Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus

"Banker for the Poor."

This book is Muhammad Yunus's story of how he decided to change his life so that he could help the world's poor people. In this book, he talks about how he came to think about the relationship between the rich and the poor in a new way, and how he and his co-workers tried to start a business called Grameen. A wise and hopeful person also gives advice on how to help him "put homelessness and destitution in a museum so that one day our children will come and ask us how we could have let this happen for so long." Banker to the Poor is the definitive history of micro-credit from the man who came up with it. It's important and inspirational reading for anyone who wants to learn about economics, public policy, philanthropy, social history, and business. Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the War on Poverty in the World

Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

The poor borrow money to save. Vaccinations are free, but they have to pay for drugs that don't help them. People who want to end world poverty answer these questions from the ground up in Poor Economics by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo. People who live on less than 99 cents a day make bad decisions because they're stressed out, the authors of a book called "Marvelous, Rewarding" say. In the end, the economics of poverty is rethought in a way that gives a firsthand look at the lives of the world's poorest people and shows that making a world without poverty starts with understanding the choices they make every day. Poor Economics: A New Approach to Getting People Out of Poverty All Over the World

Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo

Dambisa Moyo talks about the state of postwar development policy in Africa today in her book, Dead Aid. She bravely challenges one of the biggest myths of our time: that billions of dollars in aid sent from wealthy countries to developing African countries has helped to reduce poverty and boost growth. In fact, poverty levels have continued to rise and growth rates have been steadily declining, and millions of people are still living in poverty. Moyo draws a stark contrast between African countries that have chosen not to get aid and prospered and those that have become aid-dependent and become poorer. He shows how overreliance on aid has led to a vicious cycle of aid dependency, corruption, market distortion, and more poverty, leaving them with nothing but the "need" for more aid. Moyo says that the current model of international aid, which Hollywood celebrities and policymakers both support, doesn't work for the world's poorest countries. Instead, he proposes a bold new plan for financing development that doesn't rely on foreign aid or aid-related help. There's a better way for Africa than getting aid.

More than Good Intentions by Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel

"American people and institutions spent billions of dollars trying to help people in other countries, but they didn't do very much." It's finally time to move forward in a way that makes sense. Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel show how empirical analysis and the most recent thinking in behavioral economics can make a big difference when used together. They show how innovative and successful development projects around the world show how this works. Teenagers in Kenya had more unprotected sex with people their own age, which cut their risk of getting AIDS. In Mexico, giving kids a one-dollar deworming pill made them more likely to go to school than paying their families to send them. "More Than Good Intentions shows how to invest those billions far more effectively and start changing the world." The world's poor need more than good intentions: They need to borrow and save more money, learn more about farming, save more money, and stay healthy.

Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen

"Amartya Sen won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1988, and now he has come up with a new way to think about economic development for both rich and poor people in the twenty-first century." Freedom, says Sen, is both the goal and the most efficient way to keep the world's economy going. It's also the key to ensuring the general well-being of the entire world's population. Sen makes it clear that the idea of individual freedom doesn't have to be tied to any specific historical, intellectual, political, or religious tradition. In the new global economy, he says that even though the world has become more affluent, many people still don't have basic freedoms, and he thinks it's still possible to "practically and optimistically" keep a sense of social accountability. People see development as a way for them to be free

The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs

Instead of giving readers a worldview from a high place, Sachs takes them on the learning path he took himself. He tells the stories of his own work in Bolivia, Poland, Russia, India, China, and Africa to help them understand the wide range of issues countries face and how they all work together. Finally, he draws on everything he's learned to come up with a set of integrated solutions to the intertwined problems that keep societies from progressing. It doesn't matter how big the world's problems are, he says, because they can be solved. Making the effort is both a moral obligation and a smart move for people. The End of Poverty is a work of profound moral and intellectual vision that comes from a new kind of real-world experience. It is a road map to a safer, more prosperous world. Economics for Our Time: The End of Poverty

Generous Justice by Timothy Keller

"It is thought that the Bible is one of the biggest obstacles to doing the right thing. Isn't it full of old ideas? Wasn't it okay for slavery? Why not look to the Bible for advice on how to make the world a better place? The Bible is a source of justice and compassion for people who are in need, but Timothy Keller challenges these preconceptions and says the Bible is a good place to start. In Generous Justice, he talks about a life of justice that is made possible by an experience of grace: a generous, gracious justice. This book gives readers a new way to think about modern justice and human rights that will resonate with both people who are religious and people who aren't. generous justice: how God's grace makes us more like him

Unpoverty by Mark Lutz

"The poorest people in the world don't just make it; they live very well." They have strong family relationships, build strong communities, and show a lot of faith. They can teach us a lot about life and inspire us with their ingenuity, persistence, generosity, and self-reliance, so we should pay attention to what they say. Mark Lutz has visited families who live in cardboard huts, walked on dusty paths to African villages, and walked on makeshift bridges over disgusting open sewers. UnPoverty tells the stories of people who were both poor and rich at the same time. Does it come to mind when we hear about the billions of people who live on very little money? These stories put individual faces on impossible numbers and make their world come to life. Then, you might even see yourself in them. A book called UnPoverty: Rich Advice from the Working Poor

The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier

A book called "The Bottom Billion" is widely praised and won awards. Paul Collier says that 50 failed states, which are home to one billion of the world's poorest people, are the main challenge for the developing world in this century. The book shines a lot of light on a group of small countries that are falling further and farther behind the rest of the world's people, often falling into an all-out decline in living standards. Collier has worked to end global poverty for a long time. His book, The Bottom Billion, is full of real hope for solving one of the world's most important problems. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Aren't Doing Better and What Can Be Done to Make them Do Better

Portfolios of the Poor by Daryl Collins, et. al.

About 40% of the world's people live on less than two dollars a day or less. If you've never had to live on such a small income, it's hard to picture. How would you put food on the table, buy a house, and teach your kids? During emergencies and when you're old, how would you deal with these things? Many people around the world have to answer these questions every day. Portfolios of the Poor is the first book to explain how the poor solve their money problems in a systematic way. A book called Portfolios of the Poor: How the world's poor live on just $2 a day.

The Last Hunger Season by Roger Thurow

Africa's small-scale farmers, most of whom are women, have been through a lot. These people live and work in a time warp. They live and work pretty much the same way their forebears did a century ago. Their crops aren't as good as those of Western farmers because they have old seeds, poor soil, primitive storage, bad roads, and no money or credit. This isn't the picture of African farmers that you see in your mind. Instead, it's a scene of malnourished children, backbreaking work, and hopelessness. Growing food is their main goal, but they still don't have enough to feed their families all year long. Annual hunger season, Thewanjala, is still going on. It can last from one month to as many as eight or nine, but it is still going on. In the background, there is a big problem: by 2050, world food production must almost double. If these farmers do well, so could we all.

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