When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize w...
read full description
reviews
Jan 07, 2012
Whitaker
rated it: 
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 t 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 t More...
7 comments
like
(10 people liked it)
Aug 07, 2007
Noah
rated it: 
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 te
More...
0 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Jul 04, 2007
Beggs
rated it:
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...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 19, 2009
Dan
rated it:
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- More...
globalization and its discontents is the best of the bunch so far. it's *really* informative - not to mention level- More...
3 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 20, 2008
Adam
rated it:
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 misdee
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 01, 2007
Jet
rated it:
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...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 17, 2008
Larissa
rated it:
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.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 02, 2008
Tommy
rated it: 
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
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 27, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
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
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 multilatera 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 multilatera More...
Dec 03, 2010
الخوري
rated it:
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
More...
Oct 09, 2011
Христо
rated it:
Джоузеф Стиглиц громи МВФ в “Глобализацията и недоволните от нея”
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/07/blog...
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, об More...
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/07/blog...
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, об More...
Jan 20, 2010
Brian
rated it:
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 h More...
I feel no matter what Stiglitz(and others)says in their books and interviews it h More...
Aug 22, 2009
Surfing Moose
rated it:
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...
Dec 17, 2009
Homa
rated it:
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?
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 16, 2011
Deepshikha
rated it:
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...
Dec 23, 2010
Charlie
rated it:
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 More...
That said, if you happen to have More...
Jun 30, 2011
Bonnie
rated it:
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 ch 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 ch More...
Jan 15, 2009
Cendri
rated it:
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 es
More...
Feb 09, 2011
Letitia
rated it:
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...
Nov 20, 2010
يوسف
rated it:
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!
More...
Feb 16, 2009
David
rated it:
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, incl
More...
Mar 07, 2011
Diego
rated it:
Resume los grandes problemas que la globalización ha traído para los países en desarrollo, principalmente al liberalizar prematuramente sus mercados de capitales y perseguir de forma dogmática el libre mercado, ilustra como las políticas impulsadas por el consenso de Washington ( principalmente el FMI ) han causado mas malestar que mejoría en los países en desarrollo, particularmente ilustra los casos de la crisis asiática de 1997, la rusa de 1998 y las diversas crisis de lationoamérica en la mi
More...
Mar 05, 2011
David
rated it:
Stiglitz's book helps explain the protests and animosity raised against the contemporary system of international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. For a period before the writing of this book (20o2), he served as chief economist and senior vice president for the World Bank. However, most of his criticisms are directed toward the Bank's sister organization, the IMF. Thus he is writing from an knowledgeable if not complete
More...
Sep 21, 2011
Tank
rated it:
this book is erroneously titled: it should be called something more like, 'how the IMF, US treasury (and to a lesser extent the EU) fucks up the rest of the world.'
stiglitz clearly has an axe to grind in respect of the IMF and this does lead him to be mysteriously silent on the policies and workings of his beloved world bank as well as leading him to be overly self-satisfied at times. further, this book could also do with a glossary.
however, those criticisms aside, it is a f More...
stiglitz clearly has an axe to grind in respect of the IMF and this does lead him to be mysteriously silent on the policies and workings of his beloved world bank as well as leading him to be overly self-satisfied at times. further, this book could also do with a glossary.
however, those criticisms aside, it is a f More...
Nov 23, 2010
Millicent
rated it:
This is an incredibly important book.
This is the nuts and bolts explanation of what the International Monetary Fund does, how it does it, and why. The first 90 pages neatly summarize the overarching, devastating consequences of the last few decades of IMF policy on poor people. The middle of the book explains how this shit went down, detailing in layperson's terms the complex system of neoliberal capitalism that overtook the world in the 1990s, through the lens of two case studie More...
This is the nuts and bolts explanation of what the International Monetary Fund does, how it does it, and why. The first 90 pages neatly summarize the overarching, devastating consequences of the last few decades of IMF policy on poor people. The middle of the book explains how this shit went down, detailing in layperson's terms the complex system of neoliberal capitalism that overtook the world in the 1990s, through the lens of two case studie More...
Sep 21, 2011
Amaury
rated it:
Stiglitz présente les différents cas d'échec des institutions internationales telles que le FMI. Une vue de l'intérieur de ce qu'est la mondialisation aux yeux des membres de ces institutions, et une analyse des conséquences parfois catastrophiques de cette dernière lorsqu'elle est mal organisée.
Si la mondialisation a su amener son lot de bienfaisance pour des millions de personnes, ses échecs sont dus aux politiques biaisées de certains qui pilotent les institutions internationales More...
Si la mondialisation a su amener son lot de bienfaisance pour des millions de personnes, ses échecs sont dus aux politiques biaisées de certains qui pilotent les institutions internationales More...
May 31, 2009
Tim
rated it:
I'm a dope when it comes to economics, but my impression is that this book has been hugely influential among the anti-corporate globalization crowd. It came out shortly after the Seattle WTO protests and soon popped up on the bookshelves many of my development-minded friends.
It's easy to see why: Stiglitz is about as prestigious a development economist as you are likely to find--Nobel Prize winner, former chief economist at the World Bank, by some metrics the most cited economist wo More...
It's easy to see why: Stiglitz is about as prestigious a development economist as you are likely to find--Nobel Prize winner, former chief economist at the World Bank, by some metrics the most cited economist wo More...
Jan 06, 2009
Phil
rated it:
Joseph Stiglitz is Jeff Sachs with dirt under his fingernails and Thomas Friedman without the fairy dust. A brilliant first-hand narrative of modern Economics that anyone can read. He deserved the Nobel Prize and then some. He combines experience, criticism, biography, and a rare ability to deliver the knockout phrase. "A Gucci outlet in Moscow is not a functioning free-market." A must for anyone who wants to start to understand how the world really works.
