INTRODUCTION: 78 factors that enables any poor nation to overcome poverty; “Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him” (Psalm 41:1); goal: provide sustainable solution to poverty based on economic principles and the Bible; focus on nations not individuals; steps need to be implemented from within a nation, by its own leaders; wealthy nations may help but within limits (eg limited, targeted foreign aid, military intervention to maintain peace, catch and prosecute criminals, lower trade barriers); there is no simple solution; Asset Based Community Development (ABCD): what do poor nations already do well?; history shows that many wealthy nations failed to remain prosperous; four “traps” (Paul Collier): 1) conflict trap 2) natural resource trap 3) trap of being landlocked with bad neighbors 4) trap of bad government in small country; West tends to think of poverty in material/physical terms <-> poor think of poverty in psychological/social terms; leaders in poor nations have special responsibility: God-given purpose: to do good for the nation (Rom 13,4); material poverty is secondary (relationship with God more important)

1. GOAL: measurement of poverty: 1) per capita income 2) gross domestic product; doesn’t include everything (eg freedom), doesn’t tell distribution, but still helpful; GDP / population = per capita income; goal: increase nation’s GDP (not massive foreign aid or government-forced equality); “A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both” (Milton Friedman); not by taking products from other nations but creating more goods and services within; not by printing money (it is a medium of exchange and a measure of value but doesn’t increase the value of the things in itself; principle of comparative advantage: no ma person/country can make everything

2. WRONG GOALS: dependence on foreign aid (harmful because corrupts governments); Marshall Plan: not economic development of a poor country (Germany was already wealthy); “earned success” > money; merely redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor doesn’t achieve primary goal (doesn’t create new goods & services); government not responsible for equalizing the incomes between rich and poor; Spain became poor because it had too much money (Hernando Cortez conquered Aztec Empire -> lots of gold -> no development); easy money is bad for you (~ oil-rich countries); abundant natural resources can be curse (eg African nations), it can distract from primary goal (creating goods and services); blaming external factors (except oppression) are not forward-looking even if they are true (what can be done now?); colonialism had mixed effects (P. T. Bauer); debt forgiveness: heart promotes it but head doesn’t (= plea for even more aid), makes sense only if either 1) government has changed or 2) will never be repeated; “fair-trade” coffee: can be harmful (-> artificially increases demand, depresses prices of non-fair-trade coffee, discourages farmers to shift to alternative crops); government-imposed tariffs keep farmers from receiving fair value (can’t go higher than world price -> need to switch toa different crop); government-support programs (eg farm-subsidies) reduces price by artificially increasing demand; accusation: wealthy countries “exploited” poor nations -> began with Marxist ideology (Bauer) <-> reality: economic interactions were very beneficial for poor nations; economic advantage of poor nations: inexpensive labor <-> any regulation that requires companies to pay higher wages (to be more “fair”) takes away this advantage; in general, Bible does not blame the rich for the poverty of the poor

3. WRONG SYSTEMS: what doesn’t work: hunting & gathering, subsistence farming (= everybody grows their own food, no time for anything else, not sure people were happier, individuals should have the freedom but cannot bring a country out of poverty), slavery (issues: dehumanizing, economically not profitable from a certain point, machines more productive), tribal ownership (lack of private ownership eliminates incentives; “Property that is common to the greatest number of owners receives the least attention; men care most for their private possessions, and for what they own in common less, or only so far as it falls to their own individual share.” (Aristotle)), feudalism (stagnant system, undermined by improving economic opportunities outside of it), mercantilism (goal: accumulate gold by exporting more and importing less, not free competition, doesn’t seek best interest of the people of a nation), socialism & communism (socialism: means of production owned by government, communism: all property also belongs to state, violent revolution, value of commodity = labor hours put into it, everybody compelled to work, private property damages human nature, once abolished, people would naturally work for the good of the whole, no real-world success story under communist banner, staggering death toll), welfare state & equality (“third way” between socialism and free market, many European governments, people believe government owe them list of “human rights”: education, secure jobs, long vacations, early retirement, generous pensions, subsidies housing, free health care; most wealth of European countries was created under free-market systems not modern welfare states; welfare leads to slow economic growth & entitlement mentality; “Europeans today are the idlers of the world” (Niall Ferguson), expectations outgrew wealth being created -> Europe hit a wall, but continent still in denial because of available debts, main pillars of welfare states no longer viable, fewer workers supporting more and more pensioners -> generous entitlements for health & retirement becoming impossible, Germany has key role, cannot continue to bankroll existing welfare states but they can’t get out without their help either); better solution: free-market system

