11th out of 128 books
—
117 voters
Globalization and Its Discontents
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 concerne...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
April 17th 2003
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 2002)
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Update, 4 January 2012
I just stumbled across this Open Letter to Joseph Stiglitz by Kenneth Rogoff writing as Economic Counsellor and Director of Research, International Monetary Fund. Rogoff is also the author and researcher of the excellent This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly , to which I gave five stars.
However one swings on this debate, Rogoff's lively rejoinder to this book is, I think, essential reading. If nothing else, it's a good reminder to me to check my own co...more
I just stumbled across this Open Letter to Joseph Stiglitz by Kenneth Rogoff writing as Economic Counsellor and Director of Research, International Monetary Fund. Rogoff is also the author and researcher of the excellent This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly , to which I gave five stars.
However one swings on this debate, Rogoff's lively rejoinder to this book is, I think, essential reading. If nothing else, it's a good reminder to me to check my own co...more
A critique of the way that globalization had proceeded up to 2002, focusing largely on the East Asia Crisis and Russian Shock Therapy. Stiglitz argues that the policies enforced by the international financial institutions (the IMF takes the brunt of his criticisms) are politically, economically, and morally problematic. In their adherence to budget austerity and overemphasis on inflation, they eliminate the social safety nets that make radical economic/social reforms sustainable in the long term...more
Jul 04, 2007
Beggs
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in understanding the backlash against globalization
I picked up Joseph Stiglitz book in the same purchase I got Naomi Klien’s No Logo and Peter Singer's One World. Obviously there is an interest in globalization in that recipe. I’ve been reading The Economist ([http://www.economist.com]) for some years and been mildly informed on globalization and the backlash against it evident in the protests against the IMF, World Bank, G7/G8, WTO and other multinational bodies associated with it. I didn’t really develop an interest in globalization until I re...more
so... last year i decided i was gonna get my feet wet in the world of economics - and specifically development economics. i read some stuff by theory types i was interested in anyway (mike davis, david harvey), i read the shock doctrine, i read the end of poverty and i looked to paul krugman (and others) as the american financial system took a nosedive into the shitter.
globalization and its discontents is the best of the bunch so far. it's *really* informative - not to mention level-headed, clea...more
globalization and its discontents is the best of the bunch so far. it's *really* informative - not to mention level-headed, clea...more
Very good, and a must read for anyone interested in globalization from the point of view of the globalizers (albeit a dissenting one), though obviously one should read books from the point of view of the "common folk" before this. Unfortunately, this book is kind of a hit piece on the IMF (which is where it shines, Stiglitz is hardly a socialist so his critiques are more effective), but Stiglitz worked for the semi-rival World Bank, and he constantly is excusing the World Bank's misdeeds and con...more
Fine, Stiglitz writes well on a subject that is hot with the developing world, and he is a writer after my own heart, especially as he argues on how the free market and the wonderful hypocrisy of IMF and WTO (And by that stroke, the developed economies) cripple the southern hemisphere. But honestly, how many books can he write with the same contents, contexts and examples? The argument is good, I am periodically bored with his historical narrative, and all in all, if you have to read a Stiglitz...more
This author won the Nobel Prize for economics a few years back. This is a great review and thorough explanation of the phenomenon known as "globalization". He explains the interconnectivity of the world around us in a very realistic sense, never holding back. You may have to take a breath in the end, it's a lot to grasp.
Oct 27, 2012
David Sarkies
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People interested in Globalisation from the point of view of one of the Elite
Shelves:
politics
I guess I picked this up thinking that it would be interesting to see what a former president of the World Bank had to say about the globalisation debate. It was an interesting read but I sometimes wonder the extent of the appeal that this book would have to people since it is written by the former president of the World Bank. For instance if I were to hand this book to a left leaning person they would dismiss it out of hand because it was written by the former president of the world bank (let'...more
Globalization And It’s Discontents by Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz is, at times, difficult to understand due to the complex economic concepts about market economies and so on. But he also makes it clear why the IMF in particular and World Bank, on occasion, have failed the countries they have been trying to protect. It is largely a matter of not changing their paradigm about economics. It seems that the people in charge arrogantly try to use strategies that have been successf...more
Jan 04, 2011
Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
the-top-50-sustainability-books
One of Cambridge Sustainability's Top 50 Books for Sustainability, as voted for by our alumni network of over 3,000 senior leaders from around the world. To find out more, click here.
