Much like the entrepreneurs they serve, the Atlas Network also leverages scarce resources for maximum impact. They have cultivated a global network of think tanks working behind the scenes to advance free market competition and accelerate international development. While the "problem" of development has stymied well-funded academics, and supranational government bodies, Atlas has used the same "engage and exchange" formula time and time again to spur growth and entrepreneurship without accepting a penny from any government or quasi-government institutions.

Matt Warner, the Atlas Network's president, reveals the secrets in his new book Poverty and Freedom: Case Studies on Global Economic Development. Warner recognizes development as an opportunity - not a problem. The case studies from the dozens of Atlas-supported think tanks around the world show that solutions are not handed down from on high by all-knowing government officials but discovered on the ground. Through the broader Poverty and Freedom initiative, Atlas Network is "harnessing local visions for change to free people to carve paths out of poverty." The secret is property rights, aligning incentives, finding key partners and building bottom-up coalitions. Warner is a dissenter in the world of development economics and a self-described "positive deviant."