent charging procedures and enforcement services such as meter shut offs?”
6) Use the System to Encourage Trade
“Although they are established to protect both the security of ownership and that of transactions, it is obvious that western systems emphasize the latter. Security is principally focused on producing trust. The Western emphasis on the security of transactions allows citizens to move large amounts of assets with very few transactions. How else can we explain that in developing and former communist nations people are still taking their pigs to market and trading them one at a time as they have done for thousands of years, whereas in the West traders take representations of their rights over pigs to the market? Traders at the Chicago Commodities Exchange for example deal through representations which give them more information about the pigs they are trading than if they could physically examine each pig. They are able to make deals for huge quantities of pigs with little concerned about the security of transactions.”
I reworded the titles for simplicity but you get my drift.
His driving theory is that the majority of the world poverty exists because the governments of developing nations haven’t taken these steps.
Images in this review
4 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
A fantastic read. Certainly it was worth the time to devour this fascinating look at asset accumulation in the developing world. De Soto asks why these assets are not being translated into capital, and how we can change that.
Although many portions of the book are bogged down in the admittedly necessary technicalities, he ties in meaningful conclusions and practical applications, making this book excellent for even those without a background in development economics.
I greatly enjoyed the way he addressed Smith, Marx, and modern capitalist thought. With each, he neither overstated their importance to our current economic situation nor underplayed their failings as philosophies of capital and trade.
Although many portions of the book are bogged down in the admittedly necessary technicalities, he ties in meaningful conclusions and practical applications, making this book excellent for even those without a background in development economics.
I greatly enjoyed the way he addressed Smith, Marx, and modern capitalist thought. With each, he neither overstated their importance to our current economic situation nor underplayed their failings as philosophies of capital and trade.
18 people found this helpful
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well, read it so that at cocktail parties you can say you've read it, as a virtue signal.
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2018Verified Purchase
De Soto is lauded as a genius in the field. Frankly I found his "brilliant insights" rather obvious, once extracted from his turbid writing style. Maybe an ESL problem? Reminds me of my long-ago Econ 101 text, the ubiquitous Samuelson. Another man who was brilliant at making the obvious incomprehensible. Is it an occupational disease with economists?
12 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
Fantastic read. Only had to read a few chapters for class, but wound up reading the whole book. Learned a lot. De Soto is not as easy to read as Sowell, but it's close. Highly recommend if you want to know why capitalism is the only Economic system that can pull millions out of poverty and restore equal rights to every man woman and child in the world.
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2019
Verified Purchase
If you are a blockchain adept, I recommend this book.
De Sotto goes into great length in describing why things aren't working well in the third world, and why and how trust with the authorities is broken. If you believe blockchain offers solutions to trust issues, this is a good area to get ideas from.
De Sotto goes into great length in describing why things aren't working well in the third world, and why and how trust with the authorities is broken. If you believe blockchain offers solutions to trust issues, this is a good area to get ideas from.
2 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book clearly states the importance of legal property ownership and the value of using the equity of owned real state to have access to capital. Great examples from European countries and the USA successful economies. However, it left me wondering why Israel was not used as an example of a successful capitalist economy.
Top reviews from other countries
San Patch
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond 'left vs. right' Economics
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2009Verified Purchase
We all know that free markets, which deliver the latest Harry Potter novel within three days to any location in the world, only work in the West. What's more, popular culture tells us that the reason why the free market does not work in benighted places like Uganda is due to a number of simplistic explanations: Culture - the people are lazy, while we in the West have a Christian ethic of hard work; Religion - Third Worlders are still stuck with mysterious religions right out of Conrad's heart of darkness and finally; Third Worlders are `content' with their lot in life. Thankfully, Hernando de Soto's Mystery of Capital presents a more plausible reason for the failure of capitalism outside the West: the lack of property rights in the Third World.
De Soto's premise is that widely accessible legal property systems are the foundation of the West's prosperity and that the absence of such systems in Third World countries is the principal reason why all attempts at macroeconomic reform in the Third World- however good-intentioned - are doomed to failure. By presenting results of original grass-roots research that he conducted in five countries (Haiti, Peru, Brazil, Egypt and The Philippines), De Soto demonstrates that the poor are anything but poor. For example, he showed that the poor in Peru owned about $72 billion worth of property, (an amount that was eight times the amount of savings deposits in Peru at the time). The problem, though, is that all of that $72 billion worth of asset is `dead capital', as it is in the extra-legal sector of the economy. Since there are no legal titles or deeds, this `dead capital' could not be put up as collateral to start businesses, or to generate wealth independent of its status as real estate.
