Iqbal Z. Quadir

Founder and Director
Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, MIT

"Historically, economic success stories are overwhelmingly entrepreneurially driven, bottom-up processes. Entrepreneurs push their governments to accountability. This is the approach developing countries should take." >>see interview

Paul A. Samuelson

1970 Nobel Laureate (Economics)
Institute Professor Emeritus, MIT

"Acknowledging that the very poor have gained little from globalization, Paul Samuelson commends the Legatum Center for supporting innovation that has the potential to extend globalization's benefits to the poor."  >>see interview

Eric S. Maskin

2007 Nobel Laureate (Economics)
Albert O. Hirschman Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study

Eric Maskin highlights the incentive for entrepreneurs to invest in a well-trained work force, thus affirming entrepreneurship as a means to promote the skill development that will allow workers access to global markets.

Lawrence R. Klein

1980 Nobel Laureate (Economics)
Benjamin Franklin Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania

Lawrence Klein illuminates disparities in the effectiveness of poverty alleviation across regions, and highlights the role of microcredit in promoting growth.

Edmund S. Phelps

2006 Nobel Laureate (Economics)

McVickar Professor of Political Economy

Director of the Center on Capitalism and Society, Columbia University

Noting that 20th century economic theory has paid little credence to human capital, Edmund Phelps underscores the role of human capital in spurring growth through innovation in low-income countries.

Robert C. Merton

1997 Nobel Laureate (Economics)
John and Natty McArthur University Professor, Harvard Business School

According to Robert C. Merton, "being able to develop the right infrastructure to support innovation, to support entrepreneurial effort, to support the development of the economy, has big payoffs and the opportunity to do so, I think, is there."