Globalization and Its Discontents - Softcover

Stiglitz, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 014101038X ISBN 13: 9780141010380

Publisher: Penguin, 2003

Synopsis

From Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents is the bestselling exposé of the all-powerful organizations that control our lives.

Our world is changing. Globalization is not working. It is hurting those it was meant to help. And now, the tide is turning...

As chief economist at the world bank, Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz had a unique insider's view into the management of globalization. Now he speaks out against it: how the IMF and WTO preach fair trade yet impose crippling economic policies on deveopling nations; how free market 'shock therapy' made millions in East Asia and Russia worse off than they were before; and how the West has driven the global agenda to further its own financial interests.

Globalization can still be a force for good, Stiglitz argues. But the balance of power has to change. Here he offers real, tough solutions for the future.

'A massively important political as well as economic document ... we should listen to him urgently'
  Will Hutton, Guardian

'Stiglitz is a rare breed, an heretical economist who has ruffled the self-satisfied global establishment that once fed him. Globalization and its Discontents declares war on the entire Washington financial and economic establishment'
  Ian Fraser, Sunday Herald

'Gripping ... this landmark book shows him to be a worthy successor to Keynes'
  Robin Blackburn, Independent

Joseph Stiglitz is one of the world's best-known economists. He was Chief Economist at the World Bank until January 2000. Before that he was Chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers. He is currently Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia University. He won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001 and is the author of the bestselling Making Globalization Work, The Price of Inequality and The Roaring Nineties, all published by Penguin.

About this title

Review:

Readers of Globalization and Its Discontents will already be familiar with the controversy and organised resistance that globalisation has generated around the world due to massive media coverage, yet explaining what globalisation actually means in practice is a complicated task. For those wanting to learn more, this book is an excellent place to start. An experienced economist, Joseph Stiglitz had a brilliant career in academia before serving for four years on President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors and then three years as chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank. His book clearly explains the functions and powers of the main institutions that govern globalisation--the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization--along with the ramifications, both good and bad, of their policies. He strongly believes that globalisation can be a positive force around the world, particularly for the poor, but only if the IMF, World Bank and WTO dramatically alter the way they operate, beginning with increased transparency and a greater willingness to examine their own actions closely. Of his time at the World Bank, he writes, "Decisions were made on the basis of what seemed a curious blend of ideology and bad economics, dogma that sometimes seemed to be thinly veiling special interests ... Open, frank discussion was discouraged--there was no room for it." The book is not entirely critical, however: "Those who vilify globalization too often overlook its benefits," Stiglitz writes, explaining how globalisation, along with foreign aid, has improved the living standards of millions around the world. With this clear and balanced book, Stiglitz has contributed significantly to the debate on this important topic. --Shawn Carkonen

Review:

[An] urgently important new book. -- George Scialabba

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 014101038X
• ISBN 13: 9780141010380
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320