Book Description

Slavery is illegal throughout the world, yet more than twenty-sevenmillion people are still trapped in one of history's oldest social institutions.Kevin Bales's disturbing story of slavery today reaches from brick kilns inPakistan and brothels in Thailand to the offices of multinational corporations.His investigation of conditions in Mauritania, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan, andIndia reveals the tragic emergence of a "new slavery," one intricately linked tothe global economy. The new slaves are not a long-term investment as was truewith older forms of slavery, explains Bales. Instead, they are cheap, requirelittle care, and are disposable.

Three interrelated factors have helped create the new slavery. The enormouspopulation explosion over the past three decades has flooded the world's labormarkets with millions of impoverished, desperate people. The revolution ofeconomic globalization and modernized agriculture has dispossessed poor farmers,making them and their families ready targets for enslavement. And rapid economicchange in developing countries has bred corruption and violence, destroyingsocial rules that might once have protected the most vulnerable individuals. Bales's vivid case studies present actual slaves, slaveholders, and publicofficials in well-drawn historical, geographical, and cultural contexts. Heobserves the complex economic relationships of modern slavery and is aware thatliberation is a bitter victory for a child prostitute or a bondaged miner if theresult is starvation.

Bales offers suggestions for combating the new slavery and provides examples ofvery positive results from organizations such as Anti-Slavery International, thePastoral Land Commission in Brazil, and the Human Rights Commission in Pakistan.He also calls for researchers to follow the flow of raw materials and productsfrom slave to marketplace in order to effectively target campaigns of "namingand shaming" corporations linked to slavery. Disposable People is the first bookto point the way to abolishing slavery in today's global economy. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The race to the very bottom
"Disposable People" by Kevin Bales is an important book on the topic of slavery in our time. The author intelligently combines original cases studies and third-party research with a solid understanding of global economics. The result is a startling but convincing expose that should be read by everyone.

Mr. Bales describes the major factors driving slavery today. First, the post-WW II population explosion has created a huge and desperate reserve army of the unemployed. Second, the process of proletarianization continues in many so-called "developing" nations as millions of peasant farmers are displaced by mechanization. Third, economic globalization serves to break down the social fabric as materialism and greed substitutes for the communal values that prevail in peasant societies.

Mr. Bales is careful to contrast the "New Slavery" of today with the "Old Slavery" of the past. The New Slavery is clearly embedded within the logic of post-industrial production, where capital avoids its social and environmental responsibilities and ruthlessly exploits human and natural resources for maximum profit. In this light, the New Slavery represents the race to the very bottom of a brutal system that is controlled by speculative investors and is accountable to no one.

Case studies examining prostitution in Thailand and coal production in the Brazilian rainforest help us further understand the dynamics of the New Slavery. Subcontractors do the dirty work of luring and keeping laborers in servitude while shielding owners from justice. Mr. Bales tells us that in the case of Brazil, the landowners who blithely ignore such practices include some of the largest corporations in the world.

The Old Slavery defined by the traditional master/slave relationship has survived into the present as well. Mr. Bales courageously traveled to the police state of Mauritania to gather evidence of slavery at great risk to himself and the locals who assisted him. The author devotes chapters to Old Slavery practices in India and Pakistan, where repressive sexist, class, and religious beliefs enforce an essentially Feudal social order. However, Mr. Bales makes clear that the economic forces unleashed by globalization are effectively breathing new life into these ancient practices. For example, upper caste slave owners in India are heavily dependent on slave labor to support both their privileged social positions and their increasingly Western-style consumerist lifestyle.

As many in the U.S. theorize and debate from their easy chairs about the reasons why industrial jobs may be rotating to low-wage countries, Mr. Bales' book effectively shocks us from our complacency. As amply demonstrated in this book, slavery is an expression of the infinite demands of capital taken to its logical conclusion. Clearly, eradicating slavery is essential to reclaiming our humanity. To that end, Mr. Bales makes a number of policy recommendations and provides resources at the end of the book to help readers get involved in the anti-slavery struggle.

I give this sensitive, perceptive and important book the highest recommendation possible.

A revelation of slavery
I first glanced this book becasue I was in need of information for my school project, and then I fell deeply into this book as it revealed things that I had fuzzy understanding in clear illustrations and explanations. Instead of giving abstract reports that abuses happened in some part of the world at certain time in certain way, the author presented a live descritption of the abuses and analyzed the reason and structure of modern slavery so reader could easily understand how this exploitation machine works.

Read It.
Wow. This *is* a book everyone should read. I'd heard about bits of slavery here and there in modern times. After I heard Bales on NPR and read about his work in Scientific American and the Sun, I was eager to get ahold of this book. But I had no idea that the horror was so widespread.

Bales writes with clearness and imagination, yet is thoroughly scientific and researched. He followed sociological procedures and didn't merely report on other's ideas, but did primary research himself with a set variable questionnaire. All of this work makes his arguments irrefutable.

Disposable People traces the three main types of slavery- old fashioned chattel slavery, debt slavery (the largest) and contract slavery (the fastest growing), in five different empirical countries. The first case of contract slavery in Thailand I found the most horrendous- families selling their daughters into slave-prostitution and death by AIDS, for the price of a colour TV. The case of chattel slavery in Mauritania was the most interesting- Arab Muslims speaking of their black slaves as their children, who need to be guided by a firm hand, but are inferior; who are fed the bare minimum to work and live, and not allowed to go to school. A place where the children of a female slave become the property of the slave owner, whether or not he is the father, and women can be kept as slaves by the claim that they are actually the wife of the slave owner, who has on his side the Qur'an's stipulation that one may have sex with one's female slaves. It was all too reminiscent of the antebellum period. Bales' weakest arguments were in regards to the form of slavery in India. While there is certainly slavery there, and it appears to be the oldest continual slavery in the world, the farming he described seemed to be more sharecropping than slavery- there was little reference to the violence that forced people to remain with their land lord/slave holder.

This book needs to be read because we need to stop this. Twenty-seven million people in the world are in slavery, and many of the products we rely on and use every day are made by them. This should not be. It can not be.

Slavery in our backyard
This powerful informative book cleary examines the slavery in our backyards. Though many every day citizens may be unaware of slavery, our government and big business know what's going on and have systematically denied/ignored it. Most of the slavery involves people of color and women--groups that are repeatedly ingored and abused. If you want to get an idea of what's happening in the US and the world read this book. Become aware, don't invest in companies that do business with societies that accept slavery, and know what you're getting into when you travel abroad. My only regret was that something so horrible is so difficult to fight.

