This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Tuesday, July 9th, 2013. I'm Caleb Brown.

The sustained and rapid alleviation of global poverty is little short of a miracle,

but it's happened largely because of the extending of capitalism to some of the most

impoverished parts of the world. In his new book, Poverty and Progress, Development Economist

Deepakalal has drawn on 50 years of experience around the globe and describe the realities

of economic development, we spoke in June.

What do we know about changes in poverty in developing countries over the last half century or so?

Well, it's been an incredible transformation.

I started working on developing countries, I think in 1962, academic etc and if you told me at that time or even

last 30 years that we would be able to see the virtually end of well poverty the road to it. I said you're mad you

couldn't push it and it's all happened in the last 30 years and the turning point

really goes back to 1980 because that's when Deng Xiaoping opened up China, so virtually half the world's population

which was poor was there, and India, which was the next big one 1991, and then Latin America

because they are after the debt crisis they all switch policies

and since then you've seen the fastest reduction in

well-povid, low-end poverty

anytime in human history.

So what is driven then?

Three things.

First, the most of the world is realized,

and this is how the West grew rich,

that you could use alternative forms of energy.

...