The End of Poverty Economic Possibilities for Our Time

Jeff Sachs is a neoclassical economist who seems to have fallen into the same trap as have many of his other contemporaries. Of Francis Moore Lappe's 12 Myths (see World Hunger: 12 Myths), Sachs buys into at least half. Completely ignoring the fact that hunger is not an issue of sheer quantity, but rather of distribution, Sachs promotes Green Revolution as a solution. GR is at best a stop-gap...more

Jeff Sachs is a neoclassical economist who seems to have fallen into the same trap as have many of his other contemporaries. Of Francis Moore Lappe's 12 Myths (see World Hunger: 12 Myths), Sachs buys into at least half. Completely ignoring the fact that hunger is not an issue of sheer quantity, but rather of distribution, Sachs promotes Green Revolution as a solution. GR is at best a stop-gap measure and cannot be taken as the answer to hunger. Sachs also goes the road of Jared Diamond, that is, to attempt to explain poverty through environmental determinism, an idea that went out of fashion in Geography over 100 years ago. Yes, malaria is endemic to Africa, but so is it to Florida--and somehow the retirees and vacationers have managed to cope. Sachs ends the book by saying that the solution should be more aid from the developed countries. As if somehow throwing money at the problem will solve the deep systematic, structural inequalities and systems of exploitation that cause it.   hide

I think Mr. Sachs fails to realize that there are political reasons that contribute to the inequalities and poverty of the world, especially in places like Africa. If ending poverty were as simple as he proposes, we would have ended it two decades ago when he began proposing these same solutions for other parts of the world. There is a structural change that needs to occur, more so than a...more

I think Mr. Sachs fails to realize that there are political reasons that contribute to the inequalities and poverty of the world, especially in places like Africa. If ending poverty were as simple as he proposes, we would have ended it two decades ago when he began proposing these same solutions for other parts of the world. There is a structural change that needs to occur, more so than a material change....   hide

Good book for those that wished the world was more charitable

inspiring and revealing that fact that how little we are doing to help reaching world peace by bringing everyone else economic stability. which is the only way, better way, than spending all the money on military and wars..

This is a well written and optimistic book, and gives hope to anyone involved in either private or public forays into ending poverty in developing countries. What bugs me though is the fact that Mr. Sachs has a method of approach that involves sitting down writing a great plan an implementing changes to stabilize currency and lower goods prices on a macro scale but does not seem to include in his...more

This is a well written and optimistic book, and gives hope to anyone involved in either private or public forays into ending poverty in developing countries. What bugs me though is the fact that Mr. Sachs has a method of approach that involves sitting down writing a great plan an implementing changes to stabilize currency and lower goods prices on a macro scale but does not seem to include in his plans longer term reforms that maintain this short term stability. Those reforms would address what happens when the 'hot money' arrives from hedge and emerging market funds, banking credit policies, securities legislation and land ownership reforms. When Lech Walensa asked Mr. Sachs 'ok, how do I get the foreign banks to open in poland?' he should have listened and reacted, as it requires a long-tail process that can truly bring change.   hide

while it is successful in laying out the complexities of the causes of poverty and what makes them so difficult to fix, the solutions seemed a less fleshed out. does anyone want to borrow my copy?

Excellent ideas and analysis from Jeffrey Sachs regarding the elimination of extreme poverty globally. Interesting historical economic viewpoints that characterize the evolution and disposition of many regions and their countries. I was very startled to learn of some the GDP percentages that are allocated to aid from some of the world's leading economies. What really gets me is how governments...more

Excellent ideas and analysis from Jeffrey Sachs regarding the elimination of extreme poverty globally. Interesting historical economic viewpoints that characterize the evolution and disposition of many regions and their countries. I was very startled to learn of some the GDP percentages that are allocated to aid from some of the world's leading economies. What really gets me is how governments could really collectively organise their resources towards more socially (and politically) rewarding futures. Mr. Sachs also highly stresses the importance of local knowledge in developing areas in many dimensions. We all have a role to play and it begins with us, first and foremost!   hide

This book provides an insightful yet readable analysis of the causes of poverty in the third world and what we can do about it. Written for a wider audience, it still provides a good deal of fact and figures. I particularly enjoyed Sachs debunking of some popular myths about economic development, such that poverty in Africa is mostly due to corrupt politicians rather than geography or...more

This book provides an insightful yet readable analysis of the causes of poverty in the third world and what we can do about it. Written for a wider audience, it still provides a good deal of fact and figures. I particularly enjoyed Sachs debunking of some popular myths about economic development, such that poverty in Africa is mostly due to corrupt politicians rather than geography or colonialism, or that "we" in the rich world are also spending oh so much on development aid. He also does the sums on the ammount of cash needed to achieve the millenium development goals. Everyone should read it.   hide

Now, Sachs is much more of an idealist than a realist, but this man has actually helped to advise several governments on economic reforms to put them on the path of development. He details some of this exciting work, and also prevents concrete (albeit idealistic) strategies to help the rest of the world climb out of the poverty trap. His basic principle is convincing---by helping other get out of...more

Now, Sachs is much more of an idealist than a realist, but this man has actually helped to advise several governments on economic reforms to put them on the path of development. He details some of this exciting work, and also prevents concrete (albeit idealistic) strategies to help the rest of the world climb out of the poverty trap. His basic principle is convincing---by helping other get out of poverty and on to the ladder of development, we can provide a better, more stable world for us all.   hide