How Nations Escape Poverty: Vietnam, Poland, and the Origins of Prosperity

A rigorous defense of free markets and open enterprise in the tradition of Adam Smith.

During the 20^th century, Vietnam and Poland were both victims not only of devastating wars, but also of socialist planned economies that destroyed whatever war hadn’t already. In 1990, Vietnam was still one of the poorest countries in the world, while Poland was one of the poorest in Europe. But in the three decades since then, both countries have drastically improved their citizens’ standards of living an...