Buku ini benar-benar membuka mata saya. Banyak hal baru yang saya pelajari. Paling utama tentu saja aspek ekonomi globalisasi, yaitu ekonomi makro dunia. Baru tahu begitu cara bekerja dunia keuangan global.

Tapi Stiglitz tidak hanya bicara ekonomi. Dia juga mengajak kita diskusi aspek global dari keadaan di dunia ini, dimulai dari dua polarisasi forum global, Forum Ekonomi Dunia di Davos, Swiss; dan Forum Sosial Dunia, di Mumbai, India. Dua kubu ini membahas efek globalisasi dari dua titik pandang yang berbeda. Yang pertama dari sisi menurut dunia maju. Yang kedua dari sisi dunia berkembang dan miskin.

Buku ini dibagi 10 bab. Stiglitz mengurai dan mengenalkan masalah-masalah yang dihadapi di dunia yang semakin terhubung ini. Dari situ ia mulai mengajak kita berdiskusi ke beberapa aspek, seperti dunia paten, sumber daya alam, pemanasan global, pengaruh perusahaan multinasional yang kadang lebih dari negara pengaruhnya ke seluruh dunia, beban utang.

Selain mengungkap masalah dan asal muasal ketimpangan dalam globalisasi. Stiglitz juga menyajikan rumusan obat yang terperinci dan menggugah intelektual karena ia sendiri pernah menjabat posisi penting di Bank Dunia serta menjadi penasihat ekonomi pemerintah Amerika Serikat di era Presiden Clinton. Ia juga penerima Hadiah Nobel Ekonomi.

Stiglitz tahu masalah globalisasi. Kadang kebijakan ekonomi dan politik negara sebuah negara seperti AS seringkali justru menimbulkan ketimpangan yang tidak memperhatikan aspek keadilan dan kepatutan, terutama dengan kepentingan negara berkembang. Usulannya tentang mata uang netral sebagai penyangga keuangan global sangat menarik. Ia juga menyajikan satu bab terakhir sebagai rumusan ketimpangan demokrasi, yang dianggapnya dalam notasi ekonomo sebagai defisit dan surplus, sehingga harapannya setiap negara bisa menghargai demokrasi yang semakin global ini. Seperti Amerika Serikat yang mengkapanyekan penegakan demokrasi ke seluruh dunia, tapi di sisi lain mereka membuat penjara khusus yang melanggar HAM, bisa dianggap mengakibatkan defisit demokrasi bagi mereka sendiri.

Buku yang menarik untuk menutup tahun lalu dan membuka tahun baru. Setelah berkutat dengan teori mikro, keuangan perusahaan, dan sebagainya. Dengan membaca buku ini membuka mata dan perspektif saya, dunia sesungguhnya entitas-entitas besar dari miniatur perusahaan, bila dibayangkan seperti itu. Tapi membayangkan sebuah perusahaan multinasional penghasilannya bisa mengalahkan total GDP dari negara-negara di sebuah, sungguh menggugah perasaan kita. Apalagi bila tingkah polah entitas besar itu bisa mengakibat akibat buruk di sisi dunia lain, yang dulu tidak akan kita bayangkan.

Selamat tahun baru.

A must read for all that want to know how globalization is crippling the system, and want to know how can this inevitable future of 'free-trade ... etc' can be viewed from a realistic perspective. Also, how can we make it work!

Making globalization work- Joseph E. Stiglitz
Is another world really possible?
From the Nobel Prize winning writer, who has created masterpieces such as Globalization and Its Discontents, Joseph E. Stiglitz has created a sphere for developing countries to understand their stand in the global market and economy. Stiglitz’s main criticism is the unhealthy growth of globalization and its ever growing malicious externalities. Many critics and economics understand the universal fact that globalization has gone too far to stop and that it is definitely not taking a shape which would benefit most developing countries (or even the developed ones). Hence, Stiglitz’s commentary on how globalization can and should work for the common good of the developing nations while not halting the developed nations’ innovation and corporative businesses is all the more necessary.
It has been forgotten that today’s developed countries such as USA and Japan initially started their prosperity from protectionist policies.
It is often advertised that only through free trade will we flourish globally. And some believe that free trade can happen best when the market is left alone to its means. No matter how many economists may believe that the lone concept of ‘laissez affair’ might work for bringing the world economy to its glory ‘that it never had’, history tends to disagree. It is not false to say that when there is a free market there is a market failure, thus there is lack of information meaning few know more than others…according to Stiglitz ‘someone always knows more than others when there’s a market failure’. The system of free-market is in itself a failed notion for the development of the masses i.e. the developing nations. Mainly because the free market advocates to some extend the concept of trickle-down effect. Simply defined, it means the trickling of money from the higher to the lower level of labor-force. Some statistics show that few large industries create few thousand job. No matter how much the economy has given employment, it has been seen that the living standard people has not improved little if not at all because those at the top feel that their wealth is their reward for hard work. It is often seen that the government lessen their taxes putting their eternal faith in the trickle-down effect theory.
Free trade also means that developing countries have to compete with countries that have better technology and more well-trained labour force. It is unfair for the developing nations as they cannot out price developed countries in manufactured goods, mainly because developing countries mostly have a comparative advantage in primary goods. It seems unfair in the fair ground, but the devastating fact is that USA (when feels challenged from foreign primary goods) always increases its subsidies for their farming, while at the same time broadcasting that other nations should not practice the same, as it is an unfair practice. While globalization – free market— is advocated by the big guns as the only way for prosperity, (and frankly, since we are too deep in it, that coming out of it requires a revolution in itself) they themselves tend to contradict and close their economy to any competition from the outside world. Take for example Mexico. Mexico could be selling tomatoes at a lower cost than that of USA (as they have comparative advantage), USA could with all its rights charge Mexico of anti-dumping simply because Mexico’s tomatoes were sold for cheaper price than that of American tomatoes.

