Book Description
World Poverty provides a general summary of world poverty at the beginning of the 21st century, then an introduction to modern world system theory and its attempts to explain world poverty and inequality. Separate chapters contain an overview of poverty in Africa, Latin America, and then Asia. Remaining chapters offer explanations for why some countries in the world (mostly in Asia) have become richer and reduced the ranks of their poor through ties with the global economy while others have not. Kerbo provides extensive evidence for why the nature of the state in developing countries is the most important factor in stagnation or even economic development with poverty reduction. But, in contrast to previous research and new statements by the World Bank, he has created a model attempting to explain why and how some countries have “good governance” and others do not. The book concludes with what we now know about world poverty and what does and does not work to reduce it.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Textbook.......2007-08-11
This was my textbook for my class in Sociology. However this book teaches about some history of the countries and how come they are or are not poor. This book discusses the inequities of the different aspects of each country. The book is timeless and should be read by all especially in our economy of now. I think it would also make a good economics book.
Product Description
From the Preface: We address the following questions. First, in Chapter 1, we review the major theories of economic growth that have been developed since this problem was considered by Charles de Montesquieu and Adam Smith in the eighteenth century and introduce the 192 countries of this study. In Chapter 2 we define and describe what is meant by intelligence. In Chapter 3, we summarise work showing that intelligence is a determinant of incomes and related phenomena (educational attainment and socio-economic status) among individuals in a number of countries; this is the basis of our theory that the intelligence of national populations is likely to be a determinant of per capita incomes among nations. Chapter 4 describes how we have collected and quantified the IQs of nations and presents new IQ data for a further 32 nations. This brings the total number of nations for which we have measured IQs to 113. In addition, national IQs are estimated for 79 other countries so that we have IQs for all countries with populations of more than 40,000. In Chapter 5, five measures of the quality of human conditions and their composite index (QHC) are introduced as well as 12 alternative variables that measure human conditions from different perspectives. In Chapter 6, the hypothesis on the positive relationship between national IQ and the quality of human conditions is tested by empirical evidence on PPP GNI (Gross National Income at Purchasing Power Parity) per capita in 2002, adult literacy rate in 2002, tertiary enrollment ratio, life expectancy at birth in 2002, and the level of democratization in 2002. Chapter 7 focuses on the relationship between national IQ and the composite index of the quality of human conditions (QHC) The results are analyzed at the level of single countries on the basis of regression analyses. The results are checked by exploring the impact of latitude and annual mean temperature on human conditions through national IQ. Chapter 8 shows that national
Customer Reviews:
I learned something today... I am an invalid.......2007-03-20
It seems that I, my entire extended family, my home town, and yes even my country is populated by invalids. Imbeciles. Retards. Subnormal, stupid, slow-witted, simple-minded, underachieving, mentally defective, lame brained, idiots.
Wow, thank you Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen (who could forget you too J. P. Rushton) you really have blown the lid off this well kept secret. I guess that I (and the rest of my friends) should return our university degrees and head home to be washed and fed.
This book really makes me question the authors' sanity.
Intriguing--and controversial--thesis.......2007-03-12
(Co-authored by Albert Somit and Steven Peterson)
IQ and Global Inequality is a sequel to the authors' earlier IQ and the Wealth of Nations wherein they argued that "...national differences in intelligence are an important factor contributing to differences in national wealth and rates of economic growth" (p.2). Lynn and Vanhanen here turn their attention from wealth to national differences in development and to differing levels of national economic, social and political achievement (And we have spoken ourselves of the role of evolution in political achievement, specifically the development of democracy. See, for instance, our "The Failure of Democratic Nation Building").
They have also expanded the scope of the study: In 2002, they gave "measured IQ" for 81 nations, they now offer measured IQ for 113 countries and "estimated" IQ for another 79; the number of countries for which development data are presented has also been increased, from 185 in 2002 to 192 in 2006. The basic findings, however, remain unchanged: As the authors staunchly reaffirm in their final conclusion, "...the major cause of global inequalities can be traced to the diversity of human aptitudes and especially to significant differences in the mental abilities of nations measured by national IQ" (p. 275). In short, that the difference in intelligence between the populations of affluent and of impoverished nations is a major - but not the only - cause of that economic inequality. Put even more bluntly, that nations differ in wealth in large part because their populations differ in intelligence. This book, we can safely predict, will receive a mixed reception. However, we commend the authors for their intellectual courage and for their genuine effort to establish the statistical relationships that they theorize, using real data.
