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Journal of Economic Literature Vol. 39 No. 4 2001

Review of de Soto's The Mystery of Capital

Christopher Woodruff

Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego.

Abstract

In The Mystery of Capital, Hernando de Soto promotes his explanation of why formal capital markets function poorly in developing countries. De Soto argues that much of the population of developing countries lacks access to credit, not because they lack assets, but because ownership of their property is secured informally, which prevents the use of property as collateral. The inability to convert assets into capital keeps the developing world from benefiting from capitalism.

DOI
10.1257/jel.39.4.1215
Volume
39
Issue
4
Pages
1215-1223
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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