De Soto devotes considerable space to examine the history of property rights development in the United States. He shows clearly that the process of developing property rights in the US was not a straight forward. Indeed, it took the better part of a century to develop an integrated, property system that was accessible to the entire U.S. population. Therein, according to De Soto, lie the lessons for today's developing countries.
He finally outlines a strategy for integrating the extra legal population into the economic mainstream: taking the perspective of the poor; co-opting the elites and dealing with the technocrats, who have a vested interest in maintaining outmoded, unrepresentative property systems.
The book's concluding chapter is a gem - albeit a `short' one. De Soto eloquently challenges the `cultural argument' to wit: Is succeeding at capitalism a cultural thing? How much of Bill Gates success, for example, is due to his cultural background and `Protestant Work Ethic' and how much is due to the existence of legal property systems in the United States? His conclusion: "Much behaviour that is attributed to cultural heritage is not the inevitable result of people's ethnic or idiosyncratic traits but of their rational evaluation of the relative costs and benefits of entering the legal property system". De Soto's conclusion is one that I, as a Nigerian, agree with. The poor in my native country are not just an unruly, pre-industrial lot waiting for hand outs from the West. Instead, they are entrepreneurs, who survive - and even thrive - in spite of a hostile economic and political situation. It's time to harness their entrepreneurial energy to produce `live capital'. De Soto's message is timely and well-argued. Therefore, The Mystery of Capital deserves my 4 stars.
De Soto's premise is that widely accessible legal property systems are the foundation of the West's prosperity and that the absence of such systems in Third World countries is the principal reason why all attempts at macroeconomic reform in the Third World- however good-intentioned - are doomed to failure. By presenting results of original grass-roots research that he conducted in five countries (Haiti, Peru, Brazil, Egypt and The Philippines), De Soto demonstrates that the poor are anything but poor. For example, he showed that the poor in Peru owned about $72 billion worth of property, (an amount that was eight times the amount of savings deposits in Peru at the time). The problem, though, is that all of that $72 billion worth of asset is `dead capital', as it is in the extra-legal sector of the economy. Since there are no legal titles or deeds, this `dead capital' could not be put up as collateral to start businesses, or to generate wealth independent of its status as real estate.
De Soto devotes considerable space to examine the history of property rights development in the United States. He shows clearly that the process of developing property rights in the US was not a straight forward. Indeed, it took the better part of a century to develop an integrated, property system that was accessible to the entire U.S. population. Therein, according to De Soto, lie the lessons for today's developing countries.
He finally outlines a strategy for integrating the extra legal population into the economic mainstream: taking the perspective of the poor; co-opting the elites and dealing with the technocrats, who have a vested interest in maintaining outmoded, unrepresentative property systems.
The book's concluding chapter is a gem - albeit a `short' one. De Soto eloquently challenges the `cultural argument' to wit: Is succeeding at capitalism a cultural thing? How much of Bill Gates success, for example, is due to his cultural background and `Protestant Work Ethic' and how much is due to the existence of legal property systems in the United States? His conclusion: "Much behaviour that is attributed to cultural heritage is not the inevitable result of people's ethnic or idiosyncratic traits but of their rational evaluation of the relative costs and benefits of entering the legal property system". De Soto's conclusion is one that I, as a Nigerian, agree with. The poor in my native country are not just an unruly, pre-industrial lot waiting for hand outs from the West. Instead, they are entrepreneurs, who survive - and even thrive - in spite of a hostile economic and political situation. It's time to harness their entrepreneurial energy to produce `live capital'. De Soto's message is timely and well-argued. Therefore, The Mystery of Capital deserves my 4 stars.
9 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Alan Lenton
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too one dimensional
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2008Verified Purchase
I had high hopes of this book, since I'd come across mention of it in a number of different books read previously. In the event I was somewhat disappointed. It wasn't that I massively disagreed with the book. It was more that I fell asleep while reading it! The problem is that Mr de Soto seems to have been told that you only teach one thing at a time and repeat it in at least three different ways. This may be true talking in a classroom, but in a book it leads rapidly to terminal boredom.