Their first task is to present data showing that intelligence is heritable, and here they rely heavily, though not entirely, on studies of twins conducted in a near dozen countries. They then present several nation-by-nation studies indicating, respectively, that income, educational attainment, and social status are also heritable. Since "...intelligence, earnings, educational attainment, and socioeconomic status all have moderate to high heritabilities within nations," they feel safely in concluding that "... intelligence and earnings have at least a moderate heritability between nations" (pp. 235-236).
Why do nations differ from one another in these respects? Messrs. Lynn and Vanhanen leap from the frying pan into the fire -"The genetic basis for national differences in intelligence lies in the racial identity of the populations" (p.236). Drawing heavily on published research by Prof. Lynn, they present (and discuss at some length) 9 tables dealing with "The intelligence of nations categorized by race "(p. 238), the "National IQs in Latin America and the Caribbean predicted from racial composition of the population," (p. 241), and (and we would say needlessly) "Race differences in brain size (cc) and intelligence"(p. 243).
In all fairness, we should promptly add, the authors end their discussion of racial differences by reminding the reader that, as noted above, they "... also believe that environmental factors (for instance, `sub-optimal nutrition and poor health') contribute to the national differences in intelligence"
"National differences in intelligence," the authors insist, "are an important factor contributing to differences in national wealth and rates of economic growth." Have the authors made a plausible case? That, the reader must judge for him or herself.
In conclusion, though, we should mention one issue not really addressed in the book. As we have recently seen, some nations -- the "Asian Tigers" immediately come to mind -- have achieved truly striking gains in national wealth within the course of little more than a single generation. Given the authors' contention that national IQ is heritable and their basic thesis that "... national IQ is the most powerful explanatory variable. . .in accounting for differences in national wealth. . .," how, then, would they explain this phenomenon? That explanation, too, may have significant policy implications.
The Most Important Contribution to Economic Understanding since Adam Smith.......2006-12-12
This new book by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen is an elaboration and extension of their IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002) in which they showed that IQ scores correlated around 0.70 with per capita income and rates of economic development in over 81 countries.
This was a very bold claim. The cause of national differences in wealth is one of the major problems in economics. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject and several journals are devoted to it. Only very rarely is it ever suggested that national differences in intelligence help determine why some nations are so rich while others are so poor.
In my view, Lynn and Vanhanen have made what is arguably the most important contribution to economic understanding since Adam Smith showed that free markets promote economic development.
They have shown also that national IQs explain much of the variation between nations in a wide range of economic and social phenomena--not just income levels.
Their book extends the explanatory power of the concept of intelligence in a way that makes a major contribution to the integration of psychology with the other social sciences.
In advancing their intelligence theory, Lynn and Vanhanen begin by noting that economists usually regard it as axiomatic that all peoples of the world have the same intelligence.
The assumption that the average level of intelligence is the same in all nations is seriously wrong. Lynn and Vanhanen have examined the matter. They found huge national differences in intelligence. Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa appear to have average IQs of 67. Some of the "Asian Tiger" nations of the Pacific Rim average out at 105.
For perspective, the reader might note that an IQ of 70 is the lower limit for primary school educability, and an IQ of 105 the lower limit for College-level (although of course these can always be "dumbed down."
In IQ & Global Inequality, Lynn and Vanhanen have increased the number of countries for which they have calculated measured IQs from 81 to 113. They show that in the new larger sample of 113 countries the correlation between IQ and per capita income for 2002 is 0.68, virtually identical to the correlation reported in their earlier book.
A path model in which genes and environment both contribute equally (0.50) to national IQs allows a determination of economic growth (0.71) from 1500 to 2000. These national differences in the rate of economic growth are almost entirely responsible for the contemporary differences in per capita income (0.98). The model also posits that national IQs are determinants of a number of social phenomena such as adult literacy (0.64), enrolment in tertiary education (0.75), life expectancy (0.77), and democratisation (0.57).
Some of these phenomena have positive feedback relationships. For instance, nations whose populations have high IQs have high per capita incomes, which enable them to provide high quality nutrition, education, and health care for their children, and these enhance their children's intelligence. This is the principle of genotype-environment correlation applied to national populations.