4. FREE MARKET SYSTEM: economic system “in which economic production and consumption are determined by the free choices of individuals rather than by governments, and this process is grounded in private ownership of the means of production”; people not the government own the farms and businesses; not undesirable form of capitalism (eg state capitalism); free market: “God’s way of providentially governing the actions of billions of free agents in a fallen world”; people are not compelled but free to choose to work; “The security which the laws in Great Britain give to every man that he shall enjoy the fruits of his own labour, is alone sufficient to make any county flourish […] The natural effort of every individual to better his own condition, when suffered to exert itself with freedom and security, is so powerful a principle, that it is alone, and without any assistance […] capable of carrying on the society to wealth and prosperity.” (Adam Smith); strong correlation between economic freedom and prosperity; rule of law necessary to prevent crime (-> free != anarchy); Index of Economic Freedom: countries ranked by how free they are; capitalism have several meanings, doesn’t covey key idea of free-markets; many NGOs hate capitalism (= oppression of the poor) and don’t want it to work -> call for high trade barriers in poor nations; free-market system has a proven track record; in line with teachings of the Bible (private property belongs to individuals, equal rights before the law, government doesn’t have the right to manage economic decisions, only to punish evildoers, reward those who do good and maintain order in society); tribal ownership hinders private property (-> Native American reserves in the US); Africa: long-term “borrowing” from relatives, if person believes s/he needs it more than you do, you owe it to him/her; Albania: failure to quickly resolve conflicting property claims; documented ownership of property is important (-> without titles people cannot borrow money, build wealth and grow in prosperity); government needs to establish easy path to documented property ownership (<-> in some countries it takes several years!); legal foundation: rule of the law (not even the king is exempt - eg David & Bathsheba); two crucial economic factors: 1) stable currency (fiat currency: but backed by gold; inflation: quantity of money grows faster than output, gives the illusion that we have more money than we really do; governments inflate their money because it’s easier to pay off government debt with cheaper money created by printing it) 2) low tax rates (associated with faster growth, high tax rates retard progress, reduce capital investment, hold back economic growth; Laffer curve: tax revenues decrease beyond a certain tax rate - at 100% tax ppl rather do something else, optimal point not at 50% but rather 15-20%)

5. MECHANICS OF FREE MARKET: no one decides what is produced (cf “I, Pencil” essay by Leonard E. Read); economic knowledge doesn’t exist in concentrated form; “invisible hand”: miracle of human creativity (-> imago dei); specialization is key to prosperity (although has dangers too through isolation); specialization fosters innovation (-> forces people to invest time making tools that make tools); it works because everyone has a comparative advantage; “It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy. (Adam Smith)”; there is comparative advantage even in the presence of absolute advantage (eg doctor is better off hiring a secretary even if he can type faster than her); humans have limited needs (food, clothing, shelter) but unlimited wants (some might stem from greed but not intrinsically sinful) -> will never run out of new products; free market signals workers what jobs need to be done & businesses what products need to be made; knowledge never exists in a concentrated form but dispersed among individuals (Hayek) <-> central planners assume the contrary; market registers future expectations; prices convey objective information on the subjective attitudes/feelings of buyers & sellers; profits/losses: customers signaling “go” and “stop”; competition: forces progress, innovation and voluntary cooperation; “good enough” is never good enough for long; economic progress = creative destruction (Joseph Schumpeter); how wealthy people in rich nations can genuinely help poor nations: invest in for-profit businesses in poor nations (-> make products that increase GDP, meet people needs and provide jobs, treat people with dignity through earned success); micro-loans (<$250) are also helpful but investing in “small and medium enterprises” (SME) ($25k - $1 million) are crucial for large economic growth; support educational programs promoting free markets; support future leaders to travel & study abroad; supporting charities is also good in the short run, especially in crisis situations, but do not bring permanent solutions - this only comes through supporting private investment and educational activities

6. MORAL BENEFITS: free markets won’t make morally perfect people; sin affects everyone -> every economic system has sinful people in it; free markets do not eliminate selfishness, greed -> flawed human beings can never create flawless systems; question is not: “Do free-market systems have some evil people in them?” but rather: “Does a free-market system tend to discourage and punish wrong behavior and tend to encourage and reward virtuous behavior, and does it do these things better than other economic systems?” -> yes, because free market systems
   1. promote freedom of choice for moral actions (transactions must be voluntary, in Bible slavery and oppression always viewed negatively)
   2. promote freedom for abstract/spiritual pursuits eg arts/ministry (<-> jail for refusing do government mandated jobs)
   3. promote personal virtues eg integrity, truth-telling (<-> lying destroys trade), accountability (<-> government redistribution = legalized theft), earned success (primary economic factor of happiness is not money but earned success, Bible views productive work as morally good, highest motivation: please God - Col 3,23, freedom to try jobs that fit you vs government assigned jobs, take pride in quality work vs fulfilling government quota)
