Hernando De Soto
I just became aware of a new book by this guy, "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" De Soto has been a force for freedom and free markets in Peru, which has put him on the Shining Path shitlist.
The key, to oversimplify, seems to be an infrastructure which permits solid property rights. I plan to check this book out.
It seems particularly relevant in light of the fact that Russians were not permitted to buy and sell land until a few weeks ago, a revelation that shocked me, since I thought this would have been one of the first reforms after the fall of Communism. (They STILL can't buy or sell farmland!)
Off to the library!