Economists have long argued that free market capitalism is the best tool available for lifting countries out of poverty and promoting economic development. The Adam Smith Society’s “Capitalism Across the Globe” series will examine the state of the free market, its performance, and consider the obstacles it faces—from public sentiment to local corruption and crony capitalism—in countries with developing economies around the world.

The series kicked off on March 17 with a talk by Dr. Roberto Salinas Leon of the Atlas Network on capitalism in Latin America. Somachi Chris-Asoluka, of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, and the Cato Institute’s Dr. Marian Tupy explore capitalism in Africa on March 30 University of Chicago Booth professor Raghuram Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, closed the series with an event on capitalism in the Indian subcontinent on May 6.