How poor countries can ignite economic growth without waiting for global action or the creation of ideal local conditions

Countries that ignite a process of rapid economic growth almost always do so while lacking what experts say are the essential preconditions for development, such as good infrastructure and institutions. In Beating the Odds, two of the world's leading development economists begin with this paradox to explain what is wrong with mainstream development thinking—and to offer a practical blueprint for moving poor countries out of the low-income trap regardless of their circumstances.

"Shortlisted for the 2018 Africa-Asia ICAS Book Prize, International Convention of Asia Scholars and Association for Asian Studies in Africa"

Justin Yifu Lin, former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank, is director of the Center for New Structural Economics and dean of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University. Célestin Monga is vice president and chief economist of the African Development Bank and visiting professor of economics at University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Peking University.