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Globalization and Its Discontents

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 2,728 ratings · 181 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 concerne...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published April 17th 2003 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published 2002)

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Jan 07, 2012 Whitaker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: economics, 2011-read

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

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Aug 07, 2007 Noah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: politics

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

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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 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 read The Best Democracy Money can Buy by Greg Palast.

Palast’s book wet my appetite but Stiglitz, who was President Clinton’s economic adviser before joining the World Bank, really lays on the blame. He places most of the blame for the Asian Financial Crisis, the Russian collapse, and Argentina’s Defaulting, on the IMF. More specifically he claims that a shift away from the Keynesian ideas that the IMF and World Bank were founded on is to blame. What caused the shift? The introduction of Thatcherism and Ragantonian ideals, the ousting of experienced economist and the promotion of free market fundamentalist at the IMF.

To support his accusations Stiglitz roams around the globe from one crisis to another pointing out the faults in the blind, ideological, one-size-fits-all prescriptions the IMF doled out to country after country in the past 25 years. Time and again the IMF’s blind belief in the Market becomes a vehicle for greed and capitalist hegemony. To back up the point that the IMF refused to learn from it’s mistakes and the experience of others Stiglitz points out several countries that refused to follow the IMF plan, and shows that while their development has not been as smooth as could be desired and they have not developed as fast as the IMF says they could, they have avoided the painful problems of many of the IMFs poster child countries: Thailand, Argentina, Russia. And stand better today than many of the countries who followed the IMF plans.

I found the section of the Asian Financial Crisis the most poignant because shortly after I finished the book I traveled to Bangkok, the epicenter of the crisis. The problems that began in Bangkok when Thailand opened it’s market to ‘hot money‘ ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_money]) are always recalled as something that happened ‘over night.’ How true those statements are really became apparent when I was in Bangkok. The skyline is filled with half completed skyscrapers and rusting cranes that have sat empty since 1997. Many construction sights literal closed the doors one night and never opened them again, putting hundreds of workers on the street over night.

After nearly a decade Bangkok is just beginning to recover from it’s nightmare. If Stiglitz is to be believed the IMF leadership, which shares a large part of the blame because it pushed questionable policies faster than was advisable and without tailoring them for local conditions, has not learned its lesson. Stiglitz acknowledges that the goals of the IMF, the goals of Globalization, are not inherently bad, and need not lead to the problems that we have seen. Rather it is the way the IMF uses it’s political power and money to force these ideas on countries that are not ready for them that has lead to so much suffering and poverty.

Globalization is not a new movement, it is the as old as civilization. It is the force that sent caravans down the Silk Road and the wind that launched the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria across the Atlantic. The goal now should be to move forward in a way that does not destroy entire societies so that a few rich people can get richer. Modern globalization was sold to the world as a way to bring the poor into a better world. It has, to a large extent, made many of their lives worse while being hijacked to make the rich richer.(less)

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Jan 19, 2009 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

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 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, clearly-written (though dry in a way that's unavoidable when you're talking about interest rates) and super pragmatic. stiglitz is a nobel-prize winning economist who once worked for the world bank, and he pissed a lot of people off when he published this book. which makes it sound radical, but that's not quite right. stiglitz is in favor of a regulated market, with strengthened social services, checks, balances, etc. as such, he avoids sensationalizing or romanticizing the issues he addresses. on the whole, he treats globalization as something neutral, choosing instead to examine the ways its name has become synonymous with the free market fundamentalism of the "washington consensus," and what to do to alter its course, accordingly. his critique of these very powerful clubs is rigorous and multi-faceted. i'm not a naomi klein hater by any means (i thought her shock doctrine raised some much-needed questions), but this book kinda blows it out of the water in the research department (even if it's not as much of a page-turner).

my only complaints are minor ones. stiglitz touches on some big issues towards the end, mostly in regards to medical discoveries (bio-piracy, etc.) and the environment. on account of these two problems in particular, i feel somewhat unconvinced by his VERY, VERY guarded optimism about a market system, and i wish he'd explored some of the complications he notes briefly toward his conclusion more thoroughly.

highly recommended to anyone trying to get a sense of how money flows globally. (less)

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Jan 20, 2008 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Sep 01, 2007 Jet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: seriousnonfiction

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

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Dec 17, 2008 Larissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

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.

