Micro book review of the day: "Moving Out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up"

The most valuable contribution of this book is its novel approach, instead of studying poor people themselves, it studies people who have escaped from poverty. Very important conclusions to take home:

[N]GOs were mentioned as a cause of moving out of poverty by only .03 percent of our respondents . . .

[o]verwhelmingly, poor people in their narratives do not see themselves as trapped. Again and again our respondents told stories of overcoming obstacles by using their freedom to seize opportunities.

While there is no question that people have needs, reducing people to their needs undermines their ability to help themselves. People have needs but they also have drams, ambitions, plans, skills, ideas, and preferences -- and people experiencing problems are no exception.

Despite their experiences, poor people still believe in markets and governments that are equitable and just.

From the book Moving out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up (2009).
See a book review, Here.