The central theme of the book is simple - the reason while capitalism has not taken off outside the west is not that people are somehow lazy (quite to the contrary) but that legal and property systems do not allow them to use their property to obtain liquid capital. I don't disagree, but I think this is a one-dimensional view. I'm always dubious about single cause explanations for economic and social phenomena, and this idea is no exception. Yes, lack of legal property is an important part of the problem, but it's not the only one, and a more rounded view of the problems involved is needed to resolve them.
The central theme of the book is simple - the reason while capitalism has not taken off outside the west is not that people are somehow lazy (quite to the contrary) but that legal and property systems do not allow them to use their property to obtain liquid capital. I don't disagree, but I think this is a one-dimensional view. I'm always dubious about single cause explanations for economic and social phenomena, and this idea is no exception. Yes, lack of legal property is an important part of the problem, but it's not the only one, and a more rounded view of the problems involved is needed to resolve them.
17 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Erik Cleves Kristensen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2007Verified Purchase
Mr. De Soto's book has almost become a classic in the field of development economics. It is also a compelling and excellently written small book, with good argumentation, not overly using the immense amount of statistical data that underpins it.
The argument is basically that economic development of a more equitable and prosperous for the poorest, could happen by simply creating good legal and administrative framework for property and investment. That is the so-called "mystery of capital": when this is in place, people will be able to extract capital from their property, just as they are largely doing informally in much of the developing world, but completely outside the formal economic system.
The argument is excellent. Therefore, I believe the book is a must-read for anyone working with poverty and development (not only in the developing countries).
Nevertheless, there are still some things that may be discussed. Mr. De Soto is a firm believer in the invisible hand of the market: when the framework is in place, people will be able to help themselves. In that sense, I can't help but thinking that Mr. De Soto is largely speaking of poor people as mostly urban dwellers, who although informally, are already to a degree incorporated into the economic system, and have a (minimum) knowledge and understanding of how the market works and how to extract capital from it.
But what about the poorest of the poorest subsistence farmers in some African countries? I personally don't believe the arguments put forth in the book would change anything for them. On the contrary, without proper protection, they might be in for more exploitation from more capable people...
While I still don't believe the links of market capitalism are directly related to reducing poverty (an argument implicit in Mr. De Soto's book), I do believe that the easing of market restrictions and clarification of property rights which Mr. De Soto argues for, are a pre-condition for economic development, which may help but will not alone alleviate the precarious situation for the poorest of the poor.
Great book.
The argument is basically that economic development of a more equitable and prosperous for the poorest, could happen by simply creating good legal and administrative framework for property and investment. That is the so-called "mystery of capital": when this is in place, people will be able to extract capital from their property, just as they are largely doing informally in much of the developing world, but completely outside the formal economic system.
The argument is excellent. Therefore, I believe the book is a must-read for anyone working with poverty and development (not only in the developing countries).
Nevertheless, there are still some things that may be discussed. Mr. De Soto is a firm believer in the invisible hand of the market: when the framework is in place, people will be able to help themselves. In that sense, I can't help but thinking that Mr. De Soto is largely speaking of poor people as mostly urban dwellers, who although informally, are already to a degree incorporated into the economic system, and have a (minimum) knowledge and understanding of how the market works and how to extract capital from it.
But what about the poorest of the poorest subsistence farmers in some African countries? I personally don't believe the arguments put forth in the book would change anything for them. On the contrary, without proper protection, they might be in for more exploitation from more capable people...
While I still don't believe the links of market capitalism are directly related to reducing poverty (an argument implicit in Mr. De Soto's book), I do believe that the easing of market restrictions and clarification of property rights which Mr. De Soto argues for, are a pre-condition for economic development, which may help but will not alone alleviate the precarious situation for the poorest of the poor.
Great book.
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
Tom Wallace
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a brilliant read and remarkable that the issues raised by the ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2018Verified Purchase
This is a brilliant read and remarkable that the issues raised by the author have somehow fallen under the radar. Anyone interested in the Commons from a first world perspective would do well to study this book and get some understanding of how these matters play out in developing nations.
David Wylie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2019Verified Purchase
The author is very wise and makes a great case for a more inclusive version of western capitalism as a way to lift the developing world out of poverty. This book explores capital in all its dimensions and how the invisible world of concepts is the key to improving life in the physical world.
Anyone interested In understanding society and the world should read this book.
Anyone interested In understanding society and the world should read this book.
Deals related to this item
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Pages with related products.
See and discover other items: countries and capitals, mysteries of history, coins and coin supplies






