The Mystery of Capital
by Hernando De Soto · first published 2000
67% recommend33% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Explains why capitalism struggles outside the West: unclear property title and heavy bureaucracy leave assets as stranded capital. Suits readers curious about property rights, land records, and development economics.
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If you want an in depth exploration of this I recommend "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" by Hernando de Soto (the economist, not the explorer) The basics: Corruption and lack of property rights lead to poverty.
on “Reason: Why poor countries are poor. ” ↗Re: Trust A good book on this is Hernando de Soto's "The Mystery of Capital". Re: Saving individual banks rather than the banking system See the fiasco that was/is the Japanese handling of their bubble bursting. Re: The complexity of the "toxic", complex securities Um, er,…
on “Bernanke Is Fighting the Last War ” ↗This is exactly what I'm talking about. Property rights are one of the foundations of a modern, successful capitalist economy. De Soto's "The Mystery of Capital" is a great read about some of the problems that occur when there are no property rights. However, they are one component in an economy, not the component. And, sadly, there is no clear, easy line dividing…
on “How did we geeks become experts on macroeconomics?” ↗…Agreements, Miguel Ruiz - Man's Search For Meaning, Viktor Frankl - Understanding Power, Noam Chomsky - The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander - Good To Great, Jim Collins - Abundance, Peter Diamandis - The Mystery Of Capital, Hernando De Soto - Pathologies Of Power, Paul Farmer - Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff - Seeing Like A State, James Scott - Ishmael, Daniel Quinn - Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, Richard…
on “Ask HN: book suggestions in non-tech fields (e.g. psychology, philosophy…)” ↗Hernando De Soto addresses this issue in specific in his book "Mystery of Capital". Very good book to read about the issue of property rights and economic growth.
on “Violence Against Women in Papua New Guinea” ↗I found Hernando de Soto's Mystery of Capital compelling. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86154.The_Mystery_of_Cap... Though I haven't kept up on all the subsequent criticisms and refinements, I'm confident his central thesis is solid. At least…
on “Joseph Stiglitz Says American Inequality Didn’t Just Happen” ↗This reminds me more than a little of Hernando de Soto's work with _The Mystery of Capital_, subtitled "Why Capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everywhere else." It's an interesting read for its specifics (and I think he's got it right that successful private markets depend heavily on…
on “China confounds all that western liberals believed about the net” ↗To me, this question has been answered long ago by the book The mystery of Capital (2000) by Hernando de Soto. The conclusion is, that the administrative and judicial system needs to work for the poor, too; and there needs to be a process that is somewhat practical to go from black/…
on “How do poor countries get rich?” ↗…automating checks on them), for example the computerization of land records is taking place in quite a few countries. Don't underestimate the impact something like that can have, read Hernando de Soto's The Mystery of Capital if you want to understand why. Mobile development is something that's having a major impact in developing countries at the moment, things like mobile banking are huge in Africa because they allow people…
on “Ask HN: What kind of jobs exist for Computer Scientists in social justice?” ↗…tape', etc., but let me tell you; the USA is way ahead of other countries in making it easy to start companies. Where it lacks is in the health insurance area. I highly recommend Hernando DeSoto's "The Mystery of Capital" http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Capital-Capitalism-Triumphs-Ev... to get a glimpse of how hard it is to start a business in some other countries.
on “White House initiative to encourage entrepreneurship” ↗"I’d recommend the movie Brazil to those of you amused to explore dystopian authoritarian regimes mired in needless paperwork." ...is a good recommendation. Another is The Mystery of Capital by de Soto
on “A Guide to Stocks & Options for the Startup Entrepreneur (or Employee)” ↗A good read is the book "The Mystery of Capital" by Hernando DeSoto. It doesn't address failed states, but talks about why capitalism succeeds in some countries and not in others.
on “Why nations fail” ↗Actually, perpetual property rights and unclear title are a huge problem with real estate and capital formation in South America especially. See Hernando de Soto's Mystery of Capital or Niall Ferguson's The Ascent of Money. Perpetuities ultimately end up with contending claims. Adjudicating those is tremendously expensive.
on “Negotiators Lose Last Chance to Salvage the TPP by Caving on Copyright Extension” ↗What if title isn't clear? Hernando de Soto on Capital is recommended, specifically as regards Latin America. https://www.worldcat.org/title/mystery-of-capital-why-capita... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_Polar#Main_th...
on “Housing Can’t Be Both Affordable and a Good Investment (2018)” ↗The way they would game it would be by building unpermitted structures. Read Hernando de Soto’s mystery of capital - he talks how this happens all over the world as a way to store wealth. The problem is it can’t be financed so the capital is stranded and it’s unsafe - many years ago there was a small earthquake (maybe…
on “The Big Problem with Wealth Taxes” ↗