   4. moderates selfishness, greed (greed is wrong <-> ordinary self-interest often morally right, doesn’t eliminate selfishness but channel it into work);
   5. promote wise use of the environment (<-> socialist societies have been most destructive);
   6. curb materialism & promote personal charity (true charity cannot be compelled);
   7. promote interpersonal virtues eg meeting the needs of others, prioritizing the wants of others, treating other humanely, truly helping the poor;
   8. promote “lesser virtues” eg punctuality, tidiness, job well done;
   9. promote societal virtues eg peaceful & harmonious society; solution for arguments over toy sharing: two rules: A) never bring anything into the house without assigning clear ownership to one child B) owner not required to share -> introducing property rights promoted sharing instead of selfishness (sharing raises children’s self-esteem to see themselves as generous persons, they respect the rights of others);
   10. promote fair society (damage must be paid);
   11. promote productive society (we don’t need more stuff to survive but we need it for human flourishing);
   12. Moral objections:
       1. objection: free markets don’t work (no critic have proposed any better alternative; compared to perfection, it’s easy to criticize; utopia is always a better ideal; “Despite the evidence that socialism, in all of its manifestations, leads to government intervention in private actions and often ruthless dictatorship, the hope for a welfare state or a “third way” lives on.”);
       2. objection: free markets depend on greed (greed != ordinary self-interest; “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their that’s to their own self-interest” (Adam Smith); proper self-interest is the basis of the Golden Rule: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.”; self-interest is sign of imago dei, not the consequence of the fall; greed = excessive self-interest, wanting more than you rightfully deserve; greed cannot be prevented by human laws -> can be reduced only by change of the heart; no economic system is able to eliminate greed from every person - but free-market system at least utilizes it in a beneficial way; “Instead of despising self-interest and the free-market’s untold goods and services, we wish that people would see the role of self-interest in a free-market system as God’s providential method of guiding the actions of billions of fallible humans to decisions and choices that benefit all mankind.”; voluntary exchange benefits all);
       3. objection: free markets result in inequality (there are different kinds of equality, free-market system protects two crucial kinds: A) equality before the law B) equal opportunity to attempt to succeed and improve one’s life -> implications of imago dei; <-> economic equality is different question, depends on skill sets, levels of willingness to work hard, intelligence, preferences, even luck/providence; complete economic equality: impossible to create, efforts to do so are destructive; no society has ever produced strict economic equality, those who tried produced bloodshed; not all economic inequality is wrong - eg professional athletes, sinners, software engineers, “Inequality of talent, beauty, and luck may be unfortunate, but isn’t it envy that tells us they are always wrong or unfair?”; attempt to legislate economic equality usually gives more power to the political rolling class, who retain access to all the privileges the society affords; but: some economic inequality is wrong: eg powerful elites manipulating laws, property ownership -> not representative of free-market systems);
       4. objection: in some countries free markets become “bad capitalism” (some in fact are not free markets at all; eg state-guided capitalism -> hard questions of planning an industry cannot be answered by top-down government controllers; “We do not find our own nation blameless in this regard. For example, we find it unfortunate that many of the policies pursued by President Obama’s administration from 2008 to 2012 represented this kind of state capitalism, with government picking winners and losers in the private sector and trying to control segments of the economy, such as energy (pouring millions of dollars into wind and solar but blocking oil and coal), automobiles (essentially bailing out General Motors from bankruptcy), and much of the banning industry (with thousands of new regulations), while turning the entire healthcare industry into a government enterprise (the Affordable Care Act).”; oligarchic capitalism: common in Latin America; Gini coefficient measuring inequality: higher in these countries; it breeds corrupt leaders and “informal” black-market economy; a county cannot get out of poverty by means of the government picking winners and losers; eg China’s state capitalism requires total control over army, political/economic committees and media);
       5. objection: we don’t need more “stuff” (material wealth should never become our highest goal, material prosperity never provides lasting happiness; productive economic systems can move society out of poverty; God’s plan is not just to survive but to flourish; we own what God has entrusted us as “stewards”; ultimately everything belongs to him; stewardship implies expectation of human achievement: God expects me to do something worthwhile with what I have; 8th commandment - “do not steal” - includes both the opportunity and the expectation of human achievement which includes a range if human activity: physical sciences, technology, industry, commerce, arts etc; innate human drive to subdue the earth: explore, understand, invent, create, produce; God has created us with very limited needs (food, clothing, shelter) but unlimited wants (this is not inherently evil though can be distorted by sin); modern economies provide temptations to sins (greed, materialism, insensitivity to others’ needs and our need for God) and to neglect or break important ties with family/community for economic gains, temptations of wealth can turn people’s hearts from God; “However, it is important to remember that these evils are not caused by increased prosperity, but are temptations that come along with the prosperity, and they need to be guarded against. They are best encountered not by returning to poverty (which is not God’s intention for human beings), but by strong moral examples and teaching in the culture.”; increased productivity and increased prosperity are not in themselves evil but morally good and provide another way to glorify God
