July 1st, 2009.- In the first of USAID’s 2009 Summer Seminars, ILD President Hernando de Soto spoke about how the ILD works in developing countries around the world to shed light on the extralegal mechanisms poor citizens resort to in order to prove and validate ownership, and linked the financial crisis in developed markets to the struggle of countries such as Tanzania that wish to eradicate poverty. The challenge for both developed and developing markets, he argued, is about standardization. Original source.<

New York, June 15th 2009.- Economist Hernando de Soto, one of the Jury members , congratulates the contest winners of the Democracy Video Challenge

Neasa MacErlean

Sunday 15 March 2009The Bank of England can go in for quantitative easing and cut interest rates all it likes, but such a monetary approach will do very little to ease the current crisis. This is the view of Hernando de Soto, the Peruvian economist... more

De Soto on Toxic Paper: Slumdogs Vs. Millionaires

20 February 2009 ILD president Hernando de Soto, illustrates the similarities between today's Wall Street's financiers and developing countries' slum dwellers, both stuck in shadow economies where basic facts, such as ownership, are impossible to determine.
In an interview followed by an article, De Soto urges the Obama administration to tackle the problem of toxic paper - which has been bedeviling emerging markets for years - with a hands-on approach.

Read interview | Read article | CIPE comment

New York, December 4th 2008.- The 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations approved a resolution by which it adopts the proposals of the report of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, co-chaired by former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright and ILD President Hernando de Soto, as part of the strategy to eradicate world poverty. The commission’s report entitled Making the Law Work for Everyone, shall be further discussed and analyzed in the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations.

New York City, October 20 2008. The City University of New York (CUNY) organized and provided the setting for a debate that involved Economics Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz, ILD President Hernando de Soto and journalist and anti-globalization activist, Naomi Klein. During the debate, which revolved around analyzing the causes of the world financial crisis, De Soto stated ...

Tripoli, 21 November 2008.- GICDF signed a memorandum of understanding with the ILD providing for the development of a project to help African governments eager to help the poor by offering them legal and commercial property and the tools they need. The objective of this project is to start work in at least five African countries in 2009

Tripoli, November 21st 2008.- Libyan Chief of State Muammar Gaddafi invited ILD President Hernando De Soto to Tripoli where both signed a contract for the ILD to help implement reforms for the legal empowerment of the poor.