Architect of Prosperity
“Architect of Prosperity: Sir John Cowperthwaite and the making of Hong Kong” had its US launch at the Cato Institute on October 13, 2017.
Marian L. Tupy hosted the event, and Paul Chan Mo-po, the current Financial Secretary of Hong Kong discussed the book and the current economic situation in Hong Kong.
The launch can be viewed here:
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/architect-prosperity-sir-john-cowperthwaite-making-hong-kong
James Delingpole discusses John Cowperthwaite with Neil Monnery.
“Architect of Prosperity: Sir John Cowperthwaite and the making of Hong Kong” will have its US launch at the Cato Institute on October 13, 2017. It will be hosted by Marian L. Tupy, and Paul Chan Mo-po, the current Financial Secretary of Hong Kong will kindly make some remarks about the book.
James Delingpole writes in the Spectator
“There’s a book just out which everyone in the Conservative party ought to read: Architect of Prosperity by Neil Monnery. It’s the biography of one of the 20th century’s greatest unsung heroes, Sir John Cowperthwaite, the financial secretary in the British colonial administration whose determinedly low-tax, regulation-light, fiscally austere regime put Hong Kong on its path to prosperity.”
He laments
“The Hong Kong economic miracle was only a ‘miracle’ if you believe economies grow and people prosper through magic. But actually it’s much more basic than that. There’s a simple formula — low tax, light regulation, spending within your means — which works in theory and works in practice. What a pity that the Conservatives have such difficulty understanding it.”
More at:
The Economist reviewed Architect of Prosperity in its 5th October 2017 edition under the title
“Meet the invisible hand behind Hong Kong’s rise – Sir John Cowperthwaite is that most unlikely of things: a bureaucrat hero to libertarians”
https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/10/05/meet-the-invisible-hand-behind-hong-kongs-rise
The IEA published a review by Professor Jack A Goldstone of Architect of Prosperity in Economic Affairs.
https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EA-AUTUMN-2017_REVIEWED.pdf
The Literary Review today published a review of Architect of Prosperity.
Marian L. Tupy has written a review of the book on CAPX. He also describes meeting Sir John when in St Andrews. A fascinating read.
In today’s Telegraph, Roger Bootle, Chairman of Capital Economics argues we have much to learn from John Cowperthwaite.
“I have just read a fascinating new book called Architect of Prosperity by Neil Monnery. It’s about the role of Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1961 to 1971 in setting the colony on the road to prosperity. It is an astonishing story… Its success derived from brilliant economic policymaking that involved reliance on market forces and minimising the role of the state… You might think that, given the economic record, Britain’s economic establishment, including the serried ranks of mandarins and their political masters, might feel that they have a good deal to learn. They have. They should read Monnery’s book.”
Lord Lamont of Lerwick, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and author of In Office (1999) made a number of remarks about Architect of Prosperity:
“Hong Kong went from being a barren rock with no resources to becoming a dynamic economy with living standards higher than many European countries. A key role in this remarkable story was played by Sir John Cowperthwaite as financial secretary. He believed that expenditure should be determined by revenues, not the other way round, that private enterprise should decide where investment should be allocated, tax rates should be low to attract capital and create surplus profits to be re-invested to create compounding growth. He was against deficits because he viewed the taxpayer of tomorrow just as worthy as the taxpayer of today. The results were spectacular and made Hong Kong into the economic miracle it is today. This book charts his wonderful, inspiring and remarkable story and his philosophy is brilliantly expressed. The wonder is that other governments in Europe don’t follow this example.” —