7. GOVERNMENT OF THE SYSTEM: “If a country is going to move from poverty toward ever-greater prosperity, its leaders must use government power for the benefit of the people as a whole rather than for themselves, their families, and their friends,”; civil authority “is God’s servant for your good” (Rom 13,4); corruption is deeply embedded & accepted in poor societies (just “the way government works”), primary cause of poverty in most sub-Saharan Africa; “The cultural value that rulers have a right to take people’s money (such as tax revenue) and use it for themselves is a violation of the biblical view of poverty.”; a government that functions for the good of the people:
   1. protects against corruption (all people are equally accountable to the laws);
   2. enforces justice impartially (courts show no partiality or bias);
   3. eliminates bribery & government corruption;
   4. has adequate power to fulfill its functions;
   5. has limited power (trade-off between government and individual power; “Great nations are never impoverished by private, though they sometimes are by public, prodigality and misconduct. The whole or almost the whole, public revenue is, in most countries, employed in maintaining unproductive hands.” (Adam Smith); US Constitution designed to limit the power of the government and protect the people from the government: freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, right to bear arms, term limits for president, regular election of members of Congress);
   6. power is separated among several branches (system of checks and balances, eg US Constitution: three-way separation of powers at national level, separation between national and state governments, prohibition of military from going law-enforcement within nation, NT example: Jesus choose 12 disciples not only 1);
   7. government accountable to the people (“Poor countries are poor because those who have power make choices that create poverty. They get it wrong not by mistake or ignorance but on purpose.” (Acemoglu & Robinson); NT example: apostles asked for consent of the congregation when selecting deacons; substantial biblical arguments for democracy, much more preferred than any other forms of government; US: Mayflower Compact 1620 mandated a government by the consent of the governed, voluntary submission to a government that they themselves created; Declaration of Independence 1776: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”; reasoning: a) rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are given to people by God (not by governments) b) governments are established to protect these rights c) therefore, a government has no legitimate power on its own authority but only the power that the people agree to give it to protect their rights; “The principle of the accountability of the government to the people, embedded into the very foundation of the United States on the first day of its existence, explains much of the subsequent prosperity of the United States”);
   8. protects against crime (high crime rates chase away investments, civil authorities are sent “to punish evil” - 1Pt 2,14);
   9. protects against disease (eg AIDS, cholera) through providing clean water, accurate health education, childhood vaccination against common diseases, eradication of disease-carrying mosquitoes;
   10. protects against violations of contracts (being able to get away with violating contacts create a hostile environment for businesses and hinders economic growth; “When I (Wayne Grudem) was a young faculty member, it was not easy for my family to live on the income I received. Every summer, I had two choices: I could teach classes during summer school and earn extra cash immediately (summer school teaching was not part of our normal contracts), or I could choose not to teach summer school classes but stay home and try to write books, which I hoped would eventually provide money from royalties once they were in print. For many years, I worked on writing books, and eventually some of those books began to provide significant income, which then freed me to work on even more writing projects. All of this was possible only because the United States protects patents and copyrights.”);
   11. protect against violations of patents and copyrights (it gives positive incentives to experiment, create, invent <-> lack of protection encourages people to steal, most creative people will move to other countries; ” A nation can also stifle innovation and invention through price controls that prevent inventors from gaining significant profits from their inventions. This process effectively nullifies the value of the patents. This kind of price control often occurs in the pharmaceutical industry. After a new medicine has been invented, it might cost a company only 10 cents per pill to produce it in mass quantities. But the company might have hundreds of millions of dollars in trying products that did not work, funding expensive research laboratories and trials, and paying the salaries of scientists who worked many years before they invented this medicine.” - “Next time you hear about a drug making billions of dollars for its maker, consider this: Currently, bringing one new drug to market takes roughly 14 years, at a cost of about $1.3 billion. For every drug that makes it to the market, more than 50 other research programs fail. After all