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I got into economics because I wanted to make things better for the average person.

I studied what principles under-laid peace and prosperity and concluded the only way to achieve societal well-being was through a system of economic freedom.

I was an economics major, which I enjoyed because I had a good business sense.

It became clear I wanted to be a development economist. I mean, I said I wanted to work on the economics of poor countries. And I'd actually say that I don't think that was so much about narrowing the gap as about increasing their incomes, which means economic growth, which is really my prime interest.

My motivation was an idea of being able to improve the conditions of life, to try to find a remedy to many of the problems facing the world. That's what led me into economics. I saw it as a way of helping people.

I inherited a sick economy and passed on a sound one. But one abiding regret for me is that, in between, I did not have the resources to put in place the educational and social changes about which I cared to much; I made only a beginning, and it was not enough.

I began my career as an economics professor but became frustrated because the economic theories I taught in the classroom didn't have any meaning in the lives of poor people I saw all around me. I decided to turn away from the textbooks and discover the real-life economics of a poor person's existence.

I went through a lot of occupations. I was questioning my contribution to the world.

So the ethic I was taught in school resulted in the path I chose in my life following school.