“Successful development requires not just a vision and a strategy, ideas have to be converted into projects and policies. But policies have to be designed to be implemented by ordinary people and if it fails to be executed, then there is fundamentally something wrong.” t

In Uganda, all the laws that are passed get sent to the local level, so the villagers know what has been reformed and what needs working and more important what benefits they should be receiving—making sure that everyone gets their just share

Selected quotations from the book
1.tThe number of years of schooling is a an important indicator of how well a country is doing in advancing education, but just as important is what schools teach. Education needs to be compatible with the work that people will do once they leave school.
2.t‘Brain drain’, another way in which developing countries wind up subsidizing the developed.
3.tBut policies have to be designed to be implemented by ordinary mortals.
4.tIn Uganda, the government has been publicizing all checks sent to the local level, so that the villagers know what they should be receiving—and can make sure that those between Kampala and the village do not take their cut.
5.tIMF conditionality undermines democracy, as, arguably, do demands that monetary policy be taken out of the hands of democratic political processes and turned over the ‘experts’.
6.tAdvocates of trade liberalization want developed countries to open themselves to exports from developing countries, liberalize their markets, take away man-made barriers to the flows of goods and services, and let globalization work its wonders.
7.tTrade liberalization only promises that the country as a whole will benefit.
8.tIf Mexico could be shown to be selling tomatoes below cos, it could be charged with dumping, and anti-dumping duties could be imposed.
9.tEven if trade liberalization may make the country as a whole better off, it results in some groups being worse off.
10.tTrade liberalization requires more than just onetime assistance to move from the old industries to the new.
11.tCritics of globalization accuse countries like Japan and USA, which have climbed the ladder of development, of wanting to kick the ladder away so that others can’t follow.
12.tAdvocates of liberalization sometimes seem even more to live in a dreamland, believing that almost any trade agreement, especially with the United States or European Union, no matter how unfair, will magically bring investment and create jobs.
13.tBut by whatever standard one uses, today’s international trade regime is unfair to developing countries.
14.tThe United States and Europe have preferred the art of arguing for free trade while simultaneously working for trade agreement s that protect themselves against imports from developing countries.
15.t(Due to Seattle protest) In November 2001—a far-flung location well chosen for those not wanting to be bothered by demonstrators questioning what was going on behind closed doors.
16.tThe negotiations stall over the refusal of the developed world to cut back on agricultural subsidies—in fact, in 2002 the United States enacted a new farm bill that nearly doubled its subsidies
17.tPreferential treatment has become a political instrument, a tool for getting developing countries to toe the line.
18.tBangladesh would be free, of course, to export jet engines and all manner of other products which are beyond its capacity to produce.
19.tThe United States is wealthy enough to afford an inefficient industrial policy hidden within its military.
20.tThe average European cow gets a subsidy of $2 a day!
21.tThe subsidies may not have been intended to do so much harm to so many, but this is the fore-seen consequence.
22.tThe history of protectionism goes back much further, to the first session of Congress in 1789.
23.tIn 2005, Mexico received an estimated $19 billion in remittances.
24.tDumping duties deter entry and cast a pall over the entire market: any firm worries that, should it succeed in entering the American market with the new product, it will face dumping duties that will render it uncompetitive.
25.tHigh duties would be imposed preliminarily, causing the exporter to lose sales and go out of business. A year or two later, after a full investigation, revised ad often much lower duties would be announced—but by then the damage has already been done.
26.tThe developing countries simply don’t have the resources to negotiate effectively on a broad range of topics.
27.tTypically the United States and EU would together select a few developing countries to negotiate with—often putting intense pressure on them to break ranks with other developing countries—in the Green Room. Having trade ministers closeted in a room, separated from the experts on whom they rely, negotiating all night may be a good test of endurance, but it is not a way to create a better global trade regime.