IQ & Global Inequality addresses more fundamentally the question of the causes of national differences in intelligence. It concludes that these depend on the racial composition of the populations. Thus, the 6 East Asian nations (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore) all have IQs in the range of 105 to 108. The 29 European nations all have IQs in the range of 92 to 102, while the 19 nations of sub-Saharan Africa all have IQs in the range of 59 to 73. Thus there is remarkable consistency in the IQs of nations when these are classified into racial clusters.
Like many important discoveries in science, it seems obvious in retrospect that these national differences in intelligence must inevitably determine differences in economic development. Indeed, it seems astonishing that no-one had hitherto advanced this simple thesis, even before the recent Dark Age of Political Correctness closed in.
Book Description
The economic boom of the 1990s created huge wealth for the bosses, but benefited workers hardly at all. At the same time, the bosses were able to take the political initiative and even the moral high ground, while workers were often divided against each other. This new book by leading labor analyst Michael D. Yates seeks to explain how this happened, and what can be done about it.
Essential to both tasks is "naming the system"
the system that ensures that those who do the work do not benefit from the wealth they produce. Yates draws on recent data to show that the growing inequality
globally, and within the United States
is a necessary consequence of capitalism, and not an unfortunate side-effect that can be remedied by technical measures. To defend working people against ongoing attacks
on their working conditions, their living standards, and their future and that of their children
and to challenge inequality, it is necessary to understand capitalism as a system and for labor to challenge the political dominance of capitalist interests.
Naming the System examines contemporary trends in employment and unemployment, in hours of work, and in the nature of jobs. It shows how working life is being reconfigured today, and how the effects of this are masked by mainstream economic theories. It uses numerous concrete examples to relate larger theoretical issues to everyday experience of the present-day economy. And it sets out the strategic options for organized labor in the current political context, in which the U.S.-led war on terrorism threatens to eclipse the anti-globalization movement.
Customer Reviews:
The "No Logo" of anti-capitalism.......2006-05-08
Yates' book "Naming the System" is a valiant attempt to explain the failures, contradictions and problems of modern globalized capitalism in terms understandable to every layman. By and large, he has succeeded, though there are some flaws.
His strongest point is reconciling the arguments against the orthodox neoclassical theory of "more free markets = better" with the 'facts on the ground', in the form of valuable statistics and examples from practical experience. He enthousiastically destroys the reformist view of capitalism as followed by many social-democrats and current-day labor union leaders just as much as the libertarian approach. In addition to that, he gives a worthwhile overview of the Marxist interpretation of capitalism and why it is better able to explain certain commonplace phenomena in firm practice than the neoclassicals. Finally, he gives a non-too-critical overview of the great variety of leftist anti-capitalist movements in the world today and some general perspectives on their success, though all this is very vague.
The books great benefits are the easy to understand ways in which he shows the workings of capitalism in the many kinds of injustice felt by (young) leftist-inclined people, giving them a more solid ground for their critiques. However, this accessible approach is also the big downside to Yates' work: "Naming the System" is not in-depth at all, its wording is a little simplistic and childish sometimes, and it is virtually useless to those who already have a basic Marxist understanding of the capitalist world. Nevertheless, the book is worth four stars for its excellent utility as an education book on the Marxist approach for young people (high school and students), much like Naomi Klein's book was for the anti-branding movement.
An accessible and serious economic presentation.......2003-10-19
Leading labor analyst Michael Yates successfully strives to explain why the economic boom of the 1990s benefitted the wealthiest segment of business and society while doing little for the hard-working masses in Naming The System: Inequality And Work In The Global Economy. Aptly discussing a series of related issues including the inequalities that riddle the economic system of capitalism by its very nature (both within and between nations); unemployment and underemployment; contradictions within capitalism; and means for social change that battle for a better world, Naming The System is an accessible and serious economic presentation which has self-evidently been deftly researched and is skillfully argued. A welcome addition to personal and academic Economics Studies reference collections and reading lists, Naming The System is especially recommended to the attention of anyone wanting to understand the rationale behind the importance of placing limits and regulations to ensure a prosperous future for labor and management alike.
Even economists smoke crack.......2003-09-16
This man lives in a world od distorted reality. Economic equality and poverty is bound to exist reguardless of the mode of production. Capitalism allows democracy, which is the most important issue to me. He talks about Cuba in this book... The have to give up freedom and live in poverty, but their literacy level is the same as our's; which system sounds better? Tjis was a well written book wth ample information, so I probably should have rated it better. However, I hate the message that it sends.
