Book: The End Of Poverty

Title: The End Of Poverty
Author: Jeffery Sachs

The End Of Poverty discusses the possibility of ending absolute poverty in the world today within the next 25 years. Sachs writes of how we ought to do our bit for those who are not able to 'climb onto the ladder' to help themselves up further.

Emphasis is placed on 'differential diagnosis', which focuses on different possibilities that lead to economic failure in different countries, such as geographical conditions, cultural reasons, etc. A great idea to work on, definitely better than what we are currently doing now by over-generalizing all economic failures to be attributed to corruption and other governmental faults.

Another reason cited as to why current aid efforts do not reap results as predicted is that the actual amount donated is only a fraction of what was originally promised. The United States of America, amongst many other nations, have not been keeping to their promise of contributing 0.7% of their annual GDP to international aid, claiming that corruption is the root of all failure in international aid. Sachs also points out that transparency within the economy, often demanded by donor countries, does not necessarily relate positively to economic growth.

A really long book with a lot of technical details that can really bore you if you have no interest in the minute details. Too much data presented at times that tends to put readers off. Having said that, this is still a rather informative book, and some concepts inside are worth a second look.

Read it only if you have a keen interest in global issues and other related stuff, or if you have quite a spare bit of time to spare.