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Dec 02, 2008 Tommy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: economy, non-fiction

Stiglitz lives up to his Nobel winning reputation with this thoughtful look at the current state of globalization. His skewering of the IMF as a financial market toady is especially biting and amusing. Anyone interested in the economy should read this and Stiglitz in general

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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 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's see how many times I can say that), while when I showed it to a guy that was so far to the right, he made Ronald Reagan look like a left wing radical, he scoffed at it and said 'Stiglitz, he's a lefty'.
I did find this book interesting, though it seemed to be very much in the vein of 'well, the World Bank was set up to eliminate poverty, and it would have worked if not for the IMF'. Seriously, do you expect me to believe that? Why do you think I include the World Bank among the unholy trinity (of the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank). Well, it is suggested that the World Bank is generally headed up by Europeans, but then again Margaret Thatcher and Nicolas Sarkozy were also Europeans (though I get the feeling that Britain does not really like to consider itself as Europen, probably because they are special since they speak English).
The problem with rising to the top and attempting to implement change is that when you get up there you suddenly discover that there are all of these competing interests that you must consider when making such decisions. It would be all well and good to take all of the wealth off of the billionaires and give it to the poor, but if all the poor do is go and spend it, and live it up, you will discover that in the end they won't have been lifted out of poverty.
Anyway I have noticed that with some poor people anyway, though not all of them. There are people on the pension that are quite frugal to the point that they are able to afford overseas holidays. However, on the other hand I have seen (and been one myself) where the first thing that you do when you get your pension cheque is to take it all out of the bank, and then end up spending it all. It is one of the reasons I prefer to keep money in the bank because if I take it out I spend it.
In a way trying to solve all of the world's problems can be daunting in and of itself, but we must remember that this is a fallen world and that we will never live in a perfect world this side of the restoration of all things. However it does not mean that we cannot go out and attempt to make it a better place. People have done that in the past. Remember that we now have universal health care (for what it is worth), free education (for what it is worth), safe streets, and welfare because people in the past have campaigned for it. William Wilberforce brought an end to slavery and Martin Luther broke the power of the Catholic Church. Change is possible, and moving away from the ideas that are binding and destroying our society is also possible.
The problem, as is outlined in this book, is that we are stuck on a mindset that simply does not work. In the same way that wars are fought by generals who have no idea of what it is like in the trenches, economic policy is developed in universities where people have no concept of what it is like to struggle in a capitalistic society. Our politicians live lives of luxury, and the corporate bosses are stuck in their walled enclosures not understanding what it is like to be an employee struggling with everything that seeks to squeeze money from you. You may be on a million dollars are year, but when somebody is earning only 1% of that, and having to pay for essentials that you simply don't even think about then there is a problem. You may be a nice guy, but if you don't understand the plight of the middle class, and you don't understand how somebody can support a family on $50000.00 then you have lost touch. You are no better than the aristocracy of old.
However we can't simply say that it is too hard and nothing can be done, because Martin Luther broke the back of the Catholic Church, and William Wilberforce brought and end to slavery in England. These were two things that at the time seemed impossible. The factory workers of 19th century England could only dream of a day when they would receive fair wages and a safe workplace, and people in the Third World still dream of that possibility. We have that, but even then it is slowly being taken away. The introduction of the private health care rebate is creating a system where some can afford health care and others cannot. The same with fees for enduction, for everytime we raise fees we cut funding. We may still have subsidised education where as Bagladesh does not, but we are slowly moving there.
I have probably said much about that before, however I want to talk about one of the assumptions that seems to be permeating around that is a large myth about capitalism and that is the Efficient Market Theory. The idea is that because the market is made up of many small people then as a collective they act in an reasonable manner, while individually they may not. The idea is that the market is always at a point of perfecting due to the belief of mass psychology. However that is rubbish on two counts. Simply because we are talking about mass psychology does not mean that the mass behaves in a reasonable manner. Take the French Revolution for instance. That was a mass rebellion against the established order, and they did not act in a reasonable manner. In fact all hell broke loose. Taking this idea over to the markets has the same effect. Bad new tends to create mass hysteria meaning that a company, or the broad based market, will loose a lot more than what it should. Usually, in relation to the market, this happens after a period of mass euphoria, where the mass believes that nothing can go wrong and the market will always go up.
However the idea that the market is made up of a mass of individuals is also a myth. While to an extent our savings are exposed to the market, this is generally through a series of proxies, namely the banks and the superfunds. As it turns out the collective of retail shareholders (shareholders who have a direct exposure to the market through individual shareholdings) is quite small. The bulk of the market is actually owned by a handfull of individuals in the form of a company. While a company, such as AMP (a large Australian Superfund) may have a number of fund managers, it is not so much the individual manager that holds the shares but the company as a whole. Also, while we may have our super in a specific fund, we generally do not know the actual make up of that fund (is it shares, and if so, what shares does it hold). As such, the idea of the Efficient Market is a myth, because there is no mass psychology, but rather a small group of individuals that invest money on behalf of the masses. (less)