that, only two of every 10 newly approved drugs will be profitable. Those profits must fund not only all the research programs that failed, but also all the drugs that are launched but lose money.” (Josh Bloom) - “If the government of a nation then refuses to allow that product to be sold in that country unless the company agrees to sell it for no more than 11 cents or 12 cents per pill, the company is not able to recover its research-and-development costs or to make a profit on the invention. Thus, over the long term, pharmaceutical research tends to shrivel up and die in that country. This process happened so often in most Western countries that now a disproportionate number of new drugs are discovered in only a few countries, including the United States and Switzerland, which have resisted imposing price controls. These countries still allow companies to have reasonable hope of market-determined gain from their inventions of medicines. Many other governments, even those in wealthy, modernized economies such as France and Canada, have instituted pricing regulations that are so restrictive that they have dried up most pharmaceutical research in their countries. Moreover, government-sponsored research and university research do not seem to provide the answer either, because more than 90 percent of new drugs brought to market have come from private companies.”);
   12. protect against foreign invasion;
   13. avoid wars of conquest & civil wars (wars is most wasteful of uses; frequent tactic: create real/imaginary “enemies” so nation remains in constant state of “emergency” which helps rulers stay in power -> constant fear is means to stay in power; states with “extractive institutions” (=designed to extract income/wealth from subset of society) have incentive to wage civil war as means to take over governmental power);
   14. protect against destruction of the environment (eg Lake Erie, Aral Sea, Chernobyl, “tragedy of the commons”);
   15. promote compulsory universal education (Protestant emphasis on education of children -> Bible emphasizes responsibility of parents to train children; Roman Catholic countries lagged behind; Hinduism: encouraging the poor to learn = asking them to sin; technological/trade school education, knowledge of foreign language - especially English - is important);
   16. promote laws that give protection and positive economic incentives to stable family structures (economically most conducive family type: both father and mother; “Studies show that in the United States, where there are (sadly) widespread family breakdown and rampant divorce, children who live with their own two mar- ried parents have significantly higher educational achievement and are much more likely to enjoy a better standard of living in their adult lives. In other words, a child growing up in a family with both a father and a mother present is much less likely to end up in poverty.”; growing up in single parent home: one of the strongest predictor of poverty status (source: Robert Rector: Marriage: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty); financial assistance is helpful but laws should promote getting & staying married; same-sex marriage doesn’t bring same benefits (source: Mark Regnerus: How different are the adult children of parents who have same-sex relationships?) -> encouraging such relationships is economically harmful in the long run, and they are contrary to Biblical moral standards);
   17. promote laws that protect freedom of religion for all religious groups and give some benefits to religions generally (good moral habits have economic benefits)

8. ESSENTIAL LIBERTIES: freedom is essential for economic growth; freedoms that should be protected by the government:

   1. freedom to own property
   2. freedom to buy and sell
   3. freedom to travel and transport goods (roadblocks, multiple checkpoints, internal tariffs encourage bribery)
   4. freedom to relocate (vs Russian serfdom)
   5. freedom to trade with other nations (vs self-imposed isolation of Japan; quotas/tariffs benefits a few but impose costs on society overall, they force their citizens to pay high prices for imported goods simply to protect inefficient homegrown companies)
   6. freedom to start businesses (high barriers stifles competition and hinders economic growth; same applies for closing down businesses: if government significantly hinders companies from firing employees/going out of business -> fewer people will dare to start);
   7. freedom from excessive government regulation (Heritage Foundation report: total costs of government regulations: $1.75 trillion per year)
   8. freedom from demands for bribes (creates invisible net dragging down the economy & making products more expensive, place unfair disadvantages in honest businesses that do not pay bribes, only beneficial for officials who receive bribes, “tolerating bribery is a powerful way for a nation to remain trapped in poverty”; accepting bribes is stealing; “rent seeking”: try to obtain benefits for themselves through the political arena eg getting subsidy, special regulation hampering competition -> in fact it is “privilege seeking”; negative effect can be counterbalanced by positive factors; wealthy nations might still have bribery but is viewed negatively and can lead to punishment when discovered)
   9. freedom to work in any job (eg weaker guild system imposed less restrictions on entry and work practices; for certain occupations such requirements are valid - eg doctors, lawyers - to protect citizens from malpractice)
   10. freedom for workers to be rewarded for their work
   11. freedom for employers to hire and fire (eg to adjust seasonal fluctuations; strict rules for firing lead to less hiring; unemployment benefits might be helpful but “The important thing is to keep the main goal in mind. In order to move from poverty toward greater prosperity, the nation must continually produce more goods and ser- vices of value. No nation will ever become productive by paying people to do nothing.”; free market directs workers to places where they can be most productive and most rewarded in the long run)