Excellent journalism sparks deep philosophical questions
I concur with the other reviewers, this book was well researched, structured and presented. The information not only worked to educate me as to how various groups of people are being exploited all around the world, but also caused me to re-evaluate my views on the notion of karma and my natural inclination to look for a bargain price. I was also reminded of Swift's classic "A Modest Proposal" [1729], and began to wonder if there will ever be a time when some of the world's inhabitants won't be viewed as "disposable." ... Read more

Book Description

The importance of the international monetary system is clearly evident in daily news stories about fluctuating currencies and in dramatic events such as the recent reversals in the Mexican economy. It has become increasingly apparent that one cannot understand the international economy without knowing how its monetary system operates. Now Barry Eichengreen presents a brief, lucid book that tells the story of the international financial system over the past 150 years. Globalizing Capital is intended not only for economists but also for a general audience of historians, political scientists, professionals in government and business, and anyone with a broad interest in international economic and political relations. Eichengreen's work demonstrates that insights into the international monetary system and effective principles for governing it can result only if it is seen a historical phenomenon extending from the gold standard period to interwar instability, then to Bretton Woods, and finally to the post-1973 period of fluctuating currencies.

Eichengreen analyzes the shift from pegged to floating exchange rates in the 1970s and ascribes that change to the growing capital mobility that has made pegged rates difficult to maintain. However, he shows that capital mobility was also high prior to World War I, yet this did not prevent the maintenance of fixed exchange rates. What was critical for the successful maintenance of fixed exchange rates during that period was the fact that governments were relatively insulated from democratic politics and thus from pressure to trade off exchange rate stability for other goals, such as the reduction of unemployment. Today pegging exchange rates would require very radical reforms of a sort that governments are understandably reluctant to embrace. The implication seems undeniable: floating rates are here to stay. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great macro text but very G7 centric
Barry Eichengreen's book Gold Fetters is a classic on the Gold Standard and the Great Depression. The cover of this one claims that it will become a classic on the international monetary system. While it's good, it certainly isn't a classic. It's a great book, but spoilt by its lack of breadth.

Globalizing Capital is full of details and gives readers a terrific account of how mainstream exchange rates were managed (or weren't) in the period from 1870 to 1997. Each of the four main chapters is self contained (1870-1914, 1918-1944, 1944-1973, 1973-1997).

Globalizing Capital has two broad threads. Firstly, the only periods in recent history when exchange rates have been stable have occurred when there have been a) high levels of international co-operation or b) periods when governments have been able to choose between high capital mobility and extending democracy. Trying to court both the masses and international traders has often been the trigger for banking and currency crises.

The second theme is the choice between fixed and floating regimes. The world nowadays is characterised by instantaneous communications and highly mobile capital. Small countries can chose to float and large groups with deep interlinks can form monetary unions, but the rest are faced with increasingly unpleasant choices. As capital becomes more mobile, the choices faced by those left in the middle will become even more perilous.

While the theoretical line is flawless, the content isn't. Globalizing Capital is extremely G7-centred and gives little if any indication that there was a world outside the North Atlantic until Japan emerged in the 1960s. There is little mention of the history of colonial currency boards prior to Hong Kong in the early 1980s, no attempt to tackle the issues thrown up by recent debt crises in Latin America and nothing on transition countries in Eastern Europe and Asia who dispensed with central planning and multiple exchange rates in the 1990s.

Clearly-written classic on the world monetery system.
This book is not for the casual reader. However, we do recommend it strongly to anyone interested in understanding the relationship between global politics and international economics. Our consulting staff uses it often when discussing pricing policies and long-range financial planning with experienced and sophisticated exporters. John R. Jagoe, Director, Export Institute.

Crucial for understanding today's global financial crisis.
Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System is better described by its subtitle than its title, but even that fails to suggest just how up-to-the-minute it is. This book really provides a crucial key for unlocking the puzzles of today's global financial crisis. It tells the whole story of how the gold standard worked, how the Bretton Woods system worked -- and why and how they stopped working. If you wonder what the differences between floating and fixed exchange rates really are, this book will tell you, in all dimensions. It shows very clearly that the international financial crisis we see today is a great deal like what has happened at some times in the past, and it explains what worked, what didn't, and why in the past in dealing with similar crises. The author's entirely non-ideological -- where there are two intellectually-respectable sides to an issue, he presents both, explains why he comes down as he does, and tells you where to look for more information. The book is brief (about 200 pages), well and clearly written, and doesn't assume that you know much about economics or banking. There's a nice glossary in the back which explains all those mysterious terms you hear about these days. I understand that the new paperback edition has been updated to carry the story right up through the Asia crisis.

W. D. O'Neil ... Read more

Book Description

Compiled by the United States Customs Service, this book is an essential source of information for anyone importing goods--commercial or personal property--into the United States.Topics covered in depth include:

• How the customs service works at ports of entry
• The entry process--and how to guarantee that your goals will pass entry examination
• How to prepare error-free invoices
• How to calculate duty payable and qualify for refunds of duty
• How transaction values are assessed and how currency conversion works
• Regulations on marking imported goods
• Understanding prohibitions, import restrictions, and quotas
• Laws governing civil and criminal fraud

Reviews (3)

A little vague, but it's a MUST HAVE
It is not a user-friendly book, but it supplies a lot of guidelines fot the beginning importer. I recommend you to buy it, but supplement it with specific info on the article(s) you intend to import (food, clothing, machinery, etc.).

