The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty

Clayton M. Christensen, the author of such business classics as The Innovator’s Dilemma and the New York Times bestseller How Will You Measure Your Life, and co-authors Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon reveal why so many investments in economic development fail to generate sustainable prosperity, and offers a groundbreaking solution for true and lasting change.

Global poverty is one of the world’s most vexing problems. For decades, we’ve assumed smart, well-intentioned people will eventually be able to change the economic trajectory of poor countries. From education to healthcare, infrastructure to eradicating corruption, too many solutions rely on trial and error. Essentially, the plan is often to identify areas that need help, flood them with resources, and hope to see change over time.

But hope is not an effective strategy.

Clayton M. Christensen and his co-authors reveal a paradox at the heart of our approach to solving poverty. While noble, our current solutions are not producing consistent results, and in some cases, have exacerbated the problem. At least twenty countries that have received billions of dollars’ worth of aid are poorer now.

Applying the rigorous and theory-driven analysis he is known for, Christensen suggests a better way. The right kind of innovation not only builds companies—but also builds countries. The Prosperity Paradox identifies the limits of common economic development models, which tend to be top-down efforts, and offers a new framework for economic growth based on entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation. Christensen, Ojomo, and Dillon use successful examples from America’s own economic development, including Ford, Eastman Kodak, and Singer Sewing Machines, and shows how similar models have worked in other regions such as Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Rwanda, India, Argentina, and Mexico.

The ideas in this book will help companies desperate for real, long-term growth see actual, sustainable progress where they’ve failed before. But The Prosperity Paradox is more than a business book; it is a call to action for anyone who wants a fresh take for making the world a better and more prosperous place.

CLAYTON M. CHRISTENSEN is the Kim B. Clark Professor at Harvard Business School, the author of 12 books, a five-time recipient of the McKinsey Award for Harvard Business Review's best article, and the cofounder of four companies, including the innovation consulting firm Innosight. He is repeatedly recognized by Thinkers50 as one of the most influential business thinkers in the world, who have noted that "his influence on the business world has been profound."
 
EFOSA OJOMO works side-by-side with Christensen as a senior fellow at Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, where he leads the organization's Global Prosperity Practice. His work has been published in the Harvard Business Review, the Guardian, Quartz,CNBC Africa, and the Emerging Markets Business Review. He graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2015.
 
KAREN DILLON is the former editor of the Harvard Business Review and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller How Will You Measure Your Life? and Competing Against Luck. A graduate of Cornell University and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, she is also the Editorial Director of Banyan Global Family Business Advisors. She was named by Ashoka as one of the world's most influential and inspiring women.