• 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

The StarThe infrastructure that supports our system is slowly being chipped away.

By: Roger Martin Special to the Star, Published on Fri May 17 2013

Why does democratic capitalism seem to thrive in one part of the world and fail so dramatically in others?

In his 2013 book The Mystery of Capital, Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto makes an argument that has radically changed my view of the challenges facing democratic capitalism in North America.

In his book, he makes the case that for much of the world, capitalism fails to take hold because the basic structure of property and property rights doesn’t support it. Unless it is possible for an individual or organization to own land outright without threat of seizure, these land assets cannot be used to generate more capital.

In most countries, the potential capital in real estate is in fact dead capital because they don’t have land registry systems or real estate law that uphold them. The resulting lack of capital diminishes economic growth and hinders the adoption of democratic capitalism.

To read the complete article, please visit The Star

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