The one major hick-up - where Stiglitz defines what has to be done to change the current system of globalization he goes on about decisions that the industrialized countries have to make - to willingly change things around. Ahem! Seems a little unrealistic.

Stiglitz details out the mechanisms that so often go unnoticed - especially in the developed world. It´s frightening to realize how big the issue really is and how pressed for time. Very interesting - the book has been written before the financial meltdown and the chapters about the volatile financial system make for an eerie read looking back.

Great book, reminds me of my friend Ann Church (hello Ann!) who, as it happens, is a socially responsible economist much like Joe Stiglitz. I really like econ when it mixes with international political theory, although I can't say the same for it when it consists of irritating complex supply and demand curves. The author does a really good job saying some pretty tough things without sounding like he thinks the IMF/WB are inherently evil or run by Satan. I think his stance on finding a more reasonable balance between developing/developed nations' interests and attempting to look at the big picture in terms of the global economy is logical, well-stated, and has certainly adjusted the ways in which I view some things. Pick it up if you are in the mood for something intelligent and currently relevant. Well, jumping off my "I read non-fiction" high horse, I'm soon to be off to B&N for my copy of n  Breaking Dawnn. Go team Jacob (I know I don't have a chance, but I'm ok with it) :)

Globalisation and its Discontents was a favorite of mine back in the day, as it articulated very elegantly and also simply my feelings about the global economy from the point of view of someone that can be considered an insider. It was a very impactful book, but it was more of a depiction of the situation. This one is more pedantic and solution-driven; thus more rife with economy jargon. Some of the suggestions were indeed carried out to some extent and some of the predictions about the case if no action was taken unfortunately came to be, so retrospectively it is still an important and impactful book. But it is drier and in some ways still trying to solve the symptoms rather than going for a completely new approach.

"The Nobel Laureate's take on globalization. He advocates a more balanced view than just focusing on GDP and having the government take a more active role than purely market driven. He advocates positions that are much more favorable to the developing economies than some of the current positions of the WTO, IMF and World Bank (none of which he seems to like much). It's really a macro economics view, a lot on trade deficits, reserves, etc. but I liked the book, in that it did provide a view that is more consistent with the "outside the US" view rather than a US or Euro-centric view. He also doesn't let developing governments off the hook either. Although seeing globalization from inside an MNC for 10 years, I thought some of his comments were a little too academic-driven."

another Stiglitz tirade against the IMF and capitalism

I loved this book. Stiglitz words I think have proven to be true today given globalization is still badly adressed. A nationalist backlash has been seen in the latest elections, the USA the greatest example (and disaster). The book goes point by point explaining what is wrong and what can be done to make globalization work, with two main goals, eliminate poverty and taking care of the environment. What I take for an starting point here is the responsibility of us as voters. We need to start electing better candidates who have a global understanding, who are brave enough not to promise just the short term local solutions... Given the state of the world today, that is the starting point I guess.

Stiglitz akhirnya dapat menjawab pertanyaan saya, pertanyaan yang timbul ketika membaca buku mises dan friedman di bab mengenai hubungan internasional.
Sederhananya pertanyaan saya adalah, apabila negara berkembang adalah negara bekas terjajah, secara eksternal maupun internal, apakah mereka bisa bersaing secara sempurna dengan negara maju yang sudah lebih berpengalaman? Saya berpikir apabila kita tetap memakai konsep nation-state rasanya hal tersebut mustahil. Namun Stiglitz dengan lugasnya dapat menjawab keresahan tersebut. Tetapi sayang sekali saya harus menahan satu bintang. Bukan bermaksud untuk menduga bahwa argumen dan proposal dalam bukunya utopis, tetapi jujur saya pun masih sangsi kapan dan berapa lama Amerika dan beberapa negara di Eropa bisa menyadari bahwa kita sebenarnya sedang tidak membangun negara, tetapi membangun peradaban dunia. Jadi saya berharap satu bintang yang hilang di sini akan menjadi alarm ketika semuanya sudah berjalan dengan lebih baik.

Another important text that offers neoliberal solutions--albeit they don't seem particularly plausible, and this was written before the Great Recession of 2008 which leaves several more financial/capital related issues out of the full picture. Nonetheless, I appreciated the broad selection of topics Stiglitz addresses in this work, along with his blunt honesty and mini-exposes/criticism regarding his experience in government and the World Bank (along with general criticisms brought up regarding the IMF, the Washington Consensus, and unfair American foreign policy and trade).

I really like the ideas Joseph Stiglitz presents in this book. Formally the Senior Vice President of the World Bank, yet was unafraid to point out its many flaws.

This book is great because it discusses important issues of world economy and globalization but in a manner that is accessible to the larger public. It was definitely a book written for the masses, something untypical of many scholars.

outdated af