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Sep 27, 2011 Patrick McCoy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: current-affairs, non-fiction

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

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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

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Dec 03, 2010 الخوري بسام rated it 5 of 5 stars

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 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 البلدان الصناعية المتقدمة التي هي نفسها تستمر في حماية الاسواق الخاصة بها. ان طبيعة هذه السياسات تجعل الاغنياء أكثر ثراء والفقراء أكثر فقرا وأكثر سخطا."
وأشار الى أن الدول الصناعية بنت اقتصادها عن طريق حمايته حتى يصبح قويا وقادرا على المنافسة أما التحرير السريع للتجارة فيؤدي الى نتائج وصفها بالوخيمة على الصعيدين الاجتماعي والاقتصادي حيث يهدد فرص العمل كما يدمر القطاعات الصناعية والزراعية في الدول النامية. وقال ان الولايات المتحدة "بالطبع في مقدمة المذنبين وكانت هذه المسألة تحز في نفسي. وعندما كنت رئيسا لمجلس المستشارين الاقتصاديين حاربت بشدة ضد هذا النفاق."
وعمل ستجليتز أستاذا جامعيا في كينيا بين عامي 1969 و1971 ومارس التدريس في بعض الجامعات الامريكية وترك الجامعة عام 1993 لينضم الى مجلس المستشارين الاقتصاديين التابع للرئيس الامريكي السابق بيل كلينتون ثم انتقل الى البنك الدولي عام 1997 حيث شغل منصب النائب الاول لرئيسه حتى يناير كانون الثاني 2000.
ويضم مجلس المستشارين الاقتصاديين ثلاثة خبراء يعينهم الرئيس الامريكي لتقديم الاستشارات الاقتصادية لمؤسسات السلطة النتفيذية الامريكية. وكان ستجليتز عضوا بهذا المجلس ثم أصبح رئيسا له.
ووصف جلال أمين أستاذ الاقتصاد بالجامعة الامريكية في القاهرة الكتاب في المقدمة بأنه "من أهم الكتب الاقتصادية التي صدرت خلال الاعوام العشرة الاخيرة على الاقل" مشيرا الى أن مؤلفه حين قبل منصبي رئيس مجلس مستشاري الرئيس الامريكي وكبير الاقتصاديين في البنك الدولي كان يريد أن يرى كيفية صياغة السياسات الاقتصادية "ومن المؤكد أن ما راه ستجليتز لم يعجبه." وصدر الكتاب في بريطانيا عام 2002 أما طبعته العربية الاولى التي ترجمتها المصرية لبنى الريدي فصدرت عن دار ميريت بالقاهرة في 334 صفحة كبيرة القطع.
وأتاح عمل ستجليتز في البنك الدولي أن يزور عشرات الدول ويقابل ألوفا من المسؤولين والخبراء وأساتذة الجامعات والمناضلين والطلبة والمزارعين في نيبال والهيمالايا والصين وبنجلادش وكوريا واثيوبيا والمغرب. وقال "رأيت التاريخ وهو يصنع." لكنه لخص تلك التجربة قائلا "تأكدت أن القرارات تتخذ غالبا على أسس أيديولوجية وسياسية... يصبح الجامعيون (في البنك الدولي) عندما يضعون التوصيات مسيسين ويلوون الحقائق لتتناسب مع أفكار المسؤولين." وأشار أيضا الى أن اتخاذ القرار في صندوق النقد الدولي "يعتمد على ما يبدو على خليط غريب من الايديولوجيا والاقتصاد الرديء" مشيرا الى أن الدول النامية حين تلتمس من الصندوق العون في أكثر المواقف سوءا لا تعي أن حالات فشل العلاج لا تقل ان لم تزد على حالات النجاح.
وقال ان سياسات صندوق النقد الدولي التي تهدف الى المساعدة في التكيف في مواجهة الازمات "أدت في العديد من الحالات الى المجاعة والهياج الشعبي. وحتى عندما نجحت هذه السياسات في احداث نمو هزيل لفترة فان جزءا كبيرا من هذه المكاسب ذهب في الغالب الى الاوساط الاكثر ثراء في هذه البلدان." وأضاف أن العولمة التي تحكمها ثلاث مؤسسات رئيسة هي صندوق النقد الدولي والبنك الدولي ومنظمة التجارة العالمية اضافة الى "جيش" من مؤسسات أخرى تلعب دورا في الاقتصاد الدولي تهدف الى الغاء الحواجز أمام التجارة الحرة ولها أثر "مدمر" على البلدان النامية خاصة الفقراء في هذه البلدان.