The underlying thesis of Globalization and its Discontents is that globalisation has not brought the promised economic benefits to some of the poorest nations in the world. In fact, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Much of this failure is due to perverse effects of multilateral institutio...more
The underlying thesis of Globalization and its Discontents is that globalisation has not brought the promised economic benefits to some of the poorest nations in the world. In fact, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Much of this failure is due to perverse effects of multilateral institutio...more
القاهرة (رويترز): يصف الخبير الامريكي جوزيف ستجليتز الحاصل على جائزة نوبل في الاقتصاد عام 2001 المؤسسات الاقتصادية الدولية بممارسة نفاق يزيد الاغنياء ثراء والفقراء فقرا. وقال في كتابه (ضحايا العولمة) ان صندوق النقد الدولي على سبيل المثال ينتهج سياسة تحركها الايديولوجيا والاقتصاد "الرديء" مفسرا قوة ردود الفعل المناهضة للعولمة بأنها نوع من الوعي بما وصفه النفاق الكبير. وأضاف "لا يوجد اليوم من يدافع عن هذا النفاق الكبير ألا وهو الادعاء بمساندة البلدان النامية باجبارها على فتح أسواقها لمنتجات البلدا...more
Джоузеф Стиглиц громи МВФ в “Глобализацията и недоволните от нея”
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/07/b...
По случай успешната ми защита на дипломна работа днес най-сетне се наканвам да пиша и за другата книга на Джоузеф Стиглиц, след като миналата седмица ревюирах “Свободно падане”.
“Глобализацията и недоволните от нея” може да се дефинира с едно изречение – “Какво не е наред с МВФ?”. Стиглиц убедително и напоително критикува почти всички действия на Фонда, обвинявайки ги в скованост, късогледст...more
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/07/b...
По случай успешната ми защита на дипломна работа днес най-сетне се наканвам да пиша и за другата книга на Джоузеф Стиглиц, след като миналата седмица ревюирах “Свободно падане”.
“Глобализацията и недоволните от нея” може да се дефинира с едно изречение – “Какво не е наред с МВФ?”. Стиглиц убедително и напоително критикува почти всички действия на Фонда, обвинявайки ги в скованост, късогледст...more
Good read. The IMF, World Bank & WTO set the rules of the game in a way that serves the special interests of the advanced countries rather than those of the developing world. Big bailouts are the safety net to ensure the western money lenders get their money back when things collapse. Also strong regulation basically doesn't exist. This was written in 2002 and still the same problems he mentions exist...
I feel no matter what Stiglitz(and others)says in their books and interviews it has no ef...more
I feel no matter what Stiglitz(and others)says in their books and interviews it has no ef...more
Well this book was full of good information concerning the IMF and definitely think Frankenstein got it right: IMF baaad, grrr. At times it felt like Stiglitz just does not like the IMF and it is all sour grapes for the reasons he discusses. Another thing I got from the book (and usually do from books based on finance or business) is what a bunch of lowlifes (scum of the earth really) these people really are. I do believe they have very little grounding in reality and great adoration for their b...more
Joseph Stiglitz deserves a Nobel Prize...oh wait...oh yeah...
If you have ever been uneasy with the international financial institutions, you're in the majority. If your uneasiness has led you to say questionable things about things you don't understand, you're also in the majority. What better, then, than a book that takes your gut feelings on the topic and gives you valid evidence and nuanced arguments?
If you have ever been uneasy with the international financial institutions, you're in the majority. If your uneasiness has led you to say questionable things about things you don't understand, you're also in the majority. What better, then, than a book that takes your gut feelings on the topic and gives you valid evidence and nuanced arguments?
The book has a good description clearing certain myths about globalization, about how it has not led to what it was supposed to be promoted for. the author has very elaborately described certain crises that were a result of the ideological view of the bureaucrats of the international institutions, which have their main objective as to spread the idea of globalization. It shows how they, under the facade of causing development in the developing countries, used the name of the three pillars of pol...more
I actually only read the first half of this book, because Stiglitz starts getting into pretty specific actions that the IMF took during, for example, the East Asia financial crisis, and it turns out I really don't care what kind of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering took place at the US Federal Reserve during the Clinton years. I mean, I'm glad the information is there. I'm glad I can find it if I need to. But...at this point, it goes over my head.
That said, if you happen to have certain fa...more
That said, if you happen to have certain fa...more
This was an eye-opening book and one to which I would turn if I were to be involved in global financial markets. His courage to write this stunning expose is incredible. Very readable and approachable without watering down technicalities. A LOT of detail.
I found the structure ... missing ... and it felt like it could use a different organization of the steady flow of anecdotes and facts. Also, though it's likely the reality of such large and well-financed organizations, his ending chapter on the...more
I found the structure ... missing ... and it felt like it could use a different organization of the steady flow of anecdotes and facts. Also, though it's likely the reality of such large and well-financed organizations, his ending chapter on the...more
Stiglitz offers a rare glimpse into the world of high-level economic policy making. Neo-liberal economic policies, he argues, has contributed to the economic crises seen during the 1990s with little regard for the fallout affecting lives and livelihoods.
There is the risk of non-specialist readers taking the literal black&white opinion that the IMF and the Bank are bad, the developing world their victims.
