The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else was recommended by Amit Varma on episode 9 of Watching the Wheels, during a discussion on land laws in India.
The book’s central idea is “dead capital.” Many people own property, but the rights to that property are either absent or unclear, so they can’t sell it or borrow against it. Think of slums or agricultural land in India.
Dead capital, a term that I love, and if you just look around you, you’ll find it applying to so much.