"Mr. Lewis brings to the subject the perspective of colleagues who work in the trenches of the economy. They say that one thing matters above all else: competition. . . . Mr. Lewis’s focus on competition--in retailing and much else besides--has serious implications for development economics. . . . Unlike so many other management consultants-turned-author, Mr. Lewis writes with clarity and serves up his data and anecdotes in easily digestible portions. . . . On the whole he makes his case both persuasively and engagingly."

Hugo Restall | Wall Street Journal

"The most important questions of economics have, for too long, been left to people who look at economies from the top down, looking for the magic relationships between such things as money supply, employment, human capital and investment. For more than a decade, however, William Lewis and his colleagues at the McKinsey Global Institute have been trying another approach, using the data and experience gathered by McKinsey consultants at real companies around the world to build a picture of economies from the ground up. The Power of Productivity is a masterful summary of what they found. Lewis’s central point is that factors such as education levels and access to capital are overrated when analyzing why some nations are richer than others. At the same time, most analyses grossly underrate the degree to which an economy has truly competitive labor and product markets, unfettered by corruption or competition-restraining regulations meant to favor politically powerful interest groups or further otherwise laudable social goals. From the United States and Europe to Japan, India and Brazil, Lewis lays out anecdotal support for his conclusions in clear and simple English. Even if you don’t agree with his prescription for smaller government and lower taxes, the analysis is well worth the ride."

Steven Perlstein | Washington Post

"Lewis, founding director of the McKinsey Global Institute and former partner at McKinsey & Company, offers a detailed look at the local economies in several parts of the world including the U.S., Japan, India and Brazil.... The specific country-by-country distillations are easily understood, regardless of one’s familiarity with economic theory, and readers will not be surprised by Lewis’s discussion of the thriving Japanese economy, successful largely because of its domination of the automobile market. However, the more detailed analysis of Japanese business, which is limited by government policy including restrictive land regulations that have kept larger retailers like Wal-Mart away, is quite informative. The author’s examination of American domestic productivity is also clear and accessible.... This is an insightful treatment of a complex issue that deserves a wide readership."

Publishers Weekly

"The importance of competition is the theme of this book, which is based on a series of industry-level productivity studies carried out by the McKinsey Global Institute (and published) over the past decade. Besides Japan, they cover 12 other countries. The value of these studies lay in the detailed identification of the various obstacles that were responsible for poor productivity in specific industries. . . . Lewis’ aim is to provide an overview of the productivity issue for the non-specialist, and the use of numerous examples from the countries that the McKinsey team studied makes for a readable and often illuminating book."

Geoffrey Owen | Times Higher Education Supplement

"Written with a clear and engaging style, the book is a compelling read even for one with little or no knowledge in the complex and flaky theories of economics."

Mohammed Nawazish | New Nation (Bangladesh)

“Why are some countries rich and many others so poor? Why has it proved so difficult for those mired in poverty to catch up with the prosperous? These are the most important questions in economics. Adam Smith addressed them. Many have followed in his footsteps. Few, however, have recently done so with more insight than William Lewis. . . . His answer would have pleased the author of The Wealth of Nations: remorseless, pervasive, fair and open competition.”

Financial Times

“The question Lewis set out to answer was why poor countries are poor and rich ones rich.  It had been asked before, and answered by looking at the big differences between nations: history and culture, capital markets, labor markets, etc.  Lewis’ approach was to look at specific businesses.  He made a point not to focus on export industries, like cars in Japan and software in India.  Each is only a sliver of that country’s employment. . . .  This is a valuable book.  . . . Lewis confirms much of the free-market canon, and in a way that the free-marketeers have generally not done and some of them refuse to do.  They should read it.”--Bruce Ramsey, <I>Liberty

Bruce Ramsey | Liberty

“Bill Lewis’s book aims to distill the lessons from a large body of original research on a question of enormous importance: what determines the performance, especially the productivity performance, of national economies and the industries within them? I was able to participate in much of the research, and I can report that I learned a lot about the sources of productivity in both the manufacturing and service sectors of modern economies. The obvious answers are only part of the story. Readers all around the world will see vital issues in a new light.”<\#209>Robert M. Solow, winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Economics

Robert M. Solow, winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Economics

“One of the central questions of economics concerns why some countries are rich, why other countries are poor, and how poor countries can best be helped to become rich.  Among the many authors of books on this subject, Bill Lewis has the big advantage that the governments of many major countries asked him and his colleagues to investigate their economies and to advise them. His comparative perspective, consistent framework, and crystal-clear writing make this book a compelling read. It is also a delightful and surprising read: for instance, you probably never guessed why Japan produces automobiles much more efficiently than it produces milk.”<\#209>Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography at UCLA and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book <I>Guns, Germs, and Steel

Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography at UCLA and author of the Pulitzer Prize-w

“A “bottom up” analysis of productivity (as opposed to the usual macroeconomic approach) that is fascinating, diverse, and complex.”--Richard N. Cooper

Richard N. Cooper | Foreign Affairs