• youtube
  • twitter
  • google plus icon
  • facebook
  • logo linkedin
  • The 2017 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research goes to Hernando de Soto

    The 2017 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research goes to Hernando de Soto

    The Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research is the most prominent international award in entrepreneurship research with a price sum of EUR 100,000. De Soto’s analyses have had tremendous influence on policy throughout the world and were a main source of inspiration for the World Bank’s Doing Business program. Read More
  • 2017 Award Winner

    2017 Award Winner

    Hernando de Soto Peru  Institute for Liberty and Democracy For developing a new understanding of the institutions that underpin the informal economy as well as the role of property rights and entrepreneurship in converting the informal economy into the formal sector.   Read More
  • 1
  • 2

2011

Foreign PolicyOne year on, a team of researchers uncovers the man behind the martyr and the economic roots of the Arab Spring.

BY HERNANDO DE SOTO | DECEMBER 16, 2011


One year ago, on Dec. 17, a humble, cowed fruit-seller in a small, provincial city in Tunisia doused himself in paint thinner and set himself alight. The flames that eventually took his life had an effect he could not have foreseen, even in his wildest dreams: Less than a month later, his country's long-ruling tyrant had fled to Saudi Arabia and a democratic revolution would soon sweep across the Middle East. His death made him famous, an icon whose face adorns postage stamps and whose name — Mohamed Bouazizi — now stands for the hopes of a generation.

financial times_250November 8, 2011     |     By Hernando de Soto

A few weeks ago I met Salem, the younger brother of the brave Tunisian fruit vendor whose self-immolation triggered the Arab uprising. When I asked him what his brother in heaven would say if we asked what he hoped his sacrifice would bring to the Arab World, Salem did not hesitate: “That the poor also have the right to buy and sell.”

washington post_250By Hernando de Soto

October 7 - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said recently that, given the ongoing credit contraction, “advanced economies like the U.S. would do well to re-learn some of the lessons” that have led to success among emerging market economies. Ironically, those economies in the 1990s accepted 10 points for promoting economic growth that were known as the “Washington Consensus.”

Press Information Bureau05 October 2011 - A meeting was held on 5th October 2011 in New Delhi between Union Minister for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) and Culture Kumari Selja and Mr. Hernando de Soto, Peruvian Economist and President, Institute of Liberty and Democracy (ILD), Peru to discuss a project focusing on the legal empowerment of the poor in India. Also present at the meeting were Shri Arun Kumar Misra, Secretary, HUPA, His Excellency, Mr. Javier Paulinich, Ambassador of Peru to India and Mr. Luis Triveño, CEO, ILD.

Economics Intelligence

Olaf Storbeck

02 October 2011 - Some things are highly unpredictable. The next Noble laureate in Economics, for example... I just filed four names.  Robert Shiller ... Richard Easterlin ... Anne Krueger ... Hernando de Soto...

financial times_250By John Paul Rathbone

14 September 2011 - Two graceful alpacas are grazing in front of Hernando de Soto’s home, but there is no sign of his pet dogs, Marx and Engels, so named because “they are German, hairy and have no respect for property”.

zermatt summit_250Hernando de Soto LIVE talk on Fairness and Justice in the Economy at Zermatt Summit 2011 was voted as one of the best by the participants present!

Fairness and Justice in the Economy: Hernando de Soto, Institute for Liberty and Democracy

bloomberg businessweekFeatures April 28, 2011

Renowned Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto argues that the financial crisis wasn't just about finance—it was about a staggering lack of knowledge

By Hernando de Soto

During the second half of the 19th century, the world's biggest economies endured a series of brutal recessions. At the time, most forms of reliable economic knowledge were organized within feudal, patrimonial, and tribal relationships. If you wanted to know who owned land or owed a debt, it was a fact recorded locally—and most likely shielded from outsiders. At the same time, the world was expanding. Travel between cities and countries became more common and global trade increased. The result was a huge rift between the old, fragmented social order and the needs of a rising, globalizing market economy.

Don MiqueasThe ILD, in particular our leaders and researchers who had the good fortune to meet and work closely with don Miqueas MIshari Mofat, were saddened to hear of his passing yesterday.  He helped found and advance indigenous causes in Peru and Latin America.  A historical leader of the Ashaninka people’s struggles, and founder of AIDESEP (the National Organization of the Amazon Indigenous Peoples of Peru), don Miqueas, continued right to the end, his search for a solution to the economic and social marginalization of the indigenous citizens of the Peruvian Amazon.  Since the violent events in Bagua, over two years ago which left 34 dead, don Miqueas approached our institute to seek an ally in this complex struggle. He shared his experience and his vision on the destiny of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. He found common ground in his untiring search for alternatives to the marginalization of our native brothers and sisters; and for concrete and viable solutions for economic integration, without sacrificing traditions and cultures. Don Miqueas´ legacy will live on in the pursuit of lasting change. He will be missed.

wallstreetjournal 250

Opinion       February 3, 2011

More than 90% of Egyptians hold their property without legal title. No wonder they can't build wealth and have lost hope.

By HERNANDO DE SOTO

The headline that appeared on Al Jazeera on Jan. 14, a week before Egyptians took to the streets, affirmed that "[t]he real terror eating away at the Arab world is socio-economic marginalization."

Contact Us
P.O. Box 18-1420  
(511) 222-5566