An important contribution to the literature of economic development, this book presents case studies of productive entrepreneurship in contemporary Africa and Latin America. It looks at the growth of Kenya's chain stores and one-person kiosks, the rise of barter clubs in Argentina, and Nigeria's clothing-design industry to illustrate economists' insights about entrepreneurship and the role that government regulations often play in impeding economic development.

It is this issue that internationally acclaimed political analyst Alvaro Vargas Llosa and a select group of economists examine in a series of case studies from around the world. These studies reveal that entrepreneurial energy can be a persistent catalyst for change. But unfortunately in societies dominated by political corruption and unnecessary regulation, men and women seeking to innovate must hurdle a series of challenges. Wealth transfer, favoritism, excessive taxation, and lack of institutional security all conspire against progress. Our contributors examine real world examples of entrepreneurship and argue that instead of redistributing existing wealth, developing countries should start working to create it.

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Alvaro Vargas Llosa is a Senior Fellow of The Center on Global Prosperity at the Independent Institute, who has been a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group and among his books, Liberty for Latin America, received the Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for its contribution to the cause of freedom in 2006 and Lessons from the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit was awarded the Templeton Freedom Award (2010). He was appointed Young Global Leader 2007 by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

James D. Gwartney (1940-2024) was Professor of Economics, holder of the Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair, and Director of the Stavros Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Economic Education at Florida State University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Washington, and he is co-author of the annual report from the Fraser Institute, Economic Freedom of the World, for which the Independent Institute is Associate Member Sponsor.