وقال ان تعامل صندوق النقد والبنك الدوليين مع برامج الخصخصة في الدول النامية ناتج عن "منظور أيديولوجي ضيق" مشيرا الى تجربة كان شاهدا عليها في بعض القرى الفقيرة في المغرب حيث شجعت منظمة أهلية على تربية الدواجن وكان نساء القرى يحصلن على كتاكيت عمرها سبعة أيام من شركة حكومية. ثم انهار المشروع لان صندوق النقد الدولي أبلغ الحكومة ألا يكون لها دور في عملية توزيع الكتاكيت فتوقفت عن بيعها. وعلق قائلا "قضي على صناعة وليدة كانت ستحدث اختلافا في حياة هؤلاء الفلاحين الفقراء" بسبب افتراض الصندوق أن مشروعا تقوم به نساء القرى الى جوار نشاطهن التقليدي سيملأ هذه الفجوة.
وقال ان صندوق النقد الدولي في دفاعه عن تحرير سوق رأس المال يعتمد على تفكير اعتبره ساذجا. وسجل أن 1.2 مليار نسمة يعيشون على أقل من دولار يوميا كما يعيش 2.8 مليار يعيشون على أقل من دولارين. وقال ستجليتز ان العولمة خطر على الديمقراطية حيث تستبدل بالدكتاتوريات القديمة دكتاتوريات المالية الدولية(less)

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Oct 09, 2011 Христо Блажев rated it 5 of 5 stars

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

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Jan 14, 2010 Brian Moriarty rated it 3 of 5 stars

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

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Aug 22, 2009 Surfing Moose rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Oct 01, 2007 Homa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone everywhere

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?

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Jun 16, 2011 Deepshikha rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Dec 23, 2010 Charlie rated it 3 of 5 stars

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

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Jun 30, 2011 Bonnie Atkinson rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Mar 31, 2013 Khaled rated it 5 of 5 stars

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

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Mar 16, 2013 Ryan Greer rated it 2 of 5 stars

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

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Jul 16, 2012 Geoff rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Jan 15, 2009 Cendri rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Feb 09, 2011 Letitia rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Mar 30, 2013 Stuart rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: globalization

"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

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Nov 20, 2010 يوسف أحمد rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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!

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Aug 24, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Feb 16, 2009 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Apr 02, 2013 Andrew added it

Shelves: economics, neoliberalism-and-postmodernity

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

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Jun 16, 2010 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

surprisingly interesting...

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About Joseph E. Stiglitz

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

More about Joseph E. Stiglitz...

Books by Joseph E. Stiglitz

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The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future

The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict

The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decade

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