Fundamentals of Freedom: 2009 Asia Essay Contest

The 2009 TFAS-AIPE essay contest was created to further engage the next generation of leaders in Asia on the ideas and themes of freedom.

This year the essay question focuses on an important issue in free-market economies: property rights. For your essay, please respond to the question below- be sure to address all aspects of the question in your essay. Complete essay guidelines can be found under the Rules and Regulations section.

Winners will receive cash prizes in the amounts below and may have their essay published online!

Awards

(All awards are in U.S. Dollars)

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Essay Question

In the book, The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else , Hernando De Soto* writes,

“Imagine a country where nobody can identify who owns what, addresses cannot be easily verified, people cannot be made to pay their debts, resources cannot conveniently be turned into money, ownership cannot be divided into shares, descriptions of assets are not standardized and cannot be easily compared, and the rules that govern property vary from neighborhood to neighborhood or even from street to street.”

What is the role played by property rights in developing countries, particularly countries in Asia? Why are property rights critical to the development of a country and what sort of obstacles must be overcome? Use your country, or another country in Asia as a case study.

*Born in 1941,Hernando de Soto is a Peruvian economist and president of Peru’s Institute for Liberty and Democracy in Lima. An author and an activist, Mr. de Soto is a pioneer in the field of international development, advocating for the implementation of property rights in developing countries around the world, to empower the poor. He has published two books: The Other Path (1986) and The Mystery of Capital (2000), both of which are international bestsellers.

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Essays must be submitted on or before April 1, 2009 by 5:00pm EST.

ALL COMPLETE ENTRIES MUST INCLUDE:

• Completed and signed Release Form
• Copy of your CV or resumé
• Essay

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY:

1. Click on the button above or email it directly to Ms. Kelsey Strampe at kstrampe@tfas.org

2. Fax it to (202) 986-0390; ATTN: Kelsey Strampe

No mailed submissions will be accepted. Decisions of the judges are final. Winners and other entrants will be notified by May 1, 2009.