But, some of my best friends are economists.......2003-08-16
I am not an economist, but some of my best friends are. And much of my work as a labor law professor, has involved dealing with ideas couched in economic terms. Even so, there is a lot about economics as it is really practiced, that comes as a surprise. Several years, when the news was full of predictions from leading economists about the effects of a new policy on the economy, I asked a group of economists whether these sorts of predictions were based on studies of effects in the world. The economists told me that these predictions none of these predictions were ever tested. All that was ever done was to create simplified theories about how the economy worked and then use those theories to make predictions. No one ever checked to make certain those theories were valid.
Imagine what healthcare would be like if doctors and scientists operated this way. Actually, we don't have to imagine. This is how life was in the Middle Ages when doctors tried to balance the body's four humors, and everyone knew the sun revolved around the earth. The models got more and more complex as reality did not jibe with theory.
So all of us have our fates determined by economists whose methods are no more up to date than the 16th century. Consider Alan Greenspan, the hero of the Fed. He and his colleagues for years were convinced that the only way to fight inflation - and inflation had to be fought at all costs - was to raise interest rates any time unemployment fell below 5.8%. The effect was that higher interest rates increased unemployment. In the early 1990's, unemployment began to fall below this danger level, but no inflation appeared. Pressure was put on the Fed not to raise interest rates, enough pressure that they held off. Unemployment plunged ever lower with no inflation. Did the economists admit that their theory had to be discarded based on the evidence/ Of course not. They responded that they needed to refine the theory to account for this aberration from the theory, but the theory was still solid.
Michael Yates does a much better job at leading the reader through classic economic theory and exploring the many ways in which those theories stand unproven - and yet they still rule the world. Yates provides a fair and balanced look at the claims of classic economics for economies and for global trade and demonstrates that there is no evidence to support those claims.
There is no question that Michael Yates is passionate and has strong opinions. He does nothing to hide his views and is fair and open with the reader as he presents his arguments against classical economics and his ideas as to what should replace those disproven theories. I won't even try to summarize the. Yates deserves to be read and his arguments digested in full.
Yates is a wonderful writer and educator. He should be. He had a long teaching career at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, among prisoners, and with unionists. He is clear without ever talking down to his audiences. Over the years he has opened up the world of economics to many of us, and through this book will reach even more. I recommend it strongly.
I am not an economist, but some of my best friends are.......2003-08-11
I am not an economist, but some of my best friends are. And much of my work as a labor law professor, has involved dealing with ideas couched in economic terms. Even so, there is a lot about economics as it is really practiced, that comes as a surprise.
Several years, when the news was full of predictions from leading economists about the effects of a new policy on the economy, I asked a group of economists whether these sorts of predictions were based on studies of effects in the world. The economists told me that these predictions none of these predictions were ever tested. All that was ever done was to create simplified theories about how the economy worked and then use those theories to make predictions. No one ever checked to make certain those theories were valid.
Imagine what healthcare would be like if doctors and scientists operated this way. Actually, we don't have to imagine. This is how life was in the Middle Ages when doctors tried to balance the body's four humors, and everyone knew the sun revolved around the earth. The models got more and more complex as reality did not jibe with theory.
So all of us have our fates determined by economists whose methods are no more up to date than the 16th century. Consider Alan Greenspan, the hero of the Fed. He and his colleagues for years were convinced that the only way to fight inflation - and inflation had to be fought at all costs - was to raise interest rates any time unemployment fell below 5.8%. The effect was that higher interest rates increased unemployment. In the early 1990's, unemployment began to fall below this danger level, but no inflation appeared. Pressure was put on the Fed not to raise interest rates, enough pressure that they held off. Unemployment plunged ever lower with no inflation. Did the economists admit that their theory had to be discarded based on the evidence/ Of course not. They responded that they needed to refine the theory to account for this aberration from the theory, but the theory was still solid.
Michael Yates does a much better job at leading the reader through classic economic theory and exploring the many ways in which those theories stand unproven - and yet they still rule the world. Yates provides a fair and balanced look at the claims of classic economics for economies and for global trade and demonstrates that there is no evidence to support those claims.