A must-have reference book for international trade.
Wow! What a useful book it is! It is an essential reference that provides concise, accurate, and informative expertise especially on importing. If you are looking for a reliable resource about importing regulations and entry procedures, this is the one that you should consider!!!

a basic guide to importing
i found this book to be very helpful, because my husband and i are starting our own import and export business to his home country of morocco. i would recommend this book to anyone who is planning or already in the importing and exporting business ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Easy reading
This book was great because it read like a novel. It contained a wealth of knowledge while being easily accessable. Two mistakes in the first couple of pages caused some hesitation in granting 5 stars.
P.29 refers to the "Norin Chunkin Bank" however there is no 'n' in the word "Chukin".
P. 40 refers to the "Sumitomo Mitsubishi Banking Corporation" however the bank resulting from the merger of Sumitomo and Sakura is "Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation" ... Read more

Reviews (57)

Packed With Knowledge!
Shortly after a briefing by author Robert Shiller, Alan Greenspan warned the country about the "irrational exuberance" pushing stock prices excessively high. The year was 1996 and, in hindsight, it's clear that the bull was just beginning to run. Anyone who heeded that warning would have passed up some of history's most impressive gains. Yet, if history is any guide, stock prices could be in for a 10 or 20 year decline, falling back below the bull market's gains. But Shiller isn't teaching market timing; he's debunking some cherished investing axioms, such as, the belief that stocks are the best long-term investment. He discredits financial reportage, limns to the psychological and emotional factors that make markets behave irrationally and proves that nothing is new about "new economy" prattle. The book is a very effective vaccination against the costly virus of credulity. We [...] suggest this book for every investor's shelf - dog-eared and worn from frequent re-reading.

Right on the money 3 years later.
This is a treaty on Behavioral Finance. Shiller makes a strong case that markets are not efficient, but respond to crowd psychology.

Shiller rebuts the Efficient Market Hypothesis. He has analyzed many U.S. stock market crashes. In each case, he did not find information absorbed by institutional and individual investors that justified the market downturns. In all cases, it appears the investors were "aware" of the reasons for the market downturn as explained by the financial press after the downturn occurred. For Shiller, this means that the reasons were false, and that investors do not digest information in such an efficient and immediate way as stated in the Efficient Market Hypothesis.

Shiller believes investors are irrational, and trade based on certain premises such as herd instinct, momentum, belief that stocks always go up. These beliefs are reinforced by the media. The resulting market valuation at the time the book was published (first quarter 2000, the market's peak) was far above its intrinsic value. As they say, the rest is history. Shiller's timing was perfect. We have been in a Bear market ever since.

Kudlow And Cramer Need This Shoved Down Their Throats!!!!!!!
Shiller pursues his uncomplimentary examination of inexperienced investors authoritatively, all the way into their psyches and lapses of reasoning. Introspecting to the CNBC-led, over-hyped carnival sideshow that investing dilapidated into (fall 1999 to March 2000, when the top exploded), all-important valuations were relegated in favor of insane dot-coms, companies with NO business models, not expected to turn profitability until years later, and ever-accursed tech stocks, whose prices were trading profanely overextended. The culprit for investors' sins was financial media; from the most superficial propaganda outlet, ruining investing science into a fad, CNBC, to purportedly "respected" publications, WSJ, to radical, greenhorn publications, the Street.com and Motley Idiot. All sources mentioned had one unrighteous plan in common: the turbulent peddling of speculative garbage like YHOO at $200 without current year earnings to show for, OR shamelessly outright varmint: Pets.com! The culpable media obviously didn't incriminatingly impose people to go underweight in cash, homicidally overweight in tech-but their worst involvement was NEVER raising the alarm to cap Wall Street's mania, angrily opting instead to procure mutual fund talking-heads ruthlessly, to hypnotically fabricate longing, on television!

Discordant factors produced the disreputable herd mentality/behavior that Shiller dissects, striving to overthrow the Efficient Market Theory, which invites debunking. Shiller decidedly reasons the opposite of the Efficient Market Theory. It's unimaginable for persons to actually oppose Shiller's precognition, not because bears the world over were vindicated by equities' bleak performance, but because stocks' P/E ratios are calculated for precisely the reason Shiller alerted: to regulate stocks' unwarranted racketeering. It's fact, that at the bubble's start, techs in the networking and chip sectors were probably outperforming their "old-economy" peers, relating to earnings. Yet since most investors are miserably prepared, they were harshly ensnared by the lax press to pile on to those initially moderate rewards for stocks, to abuse those gains in overstepping ways. Likewise, one could argue that when the Bubble burst-and additional factors like 9/11 and corporate scandals contributing-those same feebly swayed "investors" sold the markets off nightmarishly worse than what was due. Again, because their paranoid nervousness took over their rationale in deciding how to approach markets. I retrospect with ghoulish HORROR, the relentlessness of wrongdoings that Wall Street, the collective body, committed in hazardously presaging themselves for the hardest bear ever.

CNBC, fund managers, analysts blindingly had the blameworthiest ulterior motives to exploit undereducated soccer moms, Sunday investors. Roughly analyzing, the more people CNBC guilefully suckered into longing dangerous techs, the more ratings they'd get, intensifying on-air "personalities"' payoffs, including CNBC's anchors' OWN holdings in various funds they'd get under GE. The more bait fund managers could lure to invest in their funds, the more they'd be compensated for escalating their funds' values. Ever-notorious ANALysts' ulterior motives laid not in the public's response, but in companies' stocks that they covered. Some were paid kickbacks for their suspiciously nothing-but-buy ratings. This triad of terror is accountable for falsely justifying the market's overreaching excesses beyond their, initially, reasonable beginnings. The drone public was simply mistaught that internet stocks' repugnant absence of income would materialize soon enough, networking high-fliers like CSCO and JNPR were said to "never suffer" from lack of business because of ever-expanding business that the growing internet would provide, and that the zombie public could expect profane, double-digit returns for years to come, laxly based on one year's (1999) fluke growth of speculative tech stocks which were preyed upon as a fad.

Also contributing to mania were factors that people mistook to maltreat as reasons for entering markets in a buy-and-hold savagery. As baby-boomers aged, they were unquestionably snared by CNBC's falsenesses to expose themselves supplementary more to equities which were on teetering foundations. The same's true of mutual funds' elevating popularity, as innumerable people were misdirected to blindly trap themselves in funds where they'd never monitor its performance for lengthy times. Other factors were also involved in this worst bear market in 100 years, constituents like 9/11, corporate improprieties, personal bankruptcies-the plausible, defining trigger that blew the markets up (particularly NASDAQ) was people overstretching their margins, thus being extorted to sell automatically. These are hallmark characteristics of hype markets' speculators being so overextended on long sides that when savvy investors decide to take their respective gains from months of abominable gains, selling significantly, margin calls are consequently called in on many accounts. This leads additionally bleakly into the domino effect of tumbling decks of cards.

