Synopses & Reviews
When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations. Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition. Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition. "He is one of the most important economists of modern times."'"Nicholas Stern, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, World Bank "Penetrating, insightful.... A seminal work that must be read."'"George Soros Whatever your opinions, you will be engaged by Stiglitz's sharp insights. A must read."'"Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labor Organization "This book is everyone's guide to the misgovernment of globalization. Stiglitz explains it here in plain and compelling language."'"James K. Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin "Entertaining, insightful, and well-written.... Makes a compelling case."'"Foreign Affairs"A war story from inside the halls of the White House and the World Bank, the confession of a powerful economist with a political conscience and a healthy degree of common sense."'"Lenora Todaro, The Village Voice"Accessible, provocative and highly readable... Brings an insider's insights into the crises of the 1990s and beyond."'"Alan Cowell, New York Times"[Stiglitz's] rare mix of academic achievement and policy experience makes Globalization and Its Discontentsworth reading."'"Michael J. Mandel, BusinessWeek"Provocative, readable, and sure to earn Stiglitz persona non grata status in certain corridors of power."'"Kirkus Reviews"A great tour of the complexities of economic policymaking. Getting a top economist to subject the US Treasury and the IMF to withering scrutiny... is good for the long-term health of the system."'"William Easterly, Financial Times"[A] smart, provocative study... Impassioned, balanced and informed... A must-read."'"Publishers Weekly"[Stiglitz] is not a global pessimist, but a realist'"and instead of placing him in a neat box labeled 'important contribution to the debate,' we should listen to him urgently."'"Will Hutton, The Guardian[UK]" "Development and economics are not about statistics. Rather, they are about lives and jobs. Stiglitz never forgets that..."'"Frank Bures, Christian Science Monitor" "[W]ill surely claim a large place on the public stage."'"Benjamin M. Friedman, The New York Review of Books"A fresh, much-needed look at how these institutions-primarily the International Monetary Fund-affect policy... Stiglitz has done important work..."'"Anna Lapp, San Francisco Chronicle"[An] urgently important new book."'"George Scialabba, Boston Globe
Review
Penetrating, insightful.... A seminal work that must be read. --George Soros
Review
"Whatever your opinions, you will be engaged by Stiglitz's sharp insights. A must read." Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labor Organization
Review
"This book is everyone's guide to the misgovernment of globalization. Stiglitz explains it here in plain and compelling language." James K. Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin
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"Entertaining, insightful, and well-written....Makes a compelling case." Foreign Affairs, July/August 2002
Review
"A war story from inside the halls of the White House and the World Bank, the confession of a powerful economist with a political conscience and a healthy degree of common sense." Lenora Todaro, The Village Voice
Review
Accessible, provocative and highly readable... Brings an insider's insights into the crises of the 1990s and beyond. --Alan Cowell
Review
"[Stiglitz's] rare mix of academic achievement and policy experience makes worth reading." Boston Globe
Review
Provocative, readable, and sure to earn Stiglitz persona non grata status in certain corridors of power.
Review
A great tour of the complexities of economic policymaking. Getting a top economist to subject the US Treasury and the IMF to withering scrutiny... is good for the long-term health of the system. --William Easterly
Review
"[A] smart, provocative study...Impassioned, balanced and informed...A must-read." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Development and economics are not about statistics. Rather, they are about lives and jobs. Stiglitz never forgets that..." Frank Bures, Christian Science Monitor
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"[W]ill surely claim a large place on the public stage." Benjamin M. Friedman, The New York Review of Books
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"A fresh, much-needed look at how these institutions-primarily the International Monetary Fund-affect policy...Stiglitz has done important work..." Anna Lappé, San Francisco Chronicle
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"[An] urgently important new book." George Scialabba
Review
[An] urgently important new book. --George Scialabba
Synopsis
When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations. Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition. Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition.
Synopsis
This powerful, unsettling book gives us a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of global financial institutions by the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics. When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations.
Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition.
About the Author
Joseph E. Stiglitz received his PhD from MIT in 1967, became a full professor at Yale in 1970, and was awarded the John Bates Clark Award in 1979, which is given biennially by the American Economic Association to an economist under 40 who has made the most significant contribution to the field. He has taught at Princeton, Stanford, and MIT, and was the Drummond Professor and a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He is now a professor at Columbia University and co-chair of Columbia University's Committee on Global Thought. He is also the co-founder and co-president of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia. In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for his analyses of markets with asymmetric information, and was a lead author of the 1995 Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2011, Time named Professor Stiglitz one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Professor Stiglitz was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1993-95, during the Clinton administration, and served as its chairman from 1995-97. He then became chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank from 1997-2000. In 2008, he was asked by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy to chair the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, which released its final report in September 2009. In 2009, he was appointed by the President of the United Nations General Assembly as chair of the Commission of Experts on Reform of the International Financial and Monetary System, which also released its report in September 2009. Professor Stiglitz helped create a new branch of economics--The Economics of Information--exploring the consequences of information asymmetries and pioneering such pivotal concepts as adverse selection and moral hazard, which have now become standard tools not only for theorists but also for policy analysts. He has made major contributions to the theories of welfare economics and of income and wealth distribution, and his work has helped explain the circumstances in which markets do not work well and how selective government intervention can improve market performance. Recognized around the world as a leading economic educator, Professor Stiglitz has written books that have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He also founded one of the leading economics journals, The Journal of Economic Perspectives. His book, Globalization and Its Discontents (Norton, 2001), has been translated into 35 languages and has sold more than a million copies worldwide. Other recent books include The Roaring Nineties (Norton); Towards a New Paradigm in Monetary Economics (Cambridge University Press), with Bruce Greenwald; Fair Trade for All (Oxford University Press), with Andrew Charlton; Making Globalization Work (Norton and Penguin/ Allen Lane, 2006); The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict (Norton and Penguin/ Allen Lane, 2008), with Linda Bilmes at Harvard University; Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy (Norton and Penguin/ Allen Lane, 2010); and The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (Norton and Penguin/ Allen Lane, 2012).
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 The Promise of Global Institutions 3
2 Broken Promises 23
3 Freedom to Choose? 53
4 The East Asia Crisis: How IMF Policies Brought the World to the verge of a Global Meltdown 89
5 Who Lost Russia? 133
6 Unfair Trade Laws and Other Mischief 166
7 Better Roads to the Market 180
8 The IMF's Other Agenda 195
9 The Way Ahead 214
Notes 253
Index 269