What accounts for the difference between economic activity in the United States and in the developing world? Economist Hernando de Soto explores the concepts of capitalism and globalization in Tanzania and Peru, where most businesses operate outside the legal system.

The spirit of entrepreneurship is not unique to the Western world; nor is the concept of property. However, globalization involves an abstract system of property rights that allows people to deal in symbols. Visiting the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Markets Without Borders demonstrates the advantages of the institutions that we take for granted. De Soto shows that in large parts of developing countries, these institutions do not exist. As people flood to the big cities looking to participate in globalization, he argues, governments need to find ways to give them access to the rule of law and property rights.