Egypt Rising

Via Free-Market.net comes this Steve Forbes' column in which the red light/yellow light/green light restaurant reviewer lays out a surprisingly upbeat picture of Egypt's future:

After several years of preparation, Egypt is about to commence a…makeover of its society, one that will profoundly and positively impact the rest of the Middle East and the developing world. Reforms will create easy access to private property for all Egyptians, including those in city slums. All enterprises will be able to easily turn themselves into legal entities; previously, obtaining a business license had been a costly process that could take nearly two years. Not surprisingly, most Egyptian businesses are extralegal, part of the country's shadow economy.

Forbes mentions the work of innovative Peruvian sociologist Hernando de Soto several times in the piece. Read de Soto's Reason essay "Citadels of Dead Capital". And here's an interview we ran with the man himself.