There is no question that Michael Yates is passionate and has strong opinions. He does nothing to hide his views and is fair and open with the reader as he presents his arguments against classical economics and his ideas as to what should replace those disproven theories. I won't even try to summarize the. Yates deserves to be read and his arguments digested in full.
Yates is a wonderful writer and educator. He should be. He had a long teaching career at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, among prisoners, and with unionists. He is clear without ever talking down to his audiences. Over the years he has opened up the world of economics to many of us, and through this book will reach even more. I recommend it strongly.
Book Description
This book focuses primarily on social inequalities in the American context. However, a trend in this course is how the global inequalities are effecting, and affected by social stratification and inequality in America. The second edition of Sernau's "Worlds Apart" reflects that trend.
Key Features:
- Provides a sociological framework for analyzing inequality within U.S. society as well as analyzing the relationship between global stratification systems and internal systems of inequality.
- Places each issue and dimension of inequality in the context of a changing global economy.
- Engages undergraduates in the subject matter with lively writing and fascinating cases, but also interprets these lived experiences by introducing classical and contemporary theories of stratification.
- The intersection of race, class, and gender is not just stated but illustrated throughout the book as a pervasive institutionalized system of privilege and oppression.
- Key data are presented in clear, graphical formats and measures are explained early in the text. Numeric data are tied to examples illustrating their importance and many sources are current, from the year 2000.
This book is intended as the primary text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled in Social Stratification and Inequality courses, primarily taught in Sociology departments.
New to the
Second Edition:
- Three new Visual Essays which provide powerful illustrations of inequality in Global (Honduras), Rural (Navaholand), and Urban (Deindustrialized) Contexts.
- Two new chapters: Chapter 3: The Gordian Knot, of Race, Class, and Gender and Chapter 12: Challenging the System: Social Movements.
- Updated figures include information from the 2004 election.
- This edition’s theme has been how the current regime of market-driven solutions actually contribute to rather than reduce social inequality.
- This edition continues to highlight inequality in America, with the addition of how Social Inequalities in America are effected by global inequalities.
Book Description
What is global inequality? How can it be measured? What are the major trends and patterns? What are the implications of global inequality for the world economy and multilateral governance? What role does and should inequality play in national and international policy-making? In this comprehensive overview, the authors address these key questions. They examine all the major issues that need to be confronted in conceptualising, measuring and analysing contemporary patterns of global inequality. In addition, they explore the implications of these patterns for politics and public policy. In explaining the complex global patterns of social stratification, they highlight an intensive debate about whether and to what extent inequality matters. The book also addresses this debate, and seeks to set out the major alternative positions. The book's authors include many of the most distinguished figures in the field including David Dollar, Gosta Esping-Andersen, Nancy Fraser, James K. Galbraith, Ravi Kanbur, Branko Milanovic, Thomas W. Pogge, Bob Sutcliffe, Grahame F. Thompson, Anthony J. Venables, and Robert H. Wade. This book will be of great interest to students in politics, sociology and international relations as well as to all those interested in this key topic.
Customer Reviews:
thoughtful discussion of trends.......2007-02-08
The book is a thoughtful collection of essays by various authors bewailing the perils of inequality across the world. This is suggested to be caused or exacerbated by globalisation. While the latter has certainly raised many hundreds of millions up from poverty, much still remains to be done. The chapters remind the reader that well over a billion people exist in grinding deprivation.
The consequences are speculated about, as a warning to the better off in the world. Perhaps failed states, that become breeding grounds of instability and incubators of terrorism.
Customer Reviews:
good entry level book.......2005-10-01
The 27 coauthors of this giant book chronicle the downside of globalization. They give a voice to the world's poor, those at the margins, those who are not benefiting from the greatest peacetime boom in history.
Although the developing countries carry 90 percent of the world's disease burden, they have access to only 10 percent of the resources that go to health. And, to compound matters, many of those sub-Saharan and Asian countries are overwhelmed by Aids and similar blights. There is a lot of preventable misery in the world.
This book works best when it describes those at the receiving end of that misery and our concomitant apathy. The authors begin with the photo of an impoverished child, who scrapes a living in a Guatemala garbage dump that is home to her, her family and thousands of other unfortunate people we will never meet. Because the dump is a cesspit of infectious air and water borne diseases, the pretty little girl will probably be dead before too long.