   12. freedom for employers to hire and promote employees based on merit (vs family preference and nepotism as sign of solidarity)
   13. freedom to utilize energy resources (vs harsh restrictions on oil in US; “Energy sources such as water power, coal, oil, and natural gas (and wind and solar if they ever become economically competitive without subsidies) all make a nation economically more productive. […] By contrast, if the energy resources of a nation are unavailable because they are selfishly locked up in the hands of monopoly owners; if they are located on government-owned land and the government refuses to allow anyone to extract them; or if the government even prohibits people from extracting resources on their own property, then the economic productivity of the nation is hindered to the degree that the re- sources are hoarded, and the nation is poorer than it would be if people had freedom to purchase and utilize those resources in the free market.”; to grow from poverty toward productivity, the main must allow the people to access/use energy resources; “Unfortunately, some wealthy countries are moving in exactly the opposite direction. When we see Germany deciding to shut down all of its nuclear reactors (a fantastic source of energy); when we see the United States refusing to allow its citizens access to vast oil reserves within the nation and offshore; when we see President Obama blocking the building of the Keystone Oil Pipeline; or when we see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue absurd restrictions on trace amounts of mercury emissions that will force the closure of a large number of coal-fired electrical plants in the United States (even though the EPA’s own documents report that no discernible health benefits will come from the new regulations), then these nations have taken foolish steps that will hinder their future economic development and leave them less prosperous than they otherwise would have been. And they will be less able to contribute beneficially to the world’s supply of economic goods and services.”)
   14. freedom to change and modernize (vs aversion to change in China)
   15. freedom of information (access to useful knowledge, eg printing, public sense of time <-> Inquisition, excluding Jews with knowledge; Jesus taught publicly, not just the highly educated)
   16. freedom of education for all (boys and girls alike)
   17. freedom for women as well as men (rule of mothers still important but women should have economic freedom too)
   18. freedom for people of all trades and ethnic origins
   19. freedom to move upward in social and economic status (economic growth is stifled by structures and traditions that prevent social and economic mobility, in US many poor and rich don’t remain the same over time)
   20. freedom to become wealthy legally (vs “leveling” effect of customs: eg saving is considered hoarding, money and commodities are expected to be used immediately by self or family; Africa: “What is the one most fundamental economic consideration in the majority of African societies? I believe the answer is approximately this: the distribution of economic resources so that all persons may have their minimum needs met, or at least that they may survive. This distribution is the African social security system. … Do Atricans achieve the main goal of their economic system? Yes, they achieve it amazingly well… [Even in bleak economies with 50% unemployment] people continue to eat, are clothed and housed, and they survive. Those who have even meager means share with kin and close friends. There are no riots. People live their lives with, it seems to me, at least as much contentment as Westerners do in their home countries. Of course, they all hope for better days, but in the meantime, they make the most of their situations.” (Maranz) -> these customs have served good purpose but today have become significant hindrance to economic growth; “economic equality is more important than economic growth” is a lie, which entraps in poverty; people need to see examples of others who have gone from poverty to wealth -> portraying “the rich” as evil is very harmful and promote envy and hatred; “wealth comes from the exploitations of others” Isa Marxist idea; some people become very successful (Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos) because they contributed vast amount of productivity to the whole nation; “The teaching of the Bible would appear to be that it is not the amount of a man’s wealth which matters; what matters is the method by which he acquires it, how he uses it and his attitude of mind toward it.” (Frederick Catherwood); government shouldn’t confiscate legally acquired wealth through punitive taxes on the rich, high inheritance taxes, unjust court decisions, social ostracism; pastors need to speak out against the rich who got wealthy through immoral means; Jas 4:13,15: it is not wrong to make plans per se but to make plans proudly without acknowledging that this can happen only “if the Lord wills”; Prov 23:4: desiring to work hard, do well, better economic situation is never condemned but desiring to be rich and love money is)
   21. freedom of religion (religious intolerance in the past have led to the exclusion of valuable skills and knowledge in many countries)
9. VALUES: cultural values most important factors -> will ultimately impact everything else; should not be underestimated (<-> Acemoglu & Robinson: fall to mention string Protestant training of William of Orange in England and Seretse Khama of Botswana); cultural beliefs are hard to change but not impossible; cultural beliefs that contribute positively to economic development:
   1. there is a God who holds all people accountable for their actions
   2. God approves several character traits related to work and productivity (eg honesty, diligence, thriftiness <-> not the same as prosperity gospel!)
