How nations escape poverty

At the height of the 20th century, Vietnam and Poland were victims of devastating wars. The socialist planned economies that followed destroyed what the wars hadn't. In 1990, Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in the world, while Poland was one of the poorest in Europe. But in the three decades since, both countries have broken free from this cycle of national poverty and dramatically improved the living standards of their citizens.

In this book, Rainer Zettelmann identifies the reasons behind the remarkable growth of these two countries' economies, drawing lessons for other nations from these success stories. He revisits Adam Smith's seminal work, *The Wealth of Nations*, published in 1776, to illustrate their success: the only way to overcome poverty, as Smith wrote, is through economic growth, and economic freedom is the essential prerequisite for achieving such growth. The development processes of the past fifty years have proven Adam Smith's ideas correct. The market economy has led to a global reduction in poverty unprecedented in human history. Compare this to fifty years of development aid in Africa, which has done little more than reinforce the status quo, and it becomes clear which approach produces superior results.

Despite these steps, nearly 10% of the world's population still lives in extreme poverty, and so the question is: Which measures really help reduce poverty today? Through a wealth of data and stories about the daily lives of people from Poland and Vietnam who witnessed, experienced, and lived through the reforms, Professor Zettelman highlights the continuing importance of Adam Smith's ideas regarding economic prosperity in the 21st century.