It's pronounced message still corresponds to today's markets. CNBC's-ONCE AGAIN!!!!-restarting their impenitent Jihad of superficially, abusively embellishing the mediocre point the economy's currently at. Respecting historical bear cycles, we're indisputably in the 4th secular bear since the 20th century, convincingly proven by the damaging downfall of 2000-2002, arduously worse than any declines in the last century, especially the NASDAQ. There may definitively portend 18 years more of this feral bear, from 2000 levels. The shiest estimate of S&P 500's P/E's still sinfully extreme at 30-you'll pay 30 bucks to one dollar of what it's licitly worth, for vast majorities of stocks. Companies repeat slashing jobs-no small part thanks to the newest scourge of outsourcing-at record, breakneck furiousness, with probability of jobs returning to levels markedly improved from the -400 000 that impend awful growth to increments which would traditionally support prosperous GDP higher than 4% ascendingly unlikely. Through this purgatory, and ruthlessly mediocre to pessimistic economic numbers up to the present, aggressively hardened CNBC is unapologetically unlearning from its breaches and refusing to revere their costly errancies. CNBC persists on solely rigging the most obdurate perma-bulls (Angiletas, Leones) and loathsomely irrelevant, corporate Bush Admin. pushers (Kudlow, Cramer) to comment on the last half-year's markets. Those same schemingly prejudiced perma-bulls are seizing control of current market conditions to exaggerate them furiously and depravedly. The increasingly intolerably wretched CNBC "personalities" are debauching to vile, hypocritically "happy" guises while on air, further tyrannizing an air of "great market returns". They're willfully relapsing to 1999-2000's embezzlement, and need to be spurned as Contrarians!!!!

Excellent Education on the Market - and Enjoyable Easy Read
I am not a financial expert. I have traded stocks, futures and index funds but that is the extent of my involvement with the market.

Having said that I think it is not necessary to be an expert to read and appreciate the book. In fact the book uses a lot of common sense in its presentation of market data and the discussions of the data and the markets.

The most striking thing to me about the book is the description and summary concerning macro trends or cycles in the market. These cycles can extend decades. For example since approximately the late 1800's there have been five or six speculative bull runs to high market P/E values. The exact reason is different for each run up. We have seen run-ups due to the companies involved with railway stocks a century ago, the telephone as an investment tool in the 1920's, and then the new internet companies and trading electronically in the 1990's. The way stocks are bought and are sold and the financial instruments vary with the year or era. But these cycles repeat themselves every decade or two.

In almost every case investors participating in the speculative market spike or bull-run gets carried away and thinks this time, in this era, whether it was the 1920's or the 1990's that investing is now "different". The rules have changed. The high P/E ratios are now the norm. It is a "new era" and the old rules do not apply. Sound all too familiar? But in each and at every peak in the S&P or Dow, reality eventually sinks in, the investors pull back, and the market drops back to its historical average levels. That average level is a P/E ratio for the large cap or S&P 500 companies having an average P/E ratio in the general range of 10 to 20 or 25 maximum.

For some people foolish enough to invest near the market highs, and then who ride the market down have had to wait 20 years to see their stocks return to the same value at which they were purchased. Some stocks and companies do not survive the downturn and the investment vanishes. Now in our time one can only speculate on how many years or decades it will take for the NASDAQ to return to the 5000 to 5500 level.

This is sobering book, and it rates 5 stars for a short but excellent read and education.

Jack in Toronto

Calling the top of the market
The current importance of Professor Robert J. Shiller's prescient publication in March 2000, right near NASDAQ topping out around 5000, is to see what relevance it has for us today. He begins with 12 factors he believes played a major role in creating the bull market/boom/bubble of the late 1990s, and ends with an assessment of which of those 12 will continue to play an influential role going forward. That, too, should be our concern.
First, let me say that his deconstruction of the "efficient market theory" probably has more lasting importance in the financial world than his assessment of whether we had an overvalued stock market, and should be taken to heart by everyone who wants to make money in the stock market. In over a decade as a member of two securities exchanges, I never found any evidence that the random walk or efficient market theories had any significance in real world finance. An ivory tower construct, for sure.
Prof. Shiller's 12 reasons for the 1990s boom and their current/future influence:
1. The Internet: It remains a viable growth engine, but got ahead of itself. The Internet continues as a strong influence on business and the stock market.
2. Decline of foreign competition: Our victory over communist economies is waning. New competition (China) will emerge on the world scene.
3: Pro business culture: Could easily turn against the market.
4. Pro business governmental policies: Could easily turn against the market.
5. Life cycles - Baby Boomers: He expects the positive effect to diminish.
6: Financial press reporting: Probably will continue but not show much growth.
7: Optimistic analysts: Can easily turn negative.
8: Retirement plans: Social Security is a potential plus if redirected into stocks.
9. Growth of mutual funds: Difficult to ascertain.
10: Decline of inflation: Can't get lower; can only get worse.
11: Day trading/increased public participation: Likely to continue. More people's access could elevate prices.
12: Rise of national gambling culture: He admits the connection between gambling and the stock market is weak.
Prof. Shiller is pro-markets. His concern is whether outrage over the bursting of irrational bubbles might do irreparable harm including turning our society against our capitalistic and free-market institutions. On this point he eloquently states, "Speculative markets perform critical resource-allocation functions (a point I have taken for granted and have not focused on in this book), and any interference with markets to tame bubbles interferes with these functions as well. Ultimately, in a free society, we cannot protect people from all the consequences of their own actions. We cannot protect people completely without denying them the possibility of achieving their own fulfillment. We cannot completely protect society from the effects of waves of irrational exuberance or irrational pessimism - emotional reactions that are themselves part of the human condition." (p233).

Perhaps this is why under the subject of what role government might play in cooling down irrationality before it becomes destructive, I did not notice any reference to the FRB's role of setting margin rates on stock purchases. This power (Reg T) was created precisely to cool down speculative markets when they get too hot. Greenspan, for whatever reason, chose not to invoke this tool during the boom.
In the end, Prof. Shiller blames investors for their blind exuberance and predicts more difficult times ahead. Indeed, his fears have been borne out the past 3 years. But even he does not rule out another run based on new factors and old psychology because not only is it human to err, but also it is human to be irrational. The solution? In his words, "It may be that the best stabilizing influence on markets is to broaden them, allowing as many people to trade as often as possible." This is why in his next book, "The New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century" (2003) (see my review), Prof. Shiller confronts how government and society can work together to mitigate future emotional disruptions to our everyday lives through market-based instruments. ... Read more

Book Description

MULTINATIONAL MANAGEMENT: A STRATEGIC APPROACH uses strategy as its unifying theme to explore the global economy and the impact of managerial decisions. By examining comparative management issues thoroughly, this text reveals the strengths and weaknesses of competitors and how to adapt organizational practices. Cullen/Parboteeah also covers the key topics of formation and implementation of strategies in the global environment, the building of strategic alliances, negotiation and cross-cultural communication, international human resource management, and business ethics. ... Read more

Book Description

The book features an introduction to the structure and mechanics of repo, institutional practices and real-world examples. In addition the content includes necessary supplementary material such as bank asset and liability management, trading techniques, and a range of other applications of value in the global money markets.

