Today, 80 to 90 percent of Egyptians and Peruvians lack legal addresses

January 23, 2001 9:00 AM

Today, 80 to 90 percent of Egyptians and Peruvians lack legal addresses Interesting interview with Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto who argues that in many Third World Countries, the government's failure to formally recognize and document property claims is a major barrier to development. (more inside)
posted by straight (2 comments total)

And here's another interview

If you take a walk through the countryside, from Indonesia to Peru, and you walk by field after field--in each field a different dog is going to bark at you. Even dogs know what private property is all about. The only one who does not know it is the government. The issue is that there exists a "common law" and an "informal law" which the Latin American formal legal system does not know how to recognize.


posted by straight at 9:05 AM on January 23, 2001

well, i think it was the enclosure movement in england that started it all (capitalism, the industrial revolution :) in the first place. so it stands to reason that a fair and enforcable system of property rights are a prerequisite for (capitalist) development.
posted by kliuless at 9:31 AM on January 23, 2001