   3. society values truthfulness (business transactions depend on trust; keeping your word in important)
   4. society respects private ownership of property (Africa: precision is nontrusting, it is a sign of lack of generosity, banks are expected to give money even if I don’t repay -> on the other hand it has benefits too: none is allowed to starve)
   5. society honors other moral values (eg honoring parents, not murdering, even life of unborns -> high abortion rate leads to decrease in population, adultery: “From an economic standpoint, a society that honors faithfulness in marriage and disapproves of sexual intimacy outside of marriage tends to have more stable marriages and families. Stable marriages, in turn, generally lead to higher educational and economic achievement for children when they grow up. [Source: Mary Parke: “Are Married Parents Really Better for Children?”, Robert I. Lerman: “Marriage and the Economic Well-Being of Families with Children: A Review of the Literature”; “How Do Marriage, Cohabitation, and single Parenthood Affect the Material Hardships of Families With Children?”; “Married and Unmarried Parenthood and Economic Well-Being”; W. Bradford Wilcox: “Why Marriage Matters: Twenty-One Conclusions from the Social Sciences”, Judith S. Wallerstein and Sandra Blakeslee: “Second Chances: Men, Women, & Children a Decade After Divorce”]. Stable marriages also generally lead to higher economic pro ductivity and stability for the individuals in those marriages [Source: Linda J. Waite and Maggie Gallagher: “The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially”, cited in Jeffrey H. Larson, “The Verdict on Cohabitation vs. Marriage”]. And sexual faithfulness protects against Albs and other sexually transmitted diseases.”; covetousness: not productive, people spend much emotional energy on resenting what others have; “lesser values”: punctuality, job well done)
   6. society believes there are both good and evil in every human heart (universal effect of sin - Rom 3:23 & common Grace - Rom 2:14-15)
   7. individuals are responsible for their own actions (economic situation is not purely result of luck/fate; wrongdoers not just victims of a bad system)
   8. individual freedom is highly valued (ability to make free, responsible choices is essential component of genuine humanity)
   9. discrimination against race, gender or religion is opposed
   10. marriage between one man and one woman is honored
   11. society values permanent marriages and has a low divorce rate (should value children too)
   12. human beings more important than other creatures (man is more valuable than sheep - Mt 12:12, and birds - Mt 6:23;10:31); “These statements do not mean that human beings should be cruel to animals or destroy them in a reckless and wanton way. The Bible also says, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast” (Prov. 1210). But they do mean that we should not allow important and economically beneticial development projects to be hindered or stopped simply because they might disrupt the homes of some turtles, snails, or fish, as often happens in the United States and other developed countries. The correct approach is to weigh the costs and benefits of a development project. If it will help human beings but harm some part of nature, some value must be assigned to both the benefit and the cost, and then a decision can be made. Often a market-based approach is helptul, asking both those who want to preserve an untouched area and those who want to develop it how much they are willing to pay for their preference to be enacted. It is not a proper approach to simply say we should never interfere with some animal or plant. God deems us to be much more valuable than they are, and has given us “dominion” (Gen. 1:26; Ps. 8:6) over all the earth, both to preserve it and to use its resources wisely.”)
