Quotes from William Easterly

When you are in a hole, the top priority is to stop digging.

Remember, aid cannot achieve the end of poverty. Only homegrown development base on the dynamism of individuals and firms in free markets can do that.

money should not be spent according to what the West considers the most dramatic kind of suffering.

Any factor that breeds polarization will worsen policy, and thus cause lower growth.

To escape the cycle of tragedy, we (searchers) have to be tough on the ideas of the planners, even while we salute their goodwill.

Just as with the Maghribis, the clan's ability to enforce contracts is a success on one level in making trade possible when no formal institutions are available. But on another level, the reliance on enforcement inside the clan retarded the development of formal laws and institutions that would have made available a much greater scope of trade—such as between clans.

Ello no supone negar que muchos agravios nacionalistas sean genuinos; se trata simplemente de que los líderes nacionalistas parecen provocar tales agravios a expensas del futuro desarrollo económico.

The wonder of markets is that they reconcile the choices of myriad individuals.

los organismos de ayuda no pueden acabar con la pobreza en el mundo, pero sí pueden hacer muchas cosas útiles para satisfacer las desesperadas necesidades de los pobres y darles nuevas oportunidades.

Dado que no puedes hacer lo que quieres, pregúntate qué puedes hacer».

East Asia's share of global exports went from 12 percent in 1960 to 31 percent by 2011. The same number in Latin America over the same period declined from 7 percent to 6 percent

Hoy en día, la falta de retroalimentación es uno de los defectos más críticos de la ayuda.

Just as with the Maghribis, the clan's ability to enforce contracts is a success on one level in making trade possible when no formal institutions are available.

We need a revolution in development thinking and practice. Foreign aid, debt relief, family planning, democracy, education, and free markets have not succeeded.