Repo markets play a pivotal role in the world's economy. The Repo Handbook is the definitive, comprehensive guide to this most important element of the global debt capital markets. It describes the use, motivations and mechanics of the repo instrument, and features invaluable coverage of specific country markets and institutions. The reader is taken through classic repo, sell/buy backs and structured repo, as well as additional products such as the total return swap and securities lending. As important is the treatment of related areas, such as money markets, banking asset & liability management and the implied repo rate, vital to a full understanding of repo.

This book is the ultimate guide for bankers, repo traders and salespersons, money market participants, corporate treasurers, debt finance professionals and is organized into three parts:

Part I covers the repo instrument, and examines repo mechanics and use of repo. There is also a look at selected country repo markets around the world.

Part II of the book considers the institutional treatment of repo, with chapters on risk, netting, accounting, and legal issues. There is also a chapter on equity repo.

Part III looks at basis trading and the implied repo rate. This includes results of original research on the gilt bond basis, presented in accessible style.

* A complete guide to repo, including introductions to money markets and bonds
* Contains the author's personal anecdotes from trading
* Covers every aspect of repo for all participants including legal, tax, accounting and back office ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Very comprehensive coverage of Repo and money markets
This is a very good book on repo, money markets, and bank ALM. It is written in very accessible style and has very clear examples, descriptions, worked examples, and screen pictures. The author has also demonstrated how repo fits in with the other money markets. Highly recommended, a good guide to repo and stock lending.

Identity Crisis
It is interesting that most, if not all, of the 5-star reviews below appear to be written by the author's? aliases. For instance, the Oct. 7, Oct, 20, both Oct 22 reviews, and the Nov. 4 review all currently originate from X Moore from "John Rasheed", although in the past they've all shown London or Cape Town origin as "John Rasheed" sought to cover his tracks.

"Mr. Gagan Singh" writes several negative reviews of other books, but positive reviews of Mr. Choudhry's books. "Mr. Gagan Singh" wrote negative reviews of Ms. Stigum's "The Money Market" and alternately hails from NY, the USA, Capetown or from wherever next this chameleon chooses to hail as the reviews change.

"Matthew Bartlett" is another alias used on two book reviews of Fabozzi's "Collateralized Debt Obligations" book. One of the "Matthew Bartlett" reviews is signed "Moorad Choudhry" and praises the book with 5-stars, but the other review is unsigned and gives the book a one-star review. This is a serious identity crisis.

Great book - don't believe the negative hype
If you want to buy the best guide to repo and money markets, buy this book - forget what any US-based reviewers are saying casting ridiculous accusations about the author. The book is great - end of story. Buy it!

The ultimate guide to repo
comprehensive and well worth buying. covers all you need to know on repo and well illustrated with worked examples.

Surplus funds awaiting collection
My name is Adebayo Alotunde, I am second cousin of President of Nigeria. Please can everyone send me 10 copies of this book and I will send payment by return. ... Read more

Book Description

In order to ensure future success, financial advisors must find a way to compete for one of the fastest-growing segments of the investing population - the affluent.

Stephen D. Gresham and Evan Cooper, authors of Attract and Retain the Affluent Investor, show readers that by adapting current methods and learning how to provide a richer level of service, financial advisors will be able to capitalize on this opportunity and create greater client satisfaction. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This book is worth the money a thousand times over.
After 8 years in the financial service industry, I was forced to start over from scratch 2 years ago without a single client or even a list of prospects. This book has been my single most important guide in building a client base of over $160 million in assets, and I'm just getting started. While other fascinating reads focus on the "sales pitch" and aspects of identifying the wealthy and what makes them tick, this book goes way beyond simple needs-based selling and into the world of practice management. Every time I've hit a rough patch in building my practice or the market has dealt all of us in the financial service industry blow after blow that has shaken investor confidence and trust, I've simply read or re-read from passages from this book and have gotten right back on track. From specific questions to pose to the wealthy and client meeting action check-lists to bigger picture topics like the ideal number of clients and best practices from today's top advisors, the writers show they have done their homework. Best of all, this stuff works! I had one client specifically site the reason for hiring me was that the questions I asked in our initial meeting made her feel I had a broader vision of what she was trying to accomplish than any other financial service provider she had ever dealt with. Every question I posed to her came right out of this book. What's even more compelling is that I know her better than I think I've ever known clients in the past. That kind of win-win is rarely found in books, and I recommend this one highly.

Steve knows his subject cold
Steve Gresham has created a blueprint for the experienced Investment Management Consultant or Wealth Management Advisor to follow and propser from. His examples are clear and concise, his guidance has stood the test of time.

Any advisor who thinks she or he can properly advise 300 or 400 clients will come away from this book with a career altering experience.Steve shows what is important to the business owner as opposed to what the advisor may think is important.

Kudo's to Steve and Evan. Job superbly well done !

Straight Talk
There are two words missing from the beginning of this book's title..which should be "How to Attract and Retain the Affluent Investor[etc.]." Gresham and Cooper take a very forthright approach to their topic, and use modern [no, not distracting!] graphics to get their points across. Relevant "case studies" make up much of the text, with messages reinforced by way of checklists, boxes, and short paragraphs titled "Winning Tactics." There are lots of advice books around for financial advisors. This one's great for people who think they're too busy to read. You can read it through or open it almost anywhere, and learn something. What's more, the authors have come up with answers to questions you didn't even know you had!

A Wealth Advisor's Must Read!
Steve Gresham has really captured the information necessary to be successful in the ever changing financial services industry. He shares with you successful ideas from some of the industries most successful consultants and advisers. In addition, he tells you how to re-evaluate your business and assists directing you toward becoming very successful.

