Abhijit V. Banerjee

Interesting summary of what we know (and don’t) about how poor people make decisions. Poor people are people! So they behave like people under resource constraints; when it comes to healthcare, that also includes information constraints (not really knowing much about vaccination, for example, including often lacking trustworthy sources of information). Some self-protective measures can also limit the upside of taking risks that might pay off—like people who spend money as it comes in so that they don’t get pressured to give it to needy family and friends. The research also suggests that microcredit has a limit—most businesses that poor people work in inherently don’t scale well, so expecting entrepreneurship to save poor people is a mistake. Given that poor people have to take way too many risks, it’s understandable that their ambitions for their children often are stable (ideally government) employment rather than entrepreneurship.… (more)

This book is excellent. Most of us in countries like India claim to know about poverty. It is impossible for us to appreciate poor people's concerns, aspirations, and dreams. We don't live their lives nor interact with them, save at a superficial level. Experts who remain aloof from the problem of poverty have written most books on poverty.

This book fills a void and discusses the aspects of poverty and "poor economics." Each section covers a different aspect of poverty and contains enough anecdotal information and research findings. Each chapter also discusses the main theses of different authors.

I don't know why they referenced C. K. Prahalad's book on fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. That book is superficial.

There is a good concluding chapter.

The book is readable. Over the last few years, I saw many people troll the authors. This behaviour has been tragic because the trolls have not read this excellent book.

There is no simple solution to poverty. This is the tragic lesson of the book. But, I hope we come away with a greater appreciation of what needs to be done and don't treat the poor as useless. If we do this, then the authors have been successful.… (more)