The two institutions are separate but increasingly, Stiglitz highlights, the IMF's shor...more
There is the risk of non-specialist readers taking the literal black&white opinion that the IMF and the Bank are bad, the developing world their victims.
The two institutions are separate but increasingly, Stiglitz highlights, the IMF's shor...more
I had hoped for more really.
Stiglitz's book on Globalization is more like a searing attack on the IMF and all of its failures, which has some value for anyone looking for a better understanding of US development practices over the last several decades, but he writes in such a way as to paint himself, and more importantly the role of the World Bank, as entirely faultless in the global economic struggle for survival.
Basically this is one of those books that you can do just fine with just reading t...more
Stiglitz's book on Globalization is more like a searing attack on the IMF and all of its failures, which has some value for anyone looking for a better understanding of US development practices over the last several decades, but he writes in such a way as to paint himself, and more importantly the role of the World Bank, as entirely faultless in the global economic struggle for survival.
Basically this is one of those books that you can do just fine with just reading t...more
I initially purchased this book to supplement an international relations course at university with a left-leaning slant. The book did an excellent job of distilling the shortcomings of how globalization has been managed with particular emphasis on the international financial institutions. The book tries to cover a huge amount of material in a very short amount of space and does so admirably. The books also contains many personal accounts about his experiences with governments in the developing w...more
The title of this book makes it sound like it's an argument against globalization, but it's actually more of an argument against the policies of the International Monetary Fund (at least up until 2002, when the book was first published). This organization, which is supposed to provide stabilizing loans to countries experiencing economic instability, appears to have lost sight of its mission. Stiglitz acknowledges that globalization CAN be a strong force for good, but argues that the IMF has esse...more
Stiglitz briefly prefaces his scathing rebuke of IMF policies with the reminder that globalization is not all it was cracked up to be. International economics sees increasing poverty, and increasing disparity between economic classes. Sure, you can buy a Gucci in Moscow now...if you're in the top 1% of Russian incomes. This work is very straightforward, and the reader does not have to be an expert in the field to understand its basic argument. In all, Stiglitz may not provide the definitive answ...more
"A good primer on how the World Bank and IMF view economic development in emerging nations and how their efforts to promote growth often backfire, and how the resultant austerity solutions to excessive debt tend to exacerbate the problem and cause further misery. Not sure if countries would be better off without any IMF/WB interference, but clearly they need to reexamine their policies, especially after a number of prominent policy failures. The author actually served as chief economist at the W...more
واحد آخر ممن يقلقون منام الكثير من المنظمات والأجندات التي تحكم سير العالم! واحد آخر ممن لا يرتاحون حتى يفضحوا لك أيها الجاهل المسكين كيف أن المنظمات العملاقة -كصندوق النقد الدولي- لا تعمل حقاً من اجل خير وسعادة العالم! وإن كانت تفعل فقد فشلت فشلاً ذريعاً! يكفي أن تقرأ تقديم د. جلال أمين لهذا الكتاب وكاتبه الحاصل على جائزة نوبل لتفهم!
While at points it could be dull and hard to read, the book accurately and fairly discusses both sides of the globalization issue, and then discusses reasons why both sides are right and wrong. It also gives some ideas oh how we could make globalization work, and explains why it hasn't worked so well, mainly due to the power structure and inefficiencies of the World Bank and IMF.
I would have liked to give it a higher rating, but you most likely won't be able to sit and read this book in 1 day or...more
I would have liked to give it a higher rating, but you most likely won't be able to sit and read this book in 1 day or...more
Stiglitz insider's perspective and description of the IMF and World Bank is bothersome. Although, Stiglitz uses very politically correct dialogue throughout the book, he consistently notes many of the problems that go beyond negligence in these two organizations, with negligence effecting millions of the world's poorest people. This book was also useful in understanding some of the basic macroeconomic and finance related problems we are facing in our nation today and how certain policies, includ...more
Joseph Stiglitz is the sort of thinker who can appeal to pretty much everyone on the political spectrum, conservative, liberal, and leftist. While those on the right will probably have a problem with his disapproval of laissez-faire economics, and those (like myself) on the left will take issue with some of his more market-oriented solutions, he is above all else, a sane, rational commentator. His thesis is quite simple: before putting forth any platform, we need to examine the economic disaster...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Globalization and Its Discontents and latin america | 1 | 11 | Feb 24, 2009 07:04am | |
| Stiglitz | 2 | 16 | Apr 23, 2008 09:07am |
Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, ForMemRS, FBA, is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the John Bates Clark Medal (1979). He is also the former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank. He is known for his critical view of the management of globalization, free-market economists (whom h...more
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“...decisions were often made because of ideology and politics. As a result many wrong-headed actions were taken, ones that did not solve the problem at hand but that fit with the interests or beliefs of the people in power.”
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May 11, 2012 10:35am
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