Steve demonstrates his indepth knowledge and expertice in the industry through all of the information provided in this book. If you are going to be successful as a "Wealth Advisor"in the financial services industry, this book is a must read! ... Read more

Book Description

Since 1990, the United Nations Development Program has been providing annual "Human Development Reports" that set out the basic social and economic indicators for the nations of the world.The "Arab Human Development Report," which is focused exclusively on the twenty-two Arab states, provides a comprehensive and comparative examination of the region.Filled with charts, tables, and sidebars, the book provides analysis of the current situation, compares Arab performance with other world areas, and provides an agenda for action.Past AHDRs have focused on the deficits of freedom, knowledge, and women’s empowerment that exist in the region; the 2004 edition focuseson freedom and good governance.

The Arab world finds itself at a historical crossroads. Caught between oppression at home and violation from abroad, Arabs are increasingly excluded from determining their own future. Freedom in its comprehensive sense, incorporates not only civil and political freedoms (in other words, liberation from oppression), but also the liberation from all factors that are inconsistent with human dignity. To be sustained and guaranteed, freedom requires a system of good governance that rests upon effective popular representation and is accountable to the people, and that upholds the rule of law and ensures that an independent judiciary applies the law impartially.

The report describes free societies, in their normative dimension, as fundamental contrasts with present-day Arab countries. The enormous gap that separates today’s reality and what many in the region hope for, is a source of widespread frustration and despair among Arabs about their countries’ prospects for a peaceful transition to societies enjoying freedom and good governance. Moreover, persisting tendencies in Arab social structures could well lead to spiralling social, economic, and political crises. Each further stage of crisis would impose itself as a new reality, producing injustices eventually beyond control.

The Arab world is at a decisive point that does not admit compromise or complacency. If the Arab people are to have true societies of freedom and good governance, they will need to be socially innovative. Their challenge is to create a viable mode of transition from a situation where liberty is curtailed and oppression the rule, to one of freedom and good governance that minimises social upheaval and human costs, to the fullest extent possible. History will judge this a transcendent achievement through which the region finally attained its well-deserved freedom. ... Read more

Book Description

This classic text has remained a market leader for over 30 years because it covers all the conventional areas of international economics in an easy-to-understand manner.The 11th edition has been thoroughly revised and it continues to be accessible, flexible, and interesting to economics and business majors alike.Like earlier editions, it also places international economics events within an historical framework.The overall treatment continues to be intuitive rather than mathematical and is strongly oriented towards policy. Peter Lindert was recently awarded the University of California-Davis' Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

GREAT BOOK
Doesn't get too technical, but explains everything clearly. This book is one of the best economic books that I ever used.

Good Intro to International Economics
I used this book for my international economics undergraduate course and found it easy to understand; it doesn't use lengthy mathematical formulas but utilizes basic macroeconomic theories. The authors organized this book well; the later chapters build upon the beginning ones. However, it would be best to have taken Intermediate Macroeconomics before using this book because the last few chapters rely heavily on a good understanding of intermediate level material.

Paperback is not the same as hardcover
Hello, If you are looking for a paperback version for the hardcover book with the same name, this is not it. Actually the ISBN Number belongs only to the Study Guide to that book. I got it shipped and I am really upset about that.

It's economics....but, I've read better
I had to read most of this book for my International economics class... I think the book tells you what you need to know but it was very difficult to understand. I usually had to read over the same thing 2 or 3 times before I actually started to grasp it. If I was a professior of this class I would seriously consider changing textbooks. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Mundania
Good for research but not exactly coffee-table blurb. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Must ...
This book is a must for every sales,logitics and shipping managers who intend to work seriouly on a worldwide basis. Incoterms are the keys of international commerce and must be understood by all parties involved.

The Official Guide
This book may not be the most enjoyable you've ever read, but it is the offical guide put out by the ICC. It is broken down by Incoterm and into each category of obligation by the seller and buyer. This is the book that will be translated into multiple languages for everyone in the world to read. You really can't ask for more. However, if you are new to Incoterms, don't expect to understand it after going through it only once. It's still not an easy subject to grasp for new exporters/importers.

For American exporters/importers I would definately recommend reading a supplementary book put out specifically for Americans. Incoterms are partially written with European countries in mind, so there are important considerations for countries with borders and exports laws similar to the USA. The best supplimentary book I've seen so far is "Incoterms for Americans" by Frank Reynolds, the USA representative to the Incoterms 2000 revision meeting. The 2000 version may not be officially out yet. I got it at a seminar.

Pretty good summary for a book written by a committee.
The subject of Incoterms is almost arcane in American jargon. The previous version was less readable even though the format was similar. I suggest that everyone trash their 1990 version and take advantage of the changes in format so that you can explain the meaning and impact of the Incoterms 2000 to your organization. ... Read more

Book Description

This powerful, unsettling book gives us a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of global financial institutions by the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics.

When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations.

Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition. ... Read more

Reviews (69)

Straight from the Guru
Bretton Woods - 1944. Keynesian economics was put into action in the form of two new global institutions - The IMF and the World Bank. Markets could no longer be relied upon to correct setbacks to economic growth, employment and development. Governmental intervention was found necessary to rebuild economies devastated by the Second World War. An international system to help governments in their fiscal expansions, employment generation, economic growth and stabilization while steering through rough economic weather was found necessary. While the IMF would concentrate on financing short term needs for governmental spending and also to help balance their foreign exchange positions, the World Bank would focus on developmental projects that would largely benefit people below the poverty line. In theory and in all good intentions, everything was perfect for international co-operation in moving towards economic prosperity.

Take a different route now. The financial community in Wall Street has a different set of priorities. This community aims at short cuts to prosperity in the process of playing with other people's money. This community is well entrenched in the Treasury Department of the world's most powerful nation. The Treasury in turn controls the IMF and the World Bank. Suddenly we have Global Institutions serving private interests of the Wall Street. Would there be a better prescription for disaster for the developing countries? It is this vicious circle that has been brought out clearly by Prof Joseph Stiglitz. Who could be a better person to bring out these facts than a Noble Laureate in economics!

