For anyone who has read any of Stiglitz's work before it would come as no surprise that it can be at times trying and difficult to comprehend especially if one doesn't have a background in economics. However Making Globalization Work is very accessible and informative to anyone that comes across it, no matter what your educational background or choice of interesting readings may be. This book provides insights to issues on such things as the economies of the world, environmentalism, and the role government plays in such and other matters. This book is very impartial for the most part towards one country or another and rather than focusing from a individualistic point of view, Stiglitz tries to provide us with a global framework of the issues facing us in today's world. Readers may or may not agree with the solutions he provides us with but whether you decide to go on one side of the fence from his proposals or the other, you will find yourself with plenty of food for thought.

A splendid book on hidden agendas in the course of globalization. It unveils the impediments and hypocrisies of globalization, and proves that it is not entirely equal in its nature with the current political institutions. The economics and rationales of many whys that globalization is not working are well explained.

The book points out that wealthy countries, with its political and economic mights, are steering globalization in favour of them. Poor countries, on the other hand, often fall into prey of unfair agreements and structure which are single-handedly designed by their powerful counterparts. The result is obvious: poorer countries are getting weaker in long run and can't stand up on their own. The author gave many suggestions on how to rebalance the system and makes it work for everyone. An indispensable book for anyone who loves to learn the true nature of globalization.

This is essentially a sequel to "Globalization and Its Discontents," which I read and reviewed earlier this year. But whereas the first volume was basically a descriptive catalogue of complaints, wherein Stiglitz highlighted the myriad places where he disagreed with the implementation of global economic strategies by both the International Monetary Fund and by his former World Bank colleagues, this book is more prescriptive. Here, Stiglitz actually discusses the policies and strategies he thinks will make economic globalization work for everyone - from the wealthiest among us to the poorest countries on earth.

This book is more technical than some non-economists will want to read, I am certain. Stiglitz has chapters that deep dive on topics like free trade and tariffs, intellectual property rights, the so-called "resource curse" in developing countries, how to control the influence of multinational companies, saving the environment and much, much more. I felt that he made this material generally accessible, even to the layperson, but again, some might find these discussions a bit dry. In fact, it was the technical nature of the discussions that led me to almost give this book just three stars instead of four.

Here's why I didn't: This book has to get at least four stars because Stiglitz's ideas are just too important to ignore. His basic premise is this: The pace of economic globalization has outstripped the pace of political globalization. In other words, we do not have international political bodies capable of regulating trade and other economic activity in such a way that it can be fair and just for all. The global political institutions that do exist (e.g. the UN, IMF, WTO and World Bank) don't have the power to make things right on their own AND they currently lack democratic representation from all affected stakeholders. All of Stiglitz's recommendations and suggestions are aimed at righting these imbalances.

What I liked most about this book is that each of Stiglitz's suggestions are discrete. Many of them can be implemented without having to buy the whole package - and any one of them would be useful. So whether you favor debt forgiveness for developing countries, like cap and trade, or see a reconfiguration of the international reserve system as crucial, Stiglitz has something for you.

If you care about how we implement economics on a global level, I encourage you to read this book. Stiglitz may not have all the answers - but at least he is bold enough to make some suggestions that cut against the grain. The world would do well to consider his point of view.

Yup, great insight from a top ex world banker into how the economy can change, positive and practical without missing a beat.

a great follow on to earlier works but this is especially exciting in view of the specific suggestions he makes for remedial action. None of it will be enacted unless we have regime change in the US. very well written and convincing.

A great book in that Stiglitz uses his status to debunk many of the big myths around neoliberalism and the global injustice created by it. However, I’m impressed that he manages to write 300 pages mentioning colonialism but a single time. He doesn’t explain how we got here, neither the colonial-racist foundation of the current system of oppression. Rather, he normalises the Global South’s poverty and underdevelopment (as an active word). That’s why his suggestions will not lead to a fairer world and represent simply a few radically-sounding quick fixes that don’t call out an oppressive regime for what it is and therefore ultimately contributes to the status quo more than he’d question it.

1. Another World is Possible
2. The Promise of Development
3. Making Fair Trade
4. Patents, Profits, and People
5. Lifting the Resource Curse
6. Saving the Planet
7. The Multinational Corporation
8. The Burden of Debt
9. Reforming the Global Reserve System
10. Democratizing Globalization

Skewed globalization dominated by the selfish interests of developed nations led by the United States has always been an area of concern. Joseph Stiglitz tries to remove the stigma associated with the concept of globalization as a whole, while attacking the roots of the skewed globalization of today. Here he offers certain remedies to make globalization work better.

Stiglitz, as usual, is at his best exhibiting how unfair globalization has been till date, yet this book follows a novel approach of offering solutions. The book starts with optimism that another world is possible, and there exist solutions within the framework of globalization, which can work.

In terms of trade, he recommends how a fairer trade regime as opposed to the present regime where developed nations take use information asymmetries tilted to their sides to their advantage, can be replaced by a better regime for the benefit of all. He exposes how developed countries resort to populist, unethical, and sometimes even pathetically populist methodologies for taking undue advantage over developing countries in trade.

He comes down heavily on the present systems of patents and intellectual property rights, and how they can impede development of newer technologies, especially in developing countries. He calls them an impediment to the spirit of globalization and calls for less stringent and just patent laws.

He points to the conundrum that resource-rich countries are generally poor and how manufacturing sector growth in these countries, instead of providing raw materials to manufacturers in the developed world, can contribute better in a globalised world towards development for all. Innovative measures are also suggested for having a better economic system in place so that it rewards green growth which protects environment.

He calls for administrative reforms in multinationals, where stricter norms are laid out against bribery; and environmental damage and reduction of monopolies take place. He also emphasizes on a better debt management policy, where following the IMF directives have been disastrous in the past for many a developing country. In the same tune he calls for sweeping reforms in the IMF and World Bank. He emphasizes the need for a better global reserve system at work, and doing away with dollar-based reserves as a possible solution. The overall conclusion is that these changes can occur only in a globally democratic environment, and calls upon internally democratic developed countries to have democratic foreign and economic policies as well, and do away with monopolist globalization.

A thorough and well researched book as you might expect. It is an eye opener in many ways, for those who are ignorant of the specifics of skewed globalization. A book written by a visionary, who can see through the dangerous consequences of the existing policies, both for developed and developing world.

His ideas are workable in many ways, but most of his ideas require countries like US showing a change of intent, which seems impossible at this moment in time. Thus, his expectations border on idealism, and hence may seem less practical. Just as people looked at Keynesian model after decades with awe and wonder, Stiglitz too seems too ahead of his time. His solutions may prove to be part of a useful framework in the future.

His suggestions of repairing up capitalism of its woes, (rather than the extreme of doing away with it altogether), with well-defined role of domestic savings in investment as opposed to unstable speculative capital (which was one big reason for recession) , and with emphasis on a democratic government to have at least some amount of regulatory mechanisms to check the ill-effects of market capitalism (like the woes of monopoly) may prove to be the benchmarks for a just, democratic and equitable global economic growth in the future. But, given the present scenario, we do not know how far that future lies.

There are harder-hitting and ideologically better books out there on neoliberal globalization, though Stiglitz’s status as a respected international economist and former chief economist of the World Bank raises the hope that his body of work will bring critiques of neoliberalism to new audiences. While at times Stiglitz seems to be bending over backwards to save capitalism from itself, instead of proposing alternatives to it, he does suggest important reforms that could better the lives of billions of people around the globe. His chapters on patents and intellectual property are particularly useful in countering myths about the supposed wonders of free-market innovations. Again, though one could more properly posit that the existing economic model needs to be scrapped entirely, instead of “made to work,” it is hard to argue with Stiglitz’s plea that, “In the long run, the most important changes required to make globalization work are reforms to reduce the democratic deficit.”

Joseph Stiglitz, a former World Bank Chief Economist and
Nobel Prize winner, argues that globalization is failing
for some 80 percent of the world's population that lives
in developing countries and the 40 percent that lives in
poverty. Yet so many economists and world leaders believe
that globalization is supposed to create higher living
standards through increased access to foreign markets,
more foreign investment and open borders. In his earlier
work Globalization and its Disconntents, Stiglitz provided
analyses and criticism which have become widely accepted.
In Making Globalization Work, which can be regarded as
a sequel, he proposes solutions to the problems of
globalization.

According to Stiglitz the problem is not globalization
itself, but how globalization is managed. He argues that
the institutions responsible for managing globalization -
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank
and the World Trade Organization (WTO) - help developed
nations more than poor nations and place profit ahead
of environmental health and better standards of living.

A major reason for this, Stiglitz argues, is the
excessive influence of the United States. The IMF,
for example, assigns votes according to economic size,
giving the United States effective veto power. Further,
the U.S. president appoints the head of the World Bank.
This concentrates power in what Stiglitz calls "the
Washington Consensus," his term for the resulting
shared policies of the IMF, the World Bank and the U.S.
Treasury. Consequently, these institutions are really
only accountable to wealthy countries rather than
the poor countries they are supposed to be helping.

Stiglitz argues that when poor countries seek aid,
the Washington Consensus attaches economic policies
and lending conditions that are often counterproductive
and even undermine the sovereignty of those nations.
Requirements often include massive privatization,
spending cuts, lower import tariffs and exposure
to volatile foreign capital - four things Stiglitz
explains are exactly what developing countries should
avoid they're in economic trouble. As a result,
Stiglitz argues, countries that have followed
the advice of this type have failed to maintain
economic stability almost 100 percent of the time.

Stiglitz offers a variety of possible solutions to
the globalization management system, but, ultimately,
they all rely on the idea that the regulatory power of
government, rather than unfettered capitalism, makes
free markets work. Without this oversight, he writes,
markets dissolve into chaos, dishonesty and secrecy.

One of Stiglitz's most important proposed reforms is
end dependence of the global reserve system U.S.
Treasury securities, which he argues is actually a
mechanism for funding U.S. over-consumption habits.
Stiglitz calls for a new, global reserve currency
(called "global greenbacks") system that would
stabilize the worldwide interconnected, interdependent
effect of trade surpluses and deficits.

Stiglitz also proposes global regulation that would
restrict economic activities that harm the environment,
and would provide recourse when one nation's
environmental actions harm other countries. Stiglitz
further argues that poor countries are entitled to
compensation for maintaining their biodiversity,
especially those with rainforests that spawn natural
resources for drugs and sequester carbon dioxide.

Siglitz lists western banks and multinational corporations
as institutions that require global oversight. He argues
that today's thick corporate veil unfortunately tends to
relieve employees of moral responsibility. Part of the
solution, he writes, is to allow more of a free hand
regarding global class-action suits and interpretation
of intellectual property laws so that AIDS drugs, for
example, become more accessible rather than more
profitable for corporate interests.

In the end, Stiglitz finds that the solution to many of
the problems of globalization management remain in the
hands poor countries, which must break the cycle of bribery
between their governments and international companies,
sell their natural resources for a fair price, spend -
and save - their money wisely and develop ways to manage
currency fluctuations.

In spite of all the protests against globalization,
Stiglitz still remains clearly but cautiously optimistic
supportive of globalization. However, he is confident
that the United States cannot continue to control the
world's major economic aid institutions without producing
positive results for the developing nations of the world.

At a time of rising nationalism, where governments are rejecting what was thought to be a consensus around trade and the management of international institutions, it's worth remembering that many of the arguments the new right tosses around these days were cribbed from left-wing critics of neo conservatism. A conservatism many of the new right, conveniently forget they used to passionately support.

As in many of his books, Stiglitz lays out a progressive critique of right-wing economics, and advances a series of suggestions for how to reform the global economy. For those familiar with such debates, there is nothing earth-shatteringly new here, and the book is a little dated, happening before the 2008 financial crisis and the Presidency of Barack Obama. But, it is interesting to note how many of the problems we are still dealing with today are rooted in decisions made when and before this book was written. Some of the examples Stiglitz uses are outdated, and he oversimplifies some institutional critiques, but I wanted to read this book to remind myself of that the current group of firebrands in control of our populist movements are not nearly as original as they believe themselves to be.

Read this book on how globalization should be handled. Stiglitz is a breath of fresh air.