The Prosperity Paradox

Publisher's Summary

Clayton M. Christensen, the author of such business classics as The Innovator’s Dilemma and the New York Times best-seller How Will You Measure Your Life, and coauthors Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon reveal why so many investments in economic development fail to generate sustainable prosperity and offers a groundbreaking solution for true and lasting change.

Global poverty is one of the world’s most vexing problems. For decades, we’ve assumed smart, well-intentioned people will eventually be able to change the economic trajectory of poor countries. From education to healthcare, infrastructure to eradicating corruption, too many solutions rely on trial and error. Essentially, the plan is often to identify areas that need help, flood them with resources, and hope to see change over time.

But hope is not an effective strategy.

Clayton M. Christensen and his coauthors reveal a paradox at the heart of our approach to solving poverty. While noble, our current solutions are not producing consistent results, and in some cases, have exacerbated the problem. At least 20 countries that have received billions of dollars’ worth of aid are poorer now.

Applying the rigorous and theory-driven analysis he is known for, Christensen suggests a better way. The right kind of innovation not only builds companies - but also builds countries. The Prosperity Paradox identifies the limits of common economic development models, which tend to be top-down efforts, and offers a new framework for economic growth based on entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation. Christensen, Ojomo, and Dillon use successful examples from America’s own economic development, including Ford, Eastman Kodak, and Singer Sewing Machines, and shows how similar models have worked in other regions such as Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Rwanda, India, Argentina, and Mexico.

The ideas in this audiobook will help companies desperate for real, long-term growth see actual, sustainable progress where they’ve failed before. But The Prosperity Paradox is more than a business audiobook; it is a call to action for anyone who wants a fresh take for making the world a better and more prosperous place.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2019 Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

How to Sustainably Lift Nations out of Poverty

Good people exist all over the world. When good people from wealthy nations see people in poor nations struggle to feed and cloth themselves, charity is usually the first thing that people think of. Huge charitable donations and programs are undertaken to provide relief to desperate people. Sadly, these programs are highly ineffective at combating the underlying issues. People without food will still not have food after the chartible donations have been consumed.

This book presents a more effective way for helping people who desperately need help: innovation. The theory of this book is that lasting change occurs in individual lives when those people are given jobs and jobs are most likely to be generated via innovation. To use a common adage: "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime". People will pull themselves out of poverty, as they are given the chance to do meaningful work that will provide themselves a living. Most people understand that, but this book does an excellent job at demostrating that it's innovation that creates those jobs most effectively.

This book is going to teach you a lot about market creation, innovation, and developing markets. It's an excellent read if you are interested in creating products, business, or helping stuggling people.

Renewed Hope

I believe this book is a must for entrepreneurs/aspiring entrepreneurs/people interested in governance. Anyone interested in leaving a dent on the current challenges faced by their country/region should read this book. I have recommended it to most friends and family.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I will.

It describes a lot of stories of success in many different countries. I liked the idea of focusing on non consumption and help the country to be developed along with your growing business.

Brilliant and insightful book

This book will change the way you think about creating economic prosperity in rich and poor nations alike. Insightful. Instructive. Impressive.