A new World Bank working paper by Jean-Pierre Chauffour (author of the Cato book, The Power of Freedom: Uniting Human Rights and Development) finds that freedom is the root cause of development. In contrast to economic, political and civil freedoms, Chauffour finds that “beyond core functions of government. . . the expansion of the state to provide for various entitlements, including so-called economic, social and cultural rights, may not make people richer in the long run and may even make them poorer.”

Freedom vs. Entitlements is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Do trade and economic growth conflict with human rights?

Too often, human rights advocates present development as incompatible with rights. So-called development agencies like the World Bank often ignore rights, including personal choice, when they push for top-down growth strategies around the world. Jean-Pierre Chauffour will speak at the Cato Institute tomorrow on his new Cato book, The Power of Freedom: Uniting Human Rights and Development, where he takes the human rights and development “communities” to task for working at cross purposes and muddled thinking.

Sign up here or watch online to hear him present a development agenda that respects the full range of human rights. Susan Aaronson of George Washington University will comment.

The Compatibility of Growth and Human Rights is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog