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Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner Answer The Amazon.com Significant Seven

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, author and co-author of this season's bestselling quirky hit, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, graciously answered the Amazon.com Significant Seven questions that we like to run by every author.

Levitt and Dubner answer the Amazon.com Significant Seven questions

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Reviews (118)

interesting, but not rocket science
Unlike a lot of economics books this book is pretty fair and unbiased. I don't think it is as funny as some readers thought, but the subjects are interesting. Most of it is common sense. Like that teachers cheat to make their students look smarter on standardized tests and real estate agents won't necessarily being doing everything they can to help you. As a graduate student in economics, I find is reasoning for the decline in crime being attributed to abortion highly speculative. Common sense would tell you that "aborting" fetuses that are likely to become criminals will reduce crime, only if that mother doesn't have as many children as she would if abortion were illegal. The author does a good job of staying away from the politics of abortion.

This book is good for the layman but is nothing new to the average economists. I personally think that it has been given too much praise and attention.

Thought provoking but falls a bit short
While Levitt has the propensity to ask many interesting and thought-provoking questions, his data analysis is often suspect to the same tunnel vision which he attributes to many academic studies. Levitt seems so intent on proving the "conventional wisdom" wrong that he immediately accepts data from a single source as long as it provides a sensational conclusion. For instance, just about all of Levitt's conclusions on education and parenting come from a single ECLS study conducted 15 years ago. The early chapters on information and cheating are quite solid and alone may be worth the price of the book. However once Levitt tackles education, crime, and parenting his down-to-earth anecdotal approach becomes insufficient to explain these complex issues. Freakonomics is similar to many other pop-science bestsellers in that it makes its subject more approachable through oversimplified explanations and conclusions.

A Great, Quick Read, Perfect for Summer
I very much have enjoyed reading this book.As a grade school teacher, it doesn't surprise me that teachers cheat on their students' end-of-the-year assessments; what is surprising is that this is rarely talked about and people seem to be shocked and surprised when, on the rare occasion, someone gets caught.With the pressure to have one's students earn high scores coming from both parents and administrators, how could it not happen?Much more is expected of teachers today, and not all are up to the hard work, time and energy.But this book isn't only about teachers--you'll learn about drug dealers and how they organize their gangs quite similar to corporations; you'll be surprised that sumo wrestlers cheat (I actually hadn't thought about them or the game, but there is a way they can cheat), among other topics. Perhaps the most controversial notion is about what brought down crime levels in the 1980s, a time when everyone predicted crime would rise.It's an interesting idea, but Levitt doesn't provide much support, which was disappointing.

Layman's LanguageAnalyses of Various Social Canards
Too often articles or books written by economists are couched in arcane verbiage and statistics.Levitt avoids this, and the result is a very interesting, though-provoking review of several social myths.

He begins by summarizing the status of crime in the mid-1990's - high, and projected to go much higher with the coming "teenager boom."Instead, it began a long, steep decline.The most common "explanations" were "roaring economy," "gun control," and "innovative policing." Levitt then goes on to summarize data that convincingly reture them all.For example, a good economy might decrease economic crimes, but why did violent crimes drop even more?Further, why didn't crime also fall during the booming '60s?As for innovative policing, Levitt reports that the declines began prior to this initiative, and that its prime contribution was through adding policeman (accounting for about 10% of the drop).Similarly he refutes the logic for crediting increased rights of citizens to carry guns, and gun buy-backs, while the drop in crack prices is credited with 15% of the drop.

Levitt then reports the results of Romania's strong anti-abortion posture in the 60s - a large contingent of resented children, many of whom became serious problems when they grew up.Finally, the "shocker" - Levitt presents various data that provide a solid case for concluding that the drop in crime was primarily due to Roe v. Wade making abortions available to lower-income women - many of whom would have had problems raising the unwanted children.

Other topics addressed by Levitt include documenting cheating associated with "high-stakes" (eg. potential job loss, raises, school closure) pupil testing (estimated at about 5% in Chicago Public Schools), documenting and explaining the lack of drug traffic profits for most of those involved (rakeoffs by those at higher levels).Another interesting and useful topic covered is how society often misplaces efforts into low-payoff efforts to protect children (eg. child-resistant packaging, flame-retardant pajamas, avoiding being seated near front-seat airbags, and keeping their children out of homes with guns), instead of the much higher-payoff of keeping children away from homes with swimming pools.

Throughout the book, Levitt carefully summarizes supporting data, while also informing readers of how similar data are often misused.His "bottom-line," so to speak, is for the reader to become more aware of the effect of incentives, and the frequent lack of factual bases for conventional thinking.

An interesting, useful two-hour read.

Revelations?!only if you're the type to wear shades at night
while interesting, the subject matter of this book is not sublime, the questions are not revolutionary and the 'answers' are soooo not comprehensive. though a contribution is likely, to claim that crime went down simply because of abortion is silly. and duh swimming pools are 'more dangerous' if you look at data collected from past incidences. but you cannot claim this to be true of the inherent/accidental potential for danger of a swimming pool compared to a gun. this book seems to ignore that probability is only predictive if circumstances are equal. and that sometimes a name might carry significance beyond where it can get you in life. but perhaps that one is more than what can expected of educated white men. Still... fun reading, great cover. And I'm sure levitt's classes are more intellectually engaging than this book. ah! one more thing: drug dealers live at home because 'Gator boots, with the pimped out gucci suit/ Ain't got no job, but I stay sharp/ Can't pay my rent, cause all my money's spent/ But thats ok, cause I'm still fly/ Got a quarter tank gas in my new e-class/ But that's alright cause I'm gon' ride/ Got everything in my moma's name/ But I'm hood rich da dada dada da' - Still Fly by Big Tymers ... Read more

Book Description

This text continues to dominate the field of International Marketing.Its long standing tradition as the market leader is strengthened in this edition with an increase in coverage of technology¿s impact on the international market arena and a more comprehensive website, helping to provide updates to text content in this continually changing field. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Best Overall International Marketing Text
I am a Professor of International Marketing and have used this book and the previous editions for 10 semesters. Compared to the competition, this book is definitely the best in the field. It is well written and researched and gives the reader a solid foundation in the major topics of IM. The instructor support materials are excellent and I highly recommend them, particularly the video series. If you are a new professor teaching IM for the first time, the instructor's manual, powerpoint slides, test bank, and videos are a godsend! The Country Notebook described in the book is a great semester-long team project and really reinforces the content of each chapter. I will continue to use this book for a long time!

Lots of information, but poorly written
I'm a senior in college, and I have read many textbooks by many authors. Through all that studying, only a handful of books have ever stood out in my mind as "exceptionally good" or "exceptionally bad" for whatever reason.

Well, I am sorry to say that this book more than any other has stood out as "exceptionally bad" because of 1) its horrendous, awkward phraseology, and 2) its unnecessarily lengthy explanations of most concepts. Because of these shortcomings, it routinely took me much too long to read even a few pages, and when I was finally finished, I disappointedly discovered that I hadn't even learned that much about international marketing. It's like reading an essay from a student who is just trying to fill up space or impress his professor with length, while compounding his error with poor style.

On the other hand, there is a lot of good information in the text, for which it received a star. There are several charts, black and white pictures, and some supplementary material as well.

a good coverage, but...
I used his book as an MBA student 15 or so years ago. Now as an adjunct professor, I am using this newest edition in my undergraduate classes. Although my observation may be biased, the book is a bit too encyclopedic, a bit superficial in coverage, and fails to excite the students. I wish it were more up-to-date.

A decent book, but its coverage is traditional and US-biased
Newer editions don't seem to have capture current trends and perspectives well.

Very Good Comprehensive Textbook
This is a comprehensive college text on the subject of international marketing. It is excellent in that it covers all relevant subject areas in some depth. The text also offers guidelines for student development of a "country notebook" international marketing project. There are also quite a few provocative and relevant cases. The only negatives are that the writing is a bit over the heads of most undergraduates, and the country notebook lends itself toward development of a multidomestic plan rather than a global plan. I use the text to teach international marketing. I have found no other book on the subject that offers an acceptable combination of project, cases, and material to be learned in a single source. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

international economics
This book describes in a very detailed way all the general theories of economics concerning trade. It is very well done as there are many examples and it is optically inspiring. Your eyes won't get tired too quickly, as the layout is done fine. The content of the book is fine, a good book for students of economics, even though it is advisable to read more down the line. But for the overview of a topic it serves allright.

The Undergraduate International Economics Standard
Well, I will start off by saying that the book really probably only deserves somewhere between 4-4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5 to offset some of the questionable reviews below.

No, the book is not perfect. However, it is an academic standard at pretty much any major college or university for teaching undergraduate International Econ/Trade theory, and for good reason. The book makes a clear a concise presentation of basic theory and policy, perhaps in points it is a little too simple. As pointed out, while I'm not sure about the 6th edition, there were some diagrammatical mistakes in the 5th...I bet, however, these were done by a graduate student. A quick bit of reasoning and a second of thought should yield the appropriate picture, however. And yes, I think a bit of Krugman's bias comes through, though its not terribly off-putting.

The book could use a bit more math I think. The real equations and difficult problems are few and far between, and are, for the most part, pretty straight forward. At the very most it would take a basic understanding of calculus, but the majority of the problems and equations can be explained and done without it. I have read a number of undergraduate economics books with far more intensive math. Despite this lack, however, the intentions come across pretty well.

No, this book is not for beginners to economics. At least an undergraduate course or reading in both micro and macro are needed, and really and truly, an intermediate level in each is probably better if one wants to get the most out of the book.

If you find the subject matter within to be terribly math intensive and you cannot get motivated to read the subject matter because it doesn't use "pizza and beer" (and um...I don't think I'd want an imported pizza anyway, but thanks), well I guess the subject and this book are not for you. However, if you are trying to enrich your understanding of economics at a very basic level, this book provides a good way to do so.

And, if you want graduate level book, and like Obstfeld, I recommend he and Rogoff's book.

Not a bad book.... Too bad its a bit baby
Having taken a class on Commodity Flow Theory (Micro) and a seperate class on Int'l Finances (Macro), I can say that I enjoyed the former much more then the latter. I used Krugman's latest edition for the former and thought it was adequatly written for the scope of the class.
I really wish they would make undergraduate Economics more rigirous as I believe many undergrads who have taken 2 or 3 university math courses (up to the linear algebra level) could easily understand most of the mathematics found in "high brow" Economics theory.
Seeing I've only had the pleasure of reading two textbooks on the subject (and different sections of each respective book), I am not in a position where I can make a relative judgment on the quality of the material.
I felt Krugman's writing (I am assuming the majority of the micro section is his writing) was mostly neutral. I found, from my reading, the only section that could have been biased was the section on political economy, but since I am unfamiliar with that field in general I cannot make a more descriptive comment.
Overall, I liked the fact that their was some mathematical indexes at the end of the chapter (something my other int'l economics textbook lacked). I've come to expect the option of a more quantiative treatment in most modern textbooks (both my intermediate macro/micro and econometrics text were layed out in this fashion).
So in conclusion, the text was easy to understand, well organized, and perhaps abit biased.... However, if you are just being introduced to the matter, I doubt you will notice much of the bias since the majority of what he covers in the book are well established models and theories.

Save your money!!!!
This guy is an idiot!!! Either he is confused about economic theory or he trying push some sort of an agenda. He repeatedly contradicts himself in a way that undermines his crediblity. A word of advice Mr. Krugman--STICK TO THE NY TIMES EDITORIALS and stay out of academia.

Save your Money--Get the Caves, Jones, et al World Trade...
Krugman et al constantly contradicts earlier statements throughout the text in the international trade section, it will give you a headache. The finance side is better. If you really want to learn international trade and finance (for undergrad), get the Caves, Jones, Frankel text.... I learned the hard way and had to pay restocking fees (etc) when I wanted to exhange it for Caves et al. Krugman should stick to writing editorials for the NY Times b/c this text needs some serious help!!! ... Read more

Book Description

From one of our most perceptive commentators and winner of the National Book Award, a comprehensive look at the new world of globalization, the international system that, more than anything else, is shaping world affairs today.

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman has traveled the globe, interviewing people from all walks of contemporary life: Brazilian peasants in the Amazon rain forest, new entrepreneurs in Indonesia, Islamic students in Teheran, and the financial wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.

Now Friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce an engrossing and original look at globalization. Globalization, he argues, is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. It is the international system that replaced the Cold War system; the new, well-greased, interconnected system: Globalization is the integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders, in a way that is creating a single global market and, to some degreee, a global village. Simply put, one can't possibly understand the morning news or one's own investments without some grasp of the system. Just one example: During the Cold War, we reached for the hot line between the White House and the Kremlin--a symbol that we were all divided but at least the two superpowers were in charge. In the era of globalization, we reach for the Internet--a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is totally in charge.

With vivid stories and a set of original terms and concepts, Friedman offers readers remarkable access to his unique understanding of this new world order, and shows us how to see this new system. He dramatizes the conflict of "the Lexus and the olive tree"--the tension between the globalization system and ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He also details the powerful backlash that globalization produces among those who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we all need to do to keep the system in balance. Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great drama of he globalization era, and the ultimate theme of Friedman's challenging, provocative book--essential reading for all who care about how the world really works. ... Read more

Reviews (321)

McDonald's Theory of Conflict Avoidance and More
I've been a fan of Thomas Friedman's New York Times foreign affairs column since September 11, when I found his voice about the Arab world and how it relates to this tragedy and our daily lives here in the United States. This book created a helpful foundation for understanding our changing planet.

The premise on which he bases the book is that there is a conflict in our world between olive trees, which represent our cultural heritage and identity, our spirituality and our rituals, and the Lexus, which is manufactured in technologically advanced factories for people who have cashed in on the globalized American capitalist system and can afford the amenities, and can buy them in increasing outlets worldwide.

Friedman makes a convincing case that this current era of Globalization (he suggests that an earlier era in the late 19th and ealier 20th centuries incited the backlashes that we call today Communism, Socialism and Facism) has replaced the former world order created by the Cold War. Then, everything was bipolar, and nations aligned themselves and propped themselves up
politically and financially with their alliances to either the Soviet Union or the United States. Now, Friedman states, there is only globalization, or global capitalism, and if your nation isn't plugged into it, your people will suffer.

Sometimes the full-bore theme of this book feels heavy, that there is no alternative to market capitalism worldwide seems a little biased, to me. But, Friedman, thankfully, doesn't only concentrate on this, but gives thought, particularly at the end of the book, to the public policies that nations can initiate to protect their olive trees, while not turning their backs on the Lexus.

He has some interesting theories, too, that I enjoyed reading about, particularly the idea that no country with a McDonald's franchise has ever attacked another country with a McDonald's franchise. (His first edition came out before NATO v Yugoslavia, but he still stands by it, as NATO isn't a nation...) His
idea here is that market capitalism can be a stabilizing force in the world because once people have a big enough middle class to support franchises like McDonald's they are hard pressed to risk their lifestyles for war.

I found this edition, which came out in 2000 to be somewhat painful, as his passages about what he calls "super-empowered individuals," who don't need to be in control of a country or its military to attack other nations or groups, somewhat vaguely but eerily predicted the September 11 plot. His position that the
increasing democratization of finance/capital, information and technology can improve life and destabilize it too are convincing, especially in what we've seen happen since the book was published.

The book, written in a pleasant, colloquial style with a lot of well-known examples is engaging and easy to read. I strongly recommend it.

An overview, but not enough for "understanding"
Over the years, New York Times reporter Tom Friedman has earned a reputation for his crisp and engaging writing and his ability to present the complex world events in ways that are easy to understand. If you're looking for an introduction to issues involved in the globalization of commerce, this is one of the best books on the market for it. Friendman's descriptions of things like the "electronic herd" of global capital investment and his McDonald's theory of international conflict bring a lot of sense to an otherwise confusing landscape of issues.

This strength of the book is also its limitation. Friedman is a clear writer because he paints with a broad brush. There is a strong bias at work here, but Friedman tends to try to keep hidden both his bias and points of debate that would contradict his theses. For example, he argues that market capitalism is now the one and only way to participate in the global economy, ignoring that there are several distinct flavors of "market capitalism" (US, Japanese, and European, for example) with very different rules and very different outcomes. Reading Friedman, one might assume that the Asian tigers had achieved their success by following the US model (which is the laissez-faire approach also advocated by the World Bank), while in fact they achieved robust growth through an approach more or less like that followed by the Japanese, which involved a combination of protectionism, currency management, and mandated savings. Friedman uses the 1997 Asian economic meltdown to argue that this Japanese-style approach is no longer valid and that global capital investment will not return until they better conform to the financial market transparency typical of the US. During the current slump, however, capital has fled from the US back to many of these economies because of their performance and not because of their transparency.

The question with globalization isnt whether it's "good" or "bad," but whether and how it should be managed. If you're looking for a more in-depth discussion of these issues and a more honest revelation of the author's biases, there are better books available, such as William Greider's "One World, Ready or Not." But this book isn't a bad place to get your feet wet.

Sort of rambles, has some great anecdotes and analogies.
The Lexus and the Olive Tree is an important book, but in many ways Thomas Friedman renders his own creation irrelevant. He is almost schizophrenic in his writing style, arguing with himself as if he has yet to make up his mind about the things he is writing. In some ways, it seems like he just prefers to share anecdotes (which are vivid and usually humorous) from his travels around the world, rather than the typical kinds of fact-based research one finds in these sort of books. The result is that the reader can understand some of the concepts, but they can also get a little tedious, and it is hard to translate the anecdotes into something that I assimilate into my worldview.

Furthermore, Friedman seems to love to quote people at length, but one wonders if indeed he is quoting word-for-word, or if he is just sort of crafting something to fit his book out of a vaguely similar comment the person may have made. But, then one thinks again, because the book is almost a little choppy in places because Friedman quotes random characters from all around the world for pages upon pages. One would prefer that he just paraphrase or use shorter quotes.

Because it was written 5 years ago, some of the reading is tedious (he explains what a DVD player is, for example), and in some areas he seems to be caught up in the "irrational" dot-com whirlwind. In his revised version of the book, it sort of just drones on, pontificating for about 20-30 pages too much. Thomas Friedman is a very personable guy, and he has a lot of interesting things to say about the world, but honestly, one doesn't care for his own political/religious philosophy being injected, mostly toward the end of the book. It was just awkward to read through the final chapter or two; the book has multiple personality disorder in some regards.

One almost feel like the book is written for an audience of Dick Gephardts. He wants to win the protectionist wing of the Democratic Party over with the book. He seems to be speaking to them. Maybe he is speaking to Republicans as well, but if so, he lectures a little too sanctimoniously on the environment and the notion of a social safety net (he calls Republicans "mean-spirited voices... uninterested in any compromise" and tries to argue that Africa, with its near-anarchy in places, would be a Republican's dream) to win conservatives over entirely. He sort of just randomly breaks into prostheletyzing, arguing, for example, "That the NRA should feel guilty about the Colombine massacres went without saying." Why even go into that? That's just tacky.

Finally, a reader gets sort of annoyed reading his own made-up terms (Golden Straightjacket, Electronic Herd, etc.), over and over, particularly since none of them caught on whatsoever in the past half-decade since the book came out.

Some of it is dead on, though, particularly when he writes as an observer of the world rather than an activist, and this book is a good way to conceptualize globalization for those who are having a hard time adapting their political ideology in the post-Cold War era. In general, I'd say The Lexus and the Olive Tree starts off strong, ends weak, and that's a shame. It was on track to get 5 stars from me, even with the early tributes to Al Gore and other political cheap shots, but the final part of the book was just THAT lacking, that it falls to 3 stars.

Basic, almost insulting.
In the book friedman describes several interesting points ranging from the trade offs of culture and capitalism, to the basic efficiencies of different economies, though the way he describes things is almost insulting. The metaphors and anologies used seem to indicate a journalist writing for the elderly or those who have no idea what a digital medium is. Being a young student this quickly wore on my attention span.

I tried to read the book twice and failed becuase I get so fed up with his style. For example, he has a tendency to end paragraphs with exclamations that are as corny as the saying "click on that!" This drove me to the point where I would read the entire paragraph except the last sentence, obviously not the best way to read a book.

The good news is that the liberal bias seen in From Beirut to Jeuraslim(sp) is nowhere to be seen, replaced by ideas that only the free-est of the free markets would survive, a complete contradiction to his pro-arab Beruit book.

I would recommend milton friedman over thomas friedman, anyday, if you want an accurate portrayal of the power of the free market.

Excellent primer for the novice and interested alike
Friedman's book "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" is an excellent illustration of basic globalization principles and strategies, told in simple and easy language for the layman's point of view. The heavy use of anecdotal evidence also lends a comfortable "storytelling" perspective that generally keeps the reader's attention focused.

One of the things that interested me about this book was Friedman's attempted placement of his work alongside other authors on similar subjects. In the introduction, he plainly states that his purpose in writing this book is not only to fully explain the concept, analysis, and anecdotal evidence of globalization, but also to add to the body of knowledge that is shaping and defining the post-Cold War era in history. Citing other seminal works that have been described as groundbreaking descriptions of this time in history, he lists 3 other books that he hopes to complement on that very subject: "The End of History and the Last Man" by Francis Fukuyama, "The Clash of Civilizations" by Samuel Huntington, and the collected works (books and articles) of Robert Kaplan. In truth, I have recently read all 3 of these selections and can honestly agree that Friedman has successfully accomplished his goal.

For the most part, I already understood globalization (and how it ties in with the greater subject of economics and capitalism) so I thought I might get bored with his tedious simplification and excessive detail... but surprisingly, I found this not to be the case. Overall, I found Friedman to definitely be an expert on the subject, which is often rare for newspaper journalists - and especially the NY Times foreign affairs correspondent who covers the entire planet. This subject is less about "foreign affairs" than economics... but then again, Friedman was the Wall Street correspondent at the Times before he took the foreign affairs desk.

One caveat, though.... this book was published before 9/11 - the first edition was 1999 and the 2nd was in early 2001. So one or two of his predictions didn't pan out, but as to globalization I don't think he'd change much in a 3rd edition. I can only think of one subject in the book where Friedman was dead wrong - his idea that stronger US relations with eastern Europe (specifically the Baltic states) was a bad idea because it might antagonize Russia. Turns out NATO expansion into Europe has gone relatively well... and Russia has practically eliminated their early protestations since 9/11, and in fact are already looking to stronger ties directly with NATO.

Having read those other 3 works, I can honestly say that Friedman has penned a true masterpiece on the post-Cold War body of knowledge. And Friedman is mostly pro-globalization too (unlike the anarchist WTO and G-8 protestors that get all the press), even when he objectively presents both sides of the argument. His overall thesis is basically this: globalization is here to stay, there really isn't anything people can do to stop it (much like the sunrise), so it's best to get used to it, understand it, and realize how you can find yourself moving with it instead of against it. In the end, Friedman uses his considerable journalistic (if not storytelling) talents to offer a subject where readers at all levels of economic expertise can find something to enjoy. ... Read more

Book Description

Within 20 years -- possibly far sooner -- China will have the world’s largest economy. That will powerfully impact you: your job, your company, your economic future, and your country. In The Chinese Century, Oded Shenkar shows how China is restoring its imperial glory by infusing modern technology and market economics into a non-democratic system controlled by the Communist party and bureaucracy.

Shenkar shows why China’s accelerating growth differs radically from predecessors such as Japan, India, and Mexico -- and how it will lead to a radical restructuring of the global business system. Discover why the U.S. is most vulnerable to China’s ascent... how China’s disregard for intellectual property creates sustainable competitive advantage... and how China’s growth impacts every global business and consumer.

Above all, Shenkar shows what you must do to survive and prosper in "the Chinese Century."

· Cheap labor + millions of high-skilled professionals

· How China will sustain dominance in low-tech industries as it enters high-tech realms

· Building tomorrow’s Toyotas and Sonys... faster and cheaper

· Chinese multinationals: learning from joint ventures, preparing to lead

· Leveraging Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the "Chinese diaspora"

· Bringing together the world’s most powerful pool of human resources

· $2 Rolexes, and beyond

· Piracy, counterfeiting, bootlegging, and stolen intellectual property

· From economics to geopolitics: counterbalancing America

· Previewing China’s increasingly assertive foreign policy ... Read more

Book Description

This classic bestseller discusses the differences faced in international environments, the overall strategies companies can take, and practical alternatives for operating abroad. Its abundance of colorful maps, strong engaging and opening cases, and classic and contemporary examples provide a balanced approach to all functions of business.More than 15 new cases have been added to this edition, all of which engage the reader with hot topical issues; these include Cran Chik, Luikoil, Cisco Systems, Johnson & Johnson, and Global Sofware Piracy. It has excellent coverage of Latin America, and reviews the latest institutional actions, market trends, and company activities. It provides an extensive background section, a comparative environmental frameworks section, a section on theories and institutions (trade and investment), a section on the world financial environment, business-government relationships, operations and tactical alternatives, and a section on managing business internationally.For readers involved in international business, whether they are employees, managers, or owners/CEOs of such corporations. Also an excellent resource for individuals seeking to expand their current businesses to the international market. ... Read more

Book Description

An in-depth how-to look at Forex trading using the methods, analysis, and insights of a renowned trader, Raghee Horner
As the fate of the dollar against foreign currency generates both anxiety and opportunities, currency trading has been drawing much interest and a growing following among traders in the United States. The Forex market is particularly attractive for investors because it trades with no gaps and has unlimited guaranteed stop-losses. The liquidity of the Forex market and worldwide participation makes for more reliable and longer lasting trends as well.
Raghee Horner has become legendary not only as a top Forex trader but as a master teacher of trading systems and techniques. Drawing on her winning tools and methods, including classic charting techniques, this book enables a trader or investor of any skill level to understand how the Forex operates and lays out a blueprint for getting starting in this little-understood but high-potential trading vehicle.
Raghee Horner (Pompano Beach, FL) is an accomplished trader with more than fifteen years in the markets. She is the cofounder and lead trader of the EZ2 Trade Institute and an educator teaching her style of technical analysis and charting strategies to students all over the world. Raghee has written more than 100 articles on investing, has been a regular on the MoneyWatch Radio Network, is featured at eSignal's "Trading with the Masters," and is a regular contributor to Trader's magazine. Her chart analysis and commentary have appeared on TradingMarkets, JAGNotes, StockCharts.com, and FXStreet. She is also a sought-after speaker who has conducted seminars throughout the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, and Asia. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

This book changed my trading.
I have read countless trading books, been to all the seminars, and tried alot of software.When the dust settled Raghee's book was still standing.Not to say that the other things did'nt help but this book simplified my trading.Now I know what to look for using the blueprint in the book.The pratical and tactical methods the book has taught me has increased my pip gain tremendously.It is not a magic box, you must be patient and work hard to apply the rules in the book.I still struggle at times, but with all things practice makes us better.Thank you Raghee for making a book that makes sense.Get the book.
Cecil Glenn

A classic view of one trader's style.
Aside from the editorial errors and small charts...this book is a thought-provoking classic. I believe everyone would like to speak with a successful trader and see what he or she does to achieve that success.I have never come across a book quite like this one.The author thoughtfully teaches you how she trades and shows you exactly what she does to set up the two kinds of trades she watches for, swing and momentum.At first I frankly didn't see what the difference would be since I have not actively traded and actually was more interested in the longer term view.However, the way she explains it, even if you are a longer term trader or investor if you will, one must to learn how to read charts.I was also impressed by her method of approaching news.She shows you which reports move the forex market and how to deal with news which actually was something I used to get caught up in.I feel like I have a plan that tells me what to do and where to go with each trade.I also appreciate that I only have to focus on around four to five trading tools.One can easily get lost in trying to learn or use too many.This has simplified trading for me and also shown me how to find chart patterns in the correct manner.The way she identifies chart patterns is so simple that I think I must be doing it wrong.However, when the trade works I know that I got it right!

A good skills sharpener
First the bad part: Ms. Horner needs a new editor!!!!This book is full every kind of writing error there is - grammer, spelling, syntax, sentence structure - you name it.But once I got over that, I found this book to be quite helpful.The book helped me to refocus on the basics of technical trading; namely, support and resistance, the mental processes involved in entering and exiting trades, and getting confirmation from other indicators before entering a trade.These are not new techniques, but they can be lost or forgotten in the daily grind of trading.The book did introduce me to a couple of new indicators, which I look forward to experimenting with.I am an experieced trader, and I'm not sure if a beginner would get enough out of this book to develop a comprehensive trading technique, but it would certainly help.It is user-friendly and easy to read.In short, it has had a positive effect on my trading.

waste of time
Apart from the fact that the editor of this book should be fired, I'm not convinced that the strategy will work. The author claims to be trading the forex markets, and her students can "smell a wannabe trader from a mile" but I'm not sure if she really is a wannabe trader or a real trader.There are no trading data or anything to back up the author's claims. The only reason I'm giving it 1 star is because it might be of some use to a novice trader.

awesome, deserves a read
I'm totally blown away by this book.It's going to be my trading bible.It has everything.A trading plan, a q&a with the author, psychology.I was afraid I may get another general book about Forex and market paticipants and the basic indicators.I was happy to find a complete trading plan that takes all the questions out of when to buy, when to sell, how to put in my orders, how to take profits.

The book is written like the author is talking to you and I finished it in 2 days, it's that good but I could have done without the many, many typos.

There's good info here.I know I will want to review some chapters like chapter 10 fibonacci levels and chapter 26 that talks about charting the US Dollar with other currencies.I liked the chapter on prep-work which makes finding trades very simple and fast using moving averages.She teaches how to trade from 5 time frames so I have the choice to play longer term with a daily chart or a short term chart like the 15 minute although she doesn't use anything smaller than the 30 minute chart.I found I could go to even the 10 minute with her Three Classic Tools to a Three Step Set Up.I think what was also helpful is that I thought I would have to get up early or stay up late to trade forex from what I had heard at other seminars I went to but she teaches market overlap and explains that you don't have to which was my biggest worry.

Look past the typos and you'll find good info.Worth a read.
... Read more

Amazon.com

In a global economy, it is crucial for business peopleto be sensitive to cultural differences. And although the best reason for doing so may be ethical, it's great for business as well! This is an invaluable book for "doing well while doing good" in your intercultural relations, covering the protocols of appointments, business entertaining, greetings, forms of address, gestures, dress, and gifts in 60 of the nations you're most likely to be doing business. Some interesting excerpts:

• Australia:The "thumbs-up" sign, which in the U.S. indicates "O.K." is considered rude.
  
• Brazil:The colors of the Brazilian flag are green and yellow, so avoid wearing this combination in any fashion.
  
• China:Avoid making exaggerated gestures or using dramatic facial expressions. The Chinese do not generally use their hands when speaking, and become distracted by a speaker who does.
  
• Indonesia:Since it is impolite to disagree with someone, Indonesians rarely say "no"...a clear way to indicate "no" is to suck in air through the teeth.

The authors are very aware that no generalizations apply to all residents of a nation, and are careful not to stereotype or judge. Highly recommended to any business traveler--or any student of the diversity of human cultures.

(Note: a great companion volume for this book is Gestures, which is devoted entirely to explaining the varieties of hand gestures in 82 countries!) ... Read more

Reviews (19)

60 Mistakes
This book had come highly recommended, so I had hoped to be able to read it without finding numerous errors, but I was very disapointed. Not only were there entire countries missing but there was one piece of erroneous information which was repeated throughout the book in various chapters. A few of the countries I was not able to find were Austria, Cuba, Lebanon and Morocco. Austria may not be the biggest nation in the world, but that does not mean businesses do not exist there, and just because the US has an embargo against Cuba doesn't mean other English reading countries cannot do business there. Many European nations have open relations with Cuba that do not prevent them from business communications. In regards to the piece of erroneous information repeated throughout the book, in Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Spain, and Venezuela, the book claims that Hispanic women change their last names when they get married. (This information may have been repeated in other Hispanic nations, but those were the only ones I read.) Hispanic women do NOT change their last names at any point in their lives. A Hispanic woman can be married half a dozen times and the last names she dies with are the same ones she was born with. Had it not been for the missing countries and repeatedly incorrect information I would have enjoyed this as a better resource.

Essential for any international business person
At first glance, you might think that a book that offers advice on business protocol in 60 countries would be superficial in its advice on each one. But this is a great "read" and browsing from country to country can emphasize the key cultural differences when you are visiting just one country. There's even a section on the US, and it's good to learn that we are almost the only country in the world where strangers get straight down to business (Ever asked a visitor:"How was your flight?" then realized you didn't even listen to the answer before launching into business.)

This book contains both the important practical matters (bring a gift, wrap it in certain colors, don't expect it to be opened in front of you) and also some interesting academic issues: "Locus of control" and "sources of anxiety reduction." You'll be pleased to know that Americans don't worry about anxiety much--except about deadlines at work.

Country-surfing can hurt
Not a bad idea, but this kind of superficial info can hurt you as much as it can help you - maybe a regional focus would be good?

Essential book if you work with people from other Countries
Fantastic book, I've been referring to this for nearly 10 years now since it first came out. Working as I do with many different cultures, and given the track record of my American Colleagues who don't know where Canada is (joke!) I've always found it ironic that it was an American team who wrote this book!
Anyone who is ever sceptical about the value of its content, I show them the pages for their Country, and within minutes they're sold on its value, even if there's something minor in there they can quibble about.
I especially rely on this book for the Business Practices (Appointments, Negotiating & Entertaining) and the Protocol (Greetings) sections.
I've worked in over 30 Countries, and this book has never let me down. The only times I've needed a Country that wasn't in the book was for Austria & Croatia, but you can't have everything!

Misleading and imprecise
When I bought this book, I wished to have a concise and reliable guide for "do's" and "don'ts" around the world. Well, at least I got a concise one.
I've been in some 20 countries and for most of them, the suggestions of this book would range from useless to misleading. Data about religion, for instance, seem to have been collected from old books, when the Latin America people could be classified as 97% Catholic.
Suggestions about dressing is also outated, with recommendations like 3-piece suites.
The greetings are also outdated: despite not being American, I know that currently, in USA, women (especially the 30-something and under) use to kiss each other in informal occasions, but this is not even mentioned.
And, as a Brazilian, I became marvelled to know that some people in Brazil speak "various Amerindian languages". The book only fails to tell me where ...
An advice: instead of buying this book, ask some friends: is costless and far more trustable. ... Read more

Book Description

The hallmark approach of this very successful market-leading text is its clear and concise treatment of international trade and finance theory illustrated with a wealth of the most up-to-date contemporary issues and examples.Carbaugh demonstrates the relevance of theory through real-world economic issues.Theoretical discussions are presented in both verbal and graphical terms, making the book highly accessible to students with little economics background.Its concise and flexible format makes it an ideal fit for most one-term courses. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Not the best for undergrad international economics
As an instructor teaching an undergrad international economics, I used this textbook as designated reading for the class. There are several merits about this textbook: simplicity, tons of real-world examples, and plain description. Unfortunately, there are several disadvantages about this book that I can't stand:
1. Typos, there are many typos in this 9e. Some of them were even correctly printed on 8e.
2. Lack of econ models: I can see how difficult it is to write a realworld-oriented international econ textbook with more intuition and less intimidating math models. But what makes Economics different from other social science is the powerful models that give us insights and perspectives. Sometimes it is easier to understand the complicated international economics with some simple models. I don't think Carbaugh did a good job offering econ models at where we need most, especially in the balance of payment and government policies part. I can accept simple, intuitive explanation, but I cannot accept oversimplification.
3. Redundancy:
Carbaugh spend major part of the textbook talking about international trade but not enough on international finance. There are several topics in international trade that can be combined and some topics in international finance that can be elaborated more. But I think this is author's choice.

In conclusion, I think this is a good book if you want to have a general idea about international economics. But I won't recommend it for using in class simply becuase it raises more questions than it explains.

Clarity of writing makes topic accessible
I had Dr Carbaugh as a student at UW Eau Claire, and enjoyed the clarity of his lectures.His book is nearly as good.My (first) edition is still worth consulting when I have the opportunity to teach econ.

Wonderful book, profound observations
This book gave me a really deep understanding of international economics, markets and macroeconomics. However, material in this book requires knowledge of some economics basics

Fantastic!Easy to read, even for non-econ. people...
First of,I must confess that I am prejudiced about this book, because the author, honorable Dr. Robert Carbaugh, was my economics Professor at the University.But, seriously now, I was not an economics majorand Ialso was not a very good student, meaning I missed far too manyclasses...But, whenever I sat down to read the book, it was very easy tocatch up with the rest of the class. In fact, even if you are not a studentat all, but just interested in the basics of international economics, youwould still find this book very useful.I took four other economicsclasses and all of them were boring, mainly because of the teachers'inability to teach well. Thisbook, however, is areflection of agood-natured, quick witted, and highly intelligent economist, who TEACHESREAL STUFF EVERY DAY to the average university students and manages to keeptheir attention. It's a hell of a job to do that HERE, I tell you!

book is simple
Hi, I am a Grad Student. I have gone through this book. Looks nice & simple. But I suggest he(Author) could have given some more examples for this writings. Thanks. Yours truly, Praveen Kumar ... Read more

Book Description

Macroeconomics is an integrated knowledge-building tool that is both concise and comprehensive. A 240-minute DVD explains macroeconomics in entertaining, easy-to-follow fashion, while well-designed Web interfaces help you to place the material into the real world. Professionals looking to learn more are shown both sides of each argument, then given the information they need to make informed choices on how macroeconomic factors impact society.

Book Description

This globally oriented book covers the most current research and trends in International Management. It offers comprehensive and integrative cases that illustrate the actual behaviors and functions required for successful cross-cultural management at the strategic and interpersonal level. Includes numerous boxed features that relate concepts to real-world practice. Also includes experiential exercises for self-test.For professionals in international business. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great book describing culture
Excellent Book. I was impressed on how the author was able to showthe various difficulties that are faced and how one can go about managing them. Real scenarios helped a lot in understanding the difficulties better in International relations. ... Read more

Book Description

The idea of China has always exerted a pull on the adventurous type. There is a kind of entrepreneurial Westerner who just can't resist it: red flags, a billion bicycles, and the largest untapped market on earth. What more could they want? After the first few visits, they start to feel more in tune and experience the first stirrings of a fatal ambition: the secret hope of becoming the Mr. China of their time.

In the 1990s, China went through a miraculous transformation from a closed backwater to the workshop of the world. Many smart young men saw this transformation coming and mistook it for their destiny. Not a few rushed East to gain strategic footholds, plant their flags, and prosper. After all, the Chinese had numbers on their side: a seemingly endless population, a thirst for resources, and the tide of history. What they needed was Western knowledge and lots of capital. Or so it seemed ...

Mr. China tells the rollicking story of one man's encounter with the Chinese. Armed with hundreds of millions of dollars and a strong sense that he and his partners were -- like missionaries of capitalism -- descending into the industrial past to bring the Chinese into the modern world, Clissold got the education of a lifetime.

The ordinary Chinese workers, business owners, local bureaucrats, and party cadres Clissold encountered were some of the most committed, resourceful, and creative operators he would ever meet. They were happy to take the foreigner's money but resisted just about anything else. At every turn, the locals seemed one step ahead of Clissold's crew threatening to take the Westerners for all they were worth.

In the end, Mr. China isn't a tale of business or an expatriate's love for his adopted land. It's one man's coming-of-age story where he learns to respect and admire the nation he sought to conquer.

Reviews (20)

A first-hand look into China's complex business culture

In "Mr. China," we get a genuine look into the, "Now you see it, now you don't," world of foreign investment in China.

You'll laugh, and cry, when you read Clissold's frightening tales.You'll find out first-hand what it's like to be a pioneer in an emerging market, still entrenched in communism, where firing workers is off limits, regulations are deliberately complicated, and property ownership is a moving target.

Much of what has been written about China deals with the economic boom in coastal cities.Clissold takes us out into the hinterlands, some areas of which have only recently been opened to westerners.Out in China's badlands, they can be trying to destroy you one day, and the next day they're your best buddies, staying up with you all night, sloshing down baijiu.Lucky for us (and for the author), he lived to tell about it.

This book is full of valuable lessons, not just about China, but which are relevant to any emerging market.Even if you're not looking to invest in China, this book is still worth reading.Because, like it or not, China is here to stay.And the more we understand their complex culture, the better we'll be able to deal with them as an economic superpower.

We should be thankful to pioneers like Clissold, who pave the way and take the arrows.Yet despite the extreme hardships, and tens of millions in losses, Clissold leaves us with hope that, some day, we'll be able to make this work."Mr. China" is definitely a step in that direction.

Unusual stories about investments in China that went wrong
For every success story that we hear about China investments, there must be many which have gone awry. Yet there are not many books that depict such tales from the first narrator viewpoint. Many are dry textbook-like, how-to narrations. Thus, Mr China provides a refreshing look into the realities of doing business in this vast land of 1.3 billion. I particularly enjoyed the story on the investment in Five Star Brewery- perhaps because it is a tale about a consumer product which makes it easier to grasp.

However, I do not understand why Mr Clissord kept using "arrived back from " when he could have used "returned from". Perhaps, it is due to his long stay in China that he started formulating his thoughts in Chinese?

It would also help if Mr Clissold could explain in greater detail the hierarchial structure of the Chinese governmental bodies.

On the whole, this is book worth your time.

A must-read for anyone wants to understand modern China
As a person who was born in Taiwan and came of age in the States, I marvel at Tim's in-depth understanding of Chinese culture.All those proverbs he quoted at the beginning of each chapter are old sayings that are known for almost all Chinese and capture much essence of Chinese view of life and world through ages.His sincerity and truthful portrait of the Chinese that he encountered makes this book truly educational for anyone who wants to do business in China, like many reviews have already mentioned. What makes this book so special is Tim's compassion toward fellow human beings, in the instance of this book, toward people who live in the land that European happened to call "China."Scratching the surface difference of customs or language, people everywhere are pretty similar--they all long for a better live, try to do the best of what they are given and want to be treated respectfully.Being a member of this exclusive five-thousand year old club, I admire and appreciate Tim's efforts to put a humane face of Chinese people and try to build deeper understanding between two great nations.

Must Reading Before Business Travel to China
Several days ago, I learned of the book Mr. China by Tim Clissold. I started reading it last night and finished it early this morning - only 252 pages. It is an absolutely mesmerizing chronicle of the investing in China in the 90's, and of the challenge to traveling out into the hinterlands of that enormous nation.

To a great extent it explains to me the situation I was actually in during my trip to Humen China last November - the balance between the Party and the private sector there, the role of the press, the work ethic and entrepreneurial drive of the Chinese, the intrigue of their nefarious rules/regulations and the balance between Beijing and the provinces. It reinforces the wisdom of our non-profit trade group having over 30 members with offices in China, a resouce we can draw from in our network. But this book is what individuals must read and come to grips with prior to travel to China.

I almost can not imagine what our members went through in opening factoriesthere. After you read this book, neither will you. And the same holds true for our many members there or soon to be in one form or another.

Simply amazing and an important, informative, moving and almost visceral read for those of us in this global game.

Great Emerging Market Lessons
I have worked extensively in Russia, rather than China, but most of the author's experiences and lessons are just as applicable to Russia or any other emerging market.

Other than describing some common pitfalls and challenges, the author does a great job of explaining with insight, humor, and feeling why people are attracted to invest and live in emerging markets.

A good, fun, quick, read that might actually teach you something.Highly recommended!

TMR ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive overview of international business is divided into various business functions, making it clear and easy to understand. In every chapter “Culture Quest Insights”into culture, geography, and business lead readers to a multi-media experience of a certain country or region that provides useful information on the impact of culture on business. Cases specific to each region or country add to the total reading experience. Topics covered include: the world's marketplaces, the international environment, managing international business and business operations. For CEOs, managers, and other executives who need to understand the cultural mores of the global societies with which they do business.

Reviews (3)

Worth reading
I took a course at my university requiring this book. What I found most useful is the numerous updated examples and cases that the author provided. In addition, the discussion is objective and thought-provoking.

Littletext.com switch
Ordered this book from Littletext.com as a new hard cover and recieved a softcover international addition. I wouldn't mind using international version since there is hardly any difference, but don't bait and switch on me I don't like it. I'd buy from someone else if the price was within a couple bucks. Got my book not from Chicago as advertised, but Thailand. However it was delivered in no time.

Too much self-reference
I had this book for one of my classes at my University this semester, and although the content of the book is concise and updated, nonetheless the authors rely too much on self-reference. The book is written too much from a "USA is superior" perspective. I also found some errors such as translations from other languages that were completely off. If you have to get this book for Intl. Business it is overall a good book, but if you can get a better one, do so. ... Read more

Book Description

"The hour of capitalism's greatest triumph" writes Hernando de Soto, "is, in the eyes of four-fifths of humanity, its hour of crisis." In The Mystery of Capital, the world-famous Peruvian economist takes up the question that, more than any other, is central to one of the most crucial problems the world faces today: Why do some countries succeed at capitalism while others fail?

In strong opposition to the popular view that success is determined by cultural differences, de Soto finds that it actually has everything to do with the legal structure of property and property rights. Every developed nation in the world at one time went through the transformation from predominantly informal, extralegal ownership to a formal, unified legal property system. In the West we've forgotten that creating this system is what also allowed people everywhere to leverage property into wealth. This persuasive book revolutionizes our understanding of capital and points the way to a major transformation of the world economy. ... Read more

Reviews (87)

Profound!!!
De Soto and Tom Friedman (The Lexus and the Olive Tree) are the two authors that make economics accessible. I have just graduated high school, and after basic economics, I understand what de Soto is saying. De Soto is one of the rare economists that has ditched the books and "gotten his hands dirty." He doesn't only forumlates theories, but also applies them in the real world. His research team is spread across the world - in nations such as Egypt, Haiti, Peru, and the Phillipines.

After reading this book, I have become cinvinced that the major problem in the developing and former communist world is the lack of property rights- de Soto's theory. He not only defends his theory, but explains how these thrid world countries can tap into the 9.3 trillion dollars worth of dead capital in their slums, shantys and "suburbs." The proposal is to adopt the society informal property laws into the national formal law in order to allow the poor to claim legal rights to their assets, and therefore allowing them to use their assets as collatoral for loans from banks. He is not idealistic -- he recognizes the problems and the obstacles that have to be met.

This book is fantastic. I read it in four days, and I am not a fast reader, especially econ books I HIGHLY recommend it.

-Joe

de Sota supplies one component for economic growth
The Mystery of Capital attempts to "reopen the exploration of the source of capital and thus explain how to correct the economic failures of poor countries." I believe the author makes an interesting argument within the book concerning the failure of capitalism to catch on in developing and post-communist countries. His argument deals with institutions we here in the West take for granted-property rights and other legal institutions. The connection between these legal institutions and economic growth is clear-and de Sota is clear on this point as well.

He states that an individual living outside the West faces an impenetrable wall of rules that bar them from legally established social and economic activities-such as deleterious bureaucracies that retard growth by wielding red-tape. De Sota sent teams to Peru, the Philippines, Egypt, and Haiti and they experienced firsthand how it takes several years to obtain legal verification of assets-years compared to days here in the West. Under these burdens, individuals create new laws-extralegal laws. These social contracts have created a vibrant but undercapitalized sector. This sector is known in economic layman's terms as the underground or informal economy. The author estimates that over half on the inhabitants in developing countries engage in this sector-using Dead Capital. The value of the assets in the informal markets are huge-surpassing the assets of rich countries sometimes. De Sota has brought attention to the core of the problem-he then states that the solution can be found at the heart of the countries.

He supplies the formula to fix the backwardness of the nascent capitalist nations. The first objective is to unify the many social contracts already existing in the extralegal sector into one, all encompassing social contract-by listening to the "barking dogs", or the people. Past attempts with this aim have failed because they have lacked the legitimacy and support from the current extralegal world. De Sota creates a bridge to fix this dilemma-a bridge that integrates old social property customs into a new all encompassing social contract. By working with their people, government leaders can forge a new regulatory framework. The second task is a task of a political nature because the plan outlined above requires the support of the poor, the elite, and the lawyers. The poor will gain the most because they will greatly increase their economic lifestyles with a more unified social property system that will enable them to use their assets as full functioning capital. The elite will harvest gains as well; they will benefit from an expanded market and growing capitalist economy. The lawyers must not use the current law, but instead fine-tune the law and change it to make it work for all.

De Sota's real world studies and solutions make sense in my mind. He identified a problem and supplied the solution. He may fall short though in his solution because a complex capitalist economy requires much more infrastructure than only property rights-of course I mean other forms of capital, such as human capital. By De Sota is on the right tract; a capitalist economy demands strict and discrete property laws that enable individuals to utilize their assets. His premise is right-under capitalism, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. In the third world, the poor don't have access to their assets, and they thus flounder in the extralegal sector.

One of the single best books on Economics I've read
Many of the other reviewers have given excellent in depth summaries of DeSoto's book, and I will not regurgitate what others have already done a good job of saying. I will just say this: if you want to know why 3rd world countries are 3rd world countries, and what Gov'ts around the world can do to create prosperity for their people, read this book. Nations are poor because of ill-guarded private property rights. It's that simple. They aren't poor because of lack of socialism (quite the opposite), they aren't poor because of lack of resources, it's because "It's the property rights, stupid!"

Books like this can give hope to the pessimist, that it is possible to end serious poverty in the world. Relative poverty will always exist, but the civilization-destabilizing poverty that exists in the Arab world, in Latin America, *can* be cured if Gov'ts would just put in place a system that allows capital (ie entreprenuers) to grow from the natural resources within the country. Replace Socialism w/ Rule of Law. I hope every member of the Iraqi CPA has read this book and heeded its lessons...