Time and again the IMF dictates a "one size fits all" policy of Liberalization and Privatization, with the assumption that the "markets will do the rest". Growth and poverty are not on their agenda. When the prescription fails, its well trained and over paid staff find fault with the Countries' flaws in implementing these policies. The WTO is no exception to this policy of enriching the developed countries at the cost of the poor. Right from page No 1 of the book, Prof Stiglitz is on target in explaining case after case where the IMF has failed. Meanwhile lot of evidence is presented on how countries that have ignored IMF's advice have done better. Thus, we have Poland on the road to prosperity and Russia in a miserable state. Malaysia is better off than Thailand after the crisis of 1998. IMF led "Bailouts" in many cases were to bailout the foreign private banks to recover local debts and not in the interests of the local economy. IMF also forces nations to maintain currency exchange rates at artificial levels with the same objective. This coupled with high interest rates causes a tight monetary policy, cut in governmental spending, once again a straight dive into further disaster. The IMF for example blamed the East Asian economies for lack of transparency for the sudden melt down. But the fact is that the crisis occurred at higher levels of transparency than a decade before, fuelled by the sudden exit of speculative hot money. The dangers of unbridled liberalization (and speculation) proved more lethal than the gains.

The world's most powerful nation and the self proclaimed champion of market economics ultimately protects its own interests when it comes to free trade. It protects itself through its tacit support to cartels ( as in the case of aluminum and steel) and imposition of "anti dumping duties". Trade is good for this country as long as it serves domestic industries.

The pain of unemployment, increase in poverty and suffering due to the misguided directives of institutions like the IMF has led many to believe that Globalization is bad and that these institutions need to be scrapped. The "shock therapy" of market forces hurts. On the other hand we have also seen the collapse of economies and total denial of personal freedom and economic choice under the totalitarian regimes of the Communists. The best choice for sustained economic growth, freedom and eradication of poverty seems to be a combination of market forces with a paternalistic governmental guidance. Let us exercise this choice and make the world a happier place for all.

An excellent book on economics and a must read for Finance Ministers of all developing countries.

Rakes the IMF over the coals
There are actually at least four books published in the last eight years with the title "Globalization and its Discontents," and for Joseph Stiglitz's book the title is probably a bit misleading. This is NOT a general indictment of globalization. When it comes to international economics, Stiglitz is the consummate insider: he was recently the chief economist for the World Bank, for crying out loud! You won't find him protesting on the streets at the latest WTO meeting.

This book contains something better: a tightly argued, detailed critique of the ideologically-driven free-market policies that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been pushing down the throats of developing nation after developing nation. Stiglitz makes the following major points:

* The IMF has a deep faith in the power of free markets to solve all economic woes, and sees the primary historical effect of market intervention as stifling, rather than enabling, the development of truly free markets;

* This position of the IMF is, however, poorly supported by the bulk of economic evidence from the last three or four decades of globalization, and more nuanced models of free-market development (some of which were developed by Stiglitz himself) show that an active government role is typically crucial in the development of healthy indigineous free markets;

* The conditions under which the IMF makes loans to developing countries generally harm, rather than aid, the short- and long-term economic health of these countries for the lower- and middle-class populations;

* IMF-imposed conditions generally ARE good news for foreign investors, whose risk the IMF loans are in effect underwriting;

* The economic ministries and cabinates of developed countries themselves, such as the U.S., generally adopt policies much more moderate such as those of the IMF, casting doubt on whether the IMF is really the source of much economic wisdom at all.

All these points in a dense yet well-written book that covers cases of African debt, Russia after the fall of communism, the East Asian crisis, and more. The book takes some intellectual energy to read but it's well worth it. I learned a great deal about the last ten years of international economic development, and I recommend Stiglitz's book highly.

A must read
I have read over 50 books on topics related to economics, and the socio-political aspects of globalization, free-markets, and their history. This topic has, for years, fueled passionate debate among Keynesians and liaise faire economists to name a few. And today, with globalization affecting everyone of every walk-of-life, this debate is making its way into the local coffee shops and hair salons.
Of the 50+ books mentioned, there is not one that I would direct the general population to. Yet it is ever more crucial for the masses to understand how globalization drives the politicians they vote for, who in turn enact the laws that determine how globalization will affect us all.
Dr. Stiglitz's book requires at least a basic education in economics to follow references to John Smith, Keynesian economics, Marginal Utility, and the interplay of state taxes and interest rates, for example.
For those with a basic knowledge of such things, this book is a must read -- for two important reasons:
1) It was written by Noble Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, former economic advisor to the Clinton Administration and Chief Economist at the World Bank. You can no longer argue the topic as a learned individual if you don't read this book (agree with it or not).
2) Whether you believe Dr. Stiglitz has a bone to pick with the IMF, it is difficult to ignore his passion for doing what he believes is right. The overriding theme is Dr. Stiglitz's insistence that organizations driving developing countries toward globalization, through market liberalization, do so with transparency -- allowing proper and constructive critique and debate to play a democratic role in ensuring that scarce resources and the impoverished of the world aren't taken advantage of.
And finally, after reading this book, you will learn how the IMF, World Bank, and others work to indoctrinate developing countries into the world economy. In Dr. Stiglitz's view, reforms are prematurely accelerated to ensure that financiers receive their expected return on investment -- often at the expense of a heavily indebted nation.
Whether you believe this or not, it is plausible, and demonstrable, through history, that the interests of the wealthy have great potential for abusing resources and the less fortunate. With the stage set in this manner, coupled with secretive closed-door meetings at the IMF, it is a conceivable scenario that the IMF has, at times, made matters worse in a weakened economic and heavily indebted country. In researching my master's thesis on globalization, I have corroborated stories and case histories that support Dr. Stiglitz.
Well, heck, you should see how the creditors came after little-ole me when i lost my house to a flood in the same year that I was laid off from my job due to recessionary conditions! Financiers are not in the mercy business.

Inside the World of International Finance
Of all people Joseph Stiglitz is eminently qualified to write this book. His experience and background make him a clear authority on the issues at hand, those of course being the extreme ineptitude of the World Bank and IMF in handling international development. A little research reveals that these two organizations have not always chosen the best path but Stiglitz shows these economic actions with the background information that highlights a frightening level of incompetence.

Interestingly, this book points out that these two world powers ultimately only represent the interests of the bankers that control them and have consistently failed to help the poor that they were created to serve. In many cases they have even made bad situations worse using extremely questionable economic prescriptions. Stiglitz gives well referenced examples of spectacular ineptitude that make me surprised these organizations can even exist.