   13. the earth is here for the use and benefit of human beings (subdue & have dominion -> Hebrew ‘kabash’ means bring into servitude or bondage, eg land of Canaan)
   14. economic development is a good thing & shows the excellence of the earth (<-> spiritual sounding opposition: making more products of the earth is mere”materialism” and promotes “greed”)
   15. the earth’s resources will never be exhausted (<-> paralyzed by fear; “In fact, it is highly unlikely that any resources will be used up in the foreseeable future… One reason for this conclusion is that we keep discovering huge new reserves of resources and inventing more creative ways to access them (such as the phenom- enal rise in the known quantities of U.S. oil and natural gas available for development in the last fifty years). Another reason resources are unlikely to be used up is that human ingenuity gives us the ability to develop substitutes if any particular resource becomes more scarce [Source: E. Calvin Beisner: “Where Garden Meets Wilderness”, Julian Simon: “The Ultimate Resource 2” (esp. chapter 11, “When Will We Run Out of Oil? Never!”) “The State of Humanity”, Born Lomborg: “The Skeptical Environmentalist”].” (eg limited fresh water supply -> desalination of water)
   16. earth is orderly & subject to rational investigation (“Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them” - Ps 111:2; this was inscribed in Latin over the archway to the main scientific laboratory at Cambridge University in England for many years; God is pleased when human beings study and investigate the Earth’s resources)
   17. earth is a place of opportunity (vs place of danger)
   18. time is linear -> hope for improvement (vs time is circular/repetitive -> no hope for improvement)
   19. time is valuable & should be used wisely
   20. widespread desire to improve on life: to do better, innovate and become more productive (sowing sparingly -> reaping sparingly 2Cor 9:6)
   21. society is open to change, people therefore work to dive problems and make things better (value new against old, change and risk against safety)
   22. honors productive work (Bible values productive work: Prov 10:4; 1Thess 4:11-12; 2Thess 3:6-10; but not only Protestants had “Protestant work-ethic” - eg Japan, South Korea, Taiwan -> sign of common grace <-> poor countries those honored who “game the system”)
   23. economically productive people, companies, inventions, and carriers honored (through movies, music, literature, political speeches, instruction in schools & churches, emphasis is not on how much somebody earns but how much did he contribute to well-being of society & whether he earned his money legally)
   24. company is viewed primarily as means to provide valuable things to customers in exchange for that same value (vs poor countries: owners view companies as means of getting money from people, workers view them as means to get paid -> short-sighted “selfishness”)
   25. saving valued more highly than spending (“But does the Bible teach that it is right for people to save a reasonable amount of money for the future? This idea can be supported by the teaching that people are to work so as to support themselves and not depend on others to support them (see 1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:6-12). But if most everyone will grow old to the point where they are physically unable to work and support themselves, then it is wise for them to lay up some savings for that future time, so that they do not become dependent on their families and others in old age.”)
   26. mutual gains come from voluntary exchanges, and therefore a business deal is “good” if it brings benefits to both buyer and seller (win-win applies for employer-employee relationship too; fulfills Golden Rule; otherwise there are always “winners” and “losers”)
   27. knowledge from any source is valued and made widely available
   28. society values highly trained workers
   29. there must be a rational basis for knowledge and recognized channels for spreading & testing knowledge (vs folklore, superstition, voodoo)
   30. humble willingness to learn from other people, nations and religions (vs Inquisition)
   31. purpose of government: serve the nation & bring benefit to the people as a whole (not just means to enrich themselves -> “crony capitalism”)
   32. government should punish evil and promote good
   33. society values patriotism and reinforces a shared sense of national identity and purpose (biblical patriotism: citizens love, support and defend their own country <-> “blind patriotism” is never endorsed; aspects of patriotism: a) sense of belonging larger community b) gratitude for benefits provided by the nation c) shared sense of pride in achievements by fellow citizens d) sense of pride for the good things a nation has done e) sense of security with respect to the future f) sense of obligation to serve the nation and do good for it g) sense of obligation to transmit widely accepted moral values & standards <-> opposite of patriotism: dislike, scorn, hatred for one’s nation, undue emphasis on negative aspects of national history -> this will undermine the existence of the nation in the long run; even citizens of countries with evil rulers can retain genuine patriotism combined with sober and truthful criticism)
   34. family, friends and joy in life considered more important than material wealth (many poor countries are better at this than highly individualistic Western countries)
   35. spiritual well-being and relationship with God considered more important than material wealth (pastors have crucial role by teach balanced view of economic productivity and spiritual/relational growth to move their country toward economic and spiritual prosperity)