Globalization: What's New?

by Michael Weinstein (Editor)

Overview

From the streets of Seattle to corporate boardrooms to new factories in third-world nations, globalization is subject to very different and often explosively divergent interpretations. Where some see globalization as driving poor countries into further poverty, others see it as the path to economic salvation and democratic rule. With original contributions from ten eminent economists, Globalization: What's New cuts through the confusion and rhetoric to offer straightforward, incisive analysis of globalization and its future.

Coming from some of globalization's most prominent supporters (David Dollar), its most vocal critics (Joseph Stiglitz), and those in-between, this collection presents diverse and original perspectives on globalization's immense reach that dig to the core of many debates. The contributors analyze recent trends in trade, immigration, and capital flows; why some poor countries have grown while others have stagnated during the past two decades; future opportunities for low-wage workers; globalization's impact on jobs and wages in poor countries and in the United States; the surprising environmental benefits of globalization; the degree to which foreign aid helps developing countries; the failures of international institutions in governing the global economy and supporting democracy; and how foreign loans and investments can wreak havoc on a nation's economy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231508858
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	03/10/2005
Series:	European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Michael M. Weinstein is director of programs for the Robin Hood Foundation and the New York Times Foundation. He provided analysis of economic issues for National Public Radio before joining the New York Times, becoming a member of its editorial board and its economics columnist during the 1990s.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, by Michael M. Weinstein, Robin Hood Foundation and New York Times Company Foundation
2. Trade and Globalization, by Douglas A. Irwin, Dartmouth College
3. Capital Flows, Financial Crises, and Public Policy, by Charles W. Calomiris, Professor of Economics, Columbia University
4. Globalization and Immigration, by George J. Borjas, Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
5. Globalization, Poverty, and Inequality, by David Dollar, Development Research Group, World Bank
6. The Environment and Economic Globalization, by Jeffrey A. Frankel, Harpel Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
7. The Rich Have Markets, the Poor Have Bureaucrats, by William Easterly, New York University
8. Feasible Globalizations, by Dani Rodrik, Rafiq Hariri Professor of International Political Economy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
9: Globalization and Patterns of Economic Growth, by Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University
10. The Overselling of Globalization, by Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor, Columbia University

What People are Saying About This

Leslie H.Gelb

Finally, finally, a most respected group of economists has come together to separate fact from fiction about globalization and to provide us with an intelligent policy discussion. For a decade, writings on globalization were faddish and foolish, making the most extravagant claims without any grounding in history or knowledge of economics. The Weinstein edited book should be the most important of its kind on this most important of subjects.

— Leslie H.Gelb, president emeritus of The Council on Foreign Relations

Nancy Birdsall

Globalization has become an enduring subject. Here is a superb collection of essays, with a sparkling introduction, bringing thoughtful and accessible economic analysis to what ought to be a wide readership. The economists all bring evidence, intelligence, and some healthy policy 'attitude'. Their points of view never drown out their sound thinking. In the end, what's good about globalization mostly gets the nod in this collection, along with full disclosure of how its economic blessings could be enhanced and better shared.

— Nancy Birdsall, president, Center for Global Development

Editorial Reviews

This is the most informative and controversial book about globalization to appear so far this year. It is must reading for students, scholars, and serious general readers... Essential.

Choice

Globalization has been occurring at least since the European expansion of the sixteenth century, when coffee, tea, sugar, potatoes, corn, and other products from distant lands radically altered consumption patterns and lifestyles in Europe and elsewhere. In this book, nine prominent economists examine different aspects of globalization today, focusing mainly on what is new in the past two decades. Together they cover trade, capital movements, migration, foreign aid, and the environment; the consequences of globalization for growth, poverty, and inequality; the tensions between globalization and democratic control over local social and economic conditions; the sometimes helpful but sometimes damaging effects of rich countries' policies on poor countries; and the imposition of sometimes helpful but sometimes inappropriate conditions on poor countries by international financial institutions. The authors do not all agree with one another, on, for example, the desirability of more international migration, or the freedom of capital movements, or high local autonomy in formulating economic policy. But this book offers a cornucopia of relevant facts and a stimulating collection of interpretations; it moves the debate on globalization to a higher level.

Foreign Affairs

This book offers a cornucopia of relevant facts and a stimulating collection of interpretations; it moves the debate on globalization to a higher level.

Foreign Affairs - Richard N. Cooper