However, as the book wears on it becomes clear that Joseph Stiglitz has had a distinguished career as an economist for a very good reason. He knows what's going on and skillfully gives readers access to the seemingly insane inner workings of the World Bank and IMF. The first three chapters are introductory and bring the reader up to speed. This is where the book doesn't do so well. These chapters are boring and essentially repeat the same thing over and over again for three chapters. While I can see the necessity I don't think they work for their intended purpose. I may not have finished the book if it wasn't the only material available at the time.

While it misses in the beginning this book really picks up towards the end, the chapters on Russia and the East Asia Crisis are particularly good. Most importantly Stiglitz offers rational, straightforward ways to solve the problems that he outlines here. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the way international finance works. You may want to skip the first two or three chapters though...

Good critique of globalization
This is a well-argued critique of liberal ideology at the IMF. Stiglitz documents and explains the flaws and the mistakes that happens when ideology replaces proper economic analysis. Stiglitz however at times assumes a self-righteous stance which might be a reflection of his anger at the IMF. Nonetheless, it was a good analysis of present economic situations. ... Read more

Book Description

Advanced International Trade is the first major graduate textbook in international trade in a generation. Trade is a cornerstone concept in economics, taught in all departments both in the United States and abroad. The past twenty years have seen a number of new theoretical approaches that are essential to any graduate international trade course, and will be of interest in development economics and other fields. Here, Robert Feenstra steps beyond theory to consider empirical evidence as well. He covers all the basic material including the Ricardian and Hecksher-Ohlin models, extension to many goods and factors, and the role of tariffs, quotas, and other trade policies; recent material including imperfect competition, outsourcing, political economy, multinationals, and endogenous growth; and new material including the gravity equation and the organization of the firm in international trade.

Throughout the book, special emphasis is placed on integrating the theoretical models with empirical evidence, and this is supplemented by theoretical and empirical exercises that appear with each chapter. Advanced International Trade is intended to bring readers to the forefront of knowledge in international trade and prepare them to undertake their own research. Both graduate students and faculty will find a wealth of topics that have previously only been covered in journal articles, and are dealt with here in a common and simple notation. In addition to known results, the book includes some particularly important unpublished results by various authors. Two appendices describe empirical methods applicable to research problems in international trade, methods that draw on (i) index numbers and (ii) discrete choice models. Thoroughly up-to-date and marked by clear, straightforward prose, this book will be used widely--and enthusiastically.

Professors: A supplementary Solutions Manual is available for this book. It is restricted to teachers using the text in courses. For information on how to obtain a copy, refer to: http://pup.princeton.edu/class.html

... Read more

Reviews (2)

The current standard
In my opinion this is the best book currently available for a graduate course in real-trade theory. I have already used it twice in class and my students have invariably preferred it to other recent works available, e.g., K.Y. Wong or Bhagwati et al. Compared to these, this book is better written and focuses judiciously on the models that yield the sharpest conclusions and most relevant insights. Discussions of the significance of gravity models, foreign investments, political economy, free trade areas, and institutional factors in trade (e.g., ethnic networks) are particularly clear and up to date compared with other texts.

The required mathematical apparatus (e.g., envelope and duality results) is introduced naturally, intuitively, and only as and when it is needed. The English flows easily, and the interweaving of theoretical and empirical material is especially novel and welcome.

This book should set the standard for writing graduate texts.

Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence
I really expected far more from this textbook. It adds very little to already existing graduate textbooks on trade. It is not useful for graduate students that want to understand the literature of the 2000s. It assumes you already know the material. It debotes a lot of space to the old literature at the expense of the new one. This is a field that has changed significantly. Frankly, I find hard to see its value added. ... Read more

Download Description

Globalization is exposing social fissures between those with the education, skills, and mobility to flourish in an unfettered world market-the apparent "winners"-and those without. These apparent "losers" are increasingly anxious about their standards of living and their precarious place in an integrated world economy. The result is severe tension between the market and broad sectors of society, with governments caught in the middle. Compounding the very real problems that need to be addressed by all involved, the kneejerk rhetoric of both sides threatens to crowd out rational debate. From the United States to Europe to Asia, positions are hardening. Author Dani Rodrik brings a clear and reasoned voice to these questions. Has Globalization Gone Too Far? takes an unblinking and objective look at the benefits-and risks-of international economic integration, and criticizes mainstream economists for downplaying its dangers. It also makes a unique and persuasive case that the "winners" have as much at stake from the possible consequences of social instability as the "losers." As Rodrik points out,". . . social disintegration is not a spectator sport-those on the sidelines also get splashed with mud from the field. Ultimately, the deepening of social fissures can harm all." President Clinton has read the book and it provided the conceptual basis for the trade/IMF portions of the State of the Union message in January 1998. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Rodrik gets it right
In his spellbinding account of the economic realities of globalization, Dani Rodrik gets it right. Whether it is his accounting of the increased elasticity in the job market or his discussion of labor as a factor bearing a higher incidence of non-wage costs, today's economy makes Rodrik seem prophetic. It is a book whose time has come, any thinking person should buy this book.

good source of hot topic
It seems that over the past few years, the topic of globilization aond free trade have become hot topics because of events like the WTO protests in Seattle, the World Bank protests in DC and Ralph Nader's run for the presidency in 1996 and 2000.

Has globilization gone too far? is a good source for those people trying to find out more about the issue because it shows what happens under globilization both theoritically and in real life. It presents the arguements against free trade and the problems associated it with it like loss of jobs and capital outflows so it is good to understand the oposing view.

Provides indepth analysis of the issues involved...
This is an excellent book that dwells in to the effects of globalization, related issues and potential solutions. It discusses social issues and policies within the context of globalization. It also dwells in to the issues related to labor standards and income distribution. Rodrik presents good solutions but they are debatable and not easy to implement.

I feel that Rodrik discusses solely from the perspectives of industrialized nations' interests. I would have liked him to explore more from the perspectives of under developed/developing nations'.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ON THE TOPIC!
Seldom can one find an economist whose sensitivity to political and social issues coexist in perfect harmony with a technically impecable background. Rodrik is one such rare creature. His book addresses the issue of globalization, defying economic theories and pointing straight to the problem: globalization engenders social instability, that in turn unables financial/economic stability to be sustained. Accoridng to Rodrik, unless attention is given to the "lossers" of this process, protectionism may strike back. Rodrik is successful in showing that globalization is NOT "the end of history", and should not be taken for granted. ... Read more