Global poverty is one of the world’s most vexing problems. For decades we’ve assumed smart, well-intentioned people will eventually be able to change the economic trajectory of poor countries. From education to healthcare, infrastructure to eradicating corruption, too many solutions rely on trial and error. Essentially, the plan is often to identify areas that need help, flood them with resources, and hope to see change over time. But hope is not an effective strategy.

Drawing from his work with Clayton M. Christensen and Karen Dillon, Efosa Ojomo will discuss what they call a paradox at the heart of our approach to solving poverty, calling into question many proposed solutions that have delivered inconsistent results or have even exacerbated the problems.