''The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time'' () is a 2005 book by American economist
Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs () (born 5 November 1954) is an American economist, academic, public policy analyst, and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he holds the title of University Professor. He is known for his work ...
. It was a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
bestseller.
In the book, Sachs argues that
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
—defined by the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
as incomes of less than one dollar per day—can be eliminated globally by the year 2025, through carefully planned
development aid
Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...
. He presents the problem as an inability of very poor countries to reach the "bottom rung" of the ladder of
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
; once the bottom rung is reached, a country can pull itself up into the global
market economy, and the need for outside aid will be greatly diminished or eliminated.
Clinical economics
In order to address and remedy the specific economic stumbling blocks of various countries, Sachs espouses the use of what he terms "clinical economics", by analogy to
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
. Sachs explains that countries, like patients, are complex systems, requiring
differential diagnosis
In healthcare, a differential diagnosis (abbreviated DDx) is a method of analysis of a patient's history and physical examination to arrive at the correct diagnosis. It involves distinguishing a particular disease or condition from others that p ...
, an understanding of context, monitoring and evaluation, and professional standards of ethics. Clinical economics requires a methodic analysis and "differential diagnosis" of a country's economic problems, followed by a specifically tailored prescription. Many factors can affect a country's ability to enter the world market, including government
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
; legal and social disparities based on gender, ethnicity, or caste; diseases such as
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
and
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
; lack of infrastructure (including transportation, communications, health, and trade); unstable political landscapes;
protectionism
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
; and geographic barriers. Sachs discusses each factor, and its potential remedies, in turn.
In order to illustrate the use of clinical economics, Sachs presents case studies on
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, Poland, and Russia, and discusses the solutions he presented to those countries, and their effects. The book also discusses the economies of
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, India, China, and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
as representative of various stages of economic development.
The Millennium Development Goals
Sachs places a great deal of emphasis on the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
'
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...
(MDGs) as a first step towards eliminating
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
, which affected approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide at the time of publication. Sachs headed the
United Nations Millennium Project
The Millennium Project was an initiative that focused on detailing the organizational means, operational priorities, and financing structures necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goals or (MDGs). The goals are aimed at the reduction of ...
, which worked from 2002 to 2005 to establish the organizational means to achieve the MDGs.
He also offers some specific, immediate solutions, such as increasing the availability of anti-malarial bed nets in
sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
, and encourages
debt cancellation Debt relief or debt cancellation is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations.
From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particu ...
for the world's poorest countries. Sachs states that in order to achieve the goal of eliminating global poverty, clinical economics must be backed by greater funding; he argues that development aid must be raised from $65 billion globally as of 2002 to between $135 and $195 billion a year by 2015.
Sachs argues that the developed world can afford to raise the poorest countries out of extreme poverty; he agrees with the MDG's calculation that 0.7 percent of the combined
gross national product
The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...
of first-world countries would be sufficient to achieve that goal.
[Sachs, ''The End of Poverty'', 290 p]
See also
*
2005 World Summit
*
Dambisa Moyo
Dambisa Felicia Moyo, Baroness Moyo (born 2 February 1969)Moyo showed a copy of an official document with her date and place of birth as part of a lecture she gave at TEDGlobal 2013, Edinburgh, Scotland. is a Zambian-born economist and author, ...
, Zambian-born author and economist
*
Development economics
Development economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural ...
*
Effective altruism
*
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, ...
Notes
References
*
External links
Jeffrey Sachs discusses his book, ''The End of Poverty,''at the
Carnegie Council
The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is a New York City-based 501(c)3 public charity serving international affairs professionals, teachers and students, and the attentive public. Founded in 1914, and originally named ''Church ...
.
*http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/endofpoverty
UN Millennium Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:End of Poverty
Economics books
International development
2005 non-fiction books
Books about globalization
Books about poverty
Penguin Press books
American non-fiction books