Extreme poverty and development – a reading list
It has been said that aid (and charitable work) has hurt, rather than helped, the long-term viability of the world’s poorest communities and nations. How are we to think about aid and development, poverty and wealth, help and self-reliance? What role, if any, do we in the West play in helping solve these highly complex issues, often having to do with issues of state, politics and corruption? And is there a “right approach” to tackling these problems? As someone once said, “Nobody asked them if they would rather get respect and no aid, rather than aid and no respect.“
This is what we feel is a “must-read” list (and even a suggested reading order?) for those interested in working to combat global poverty, and studying to help solve the issues of poverty, hunger, corruption, aid, social change, education, sanitation, economics, and the ways these elements combine to hurt the chances of the world’s extreme poor from ever becoming anything but. The solutions offered often contradict one another and can be seen from multiple views. Still, the authors on this list command our attention and the list is a good “primer” and “starting point” to understanding the arguments, the issues, and the complexity of the work being done to alleviate world poverty.
Poverty and development reading list follows (below the image)…
Most of these books discuss solutions more than popular books describing the problem itself, such as “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo. Most are available on Kindle as well.
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty, 2012
by
Starting with this book may save you a lot of time deciding which of the following books to read. Banerjee and Duflo helped develop the concept of testing theories of development using “Randomized Controlled Trials” (RCTs) to learn about the poor and how to best help in development without creating dependence. Worries about RCTs have been largely disproven, and the results are published here.
Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, 2010
by , More at http://www.dambisamoyo.com/
Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, 2008
by Also by Muhammad Yunus: Banker To The Poor (2007), Building Social Business (2010),…]
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, 2006
by . Foreword by Bono [Also by Jeffrey Sacks: The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Common Wealth (2008),…]
The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty, 2014
by
Enough, Why the World’s Poorest Starve in a World of Plenty, 2009
by and
The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, 2008
by
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, 2013
by
With Charity for All: Why Charities are Failing and A Better Way to Give, 2013 by Ken Stern. Addresses the effectiveness of organizations and why sometimes rating systems like Guidestar or CharityNavigator may not mean the organization is a top performer. An important book.
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself, 2014
by , Forewords by John Perkins and David Platt
The End of Power, 2014
by
The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor, 2014
by
As more companies and individuals become aware of social good business practices and social good investing, and become more responsive to consumer demands for social activism, more funds are suddenly becoming available…therefore this resource guide to financing and funding opportunities available for aid and development ( Read a short review of the book here):
New Frontiers of Philanthropy: A Guide to the New Tools and New Actors that Are Reshaping Global Philanthropy and Social Investing, 2014
By Lester M. Salamon