Nsanga, a 26 year-old Zairian mother of two, is already dead. When her family fell into debt, she resorted to prostitution to keep them alive. Now Aids - and the poverty that reduced her to renting out her body for 50 yen a time - has killed her and millions like her.
What is to be done? Well, we can blame the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the world's wealthiest people, Nike, Shell and other multinational companies - the usual suspects, in other words. That, at least, is what the authors do. And it is comforting that someone else besides ourselves, Fidel Castro and the authors are to blame.
It is also good to read that economic growth is not the miracle drug economists crack it up to be. Like steroids, growth has its considerable downsides and the authors are to be commended for giving us the stories of the casualties of globalization. They are to be commended for showing how the policies of the World Bank sparked the Rwanda genocide. The World Bank, the IMF and companies like Disney, Shell and Nike do have a case to answer.
But so too do Fidel Castro, Western Christians and Western liberals, the book's target audience. Any book that praises Cuba's health system runs the risk of losing all credibility. A tin-pot dictator who cannot even supply his people with bars of soap should not have his health policies put on a pedestal.
Nestlé's should be much more responsible in selling powdered milk to African mothers. The IMF and the World Bank should make some belated restitution to the people of Haiti for supporting the Duvalier kleptocracy. The mining companies, which gave the Navajo the highest cancer rates in the United States, should do something similar.
But what should the good guys do? It is interesting, for example, to note that, of the 26 countries with the highest percentage of smokers, only one, Japan, is not a developing country. More Colombians die today from diseases caused by American tobacco than do Americans from Colombian cocaine. The book has a large number of such disjointed facts. Ultimately, however, those facts and the economic preaching get in the way. This book, though very informative, only points the finger of blame; it does not really point a way to the future.
Neoliberal polices and the poor - ugly human nature at work........2002-10-12
If the poor were to benefit from neoliberal policies, Dying for Growth argues, Mexico should provide an exemplary case. With constant encouragement from the United States, Mexico has aggressively implemented neoliberal policies for more than 20 years. The maquiladora sector of the economy, industrial plants owned by transnational corporations (TNCs) manufacturing products to export primarily to the United States, has grown quickly since the implementation of NAFTA, but this has been at the expense of other sectors of the economy. Competition with TNCs has undermined 30 000 small businesses and millions of subsistence farmers. Millions of permanently displaced peasants have made their way to urban shantytowns or tried to immigrate to the United States.
Read what does it mean to privatize health care system and industry in many countries around the world.
Learn how rich get richer and poor get poorer virtually everywhere, including USA and other developed nations.
How realy "free" is trade, market and for whom ?
Who controls "New World Order" - politicians elected by citizens or corporations ?
If you are not sure what is the answer - get this very interesting and disturbing research/analysis coming from Institute for Health and Social Justice.
What's the connection between poverty and health?.......2002-05-18
This book provides a very thorough examination of how unequal patterns of growth and social inequality on a global scale have resulted in dire consequences for those many unfortunate who cannot afford health care. Many individuals, especially those residing in the United States, are already aware of the growing costs of health care. But imagine what it is like to live in a developing country where medical care is rudimentary at best and you're at the mercy of industrial pollution from the nearby TNC factory?
Using health as an indicator of social inequality, the authors examine the connections between poverty and illness. Aggregate statistics depicting the health status on a global scale are improving is debunked. Rather, there is an uneven distribution of health improvements: the wealthy have access to comprehensive medical care while the poor are dying from preventable diseases. Access to resources is restricted, even in the midst of technological advancements in medicine. The goal of this book is to examine how international organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, and WTO along with TNCs influence political and economic structures of nations which in turn affect the accessibility , cost, and quality of health care provided (if any). The central question raised concerns what pattern of growth will benefit those in need the most? How can we redistribute global resources from the powerful few to the many of the world's poor?
There is no doubt that the subject matter of this book is very extensive and the book itself is pretty thick, but reading this book will enable one to gain a better understanding of how recent trends in globalization have had devasting effects on the world's population. The authors provide good case studies that illustrate their main arguments. This book continues to serve as a vital reference source for my studies.
Excellent book for not ignorant people.......2001-03-24
Unless you are not committed with the international situation and have a blind vision of how the world and the globalization are changind our living world, this book will improve your knowledge in many aspects.
It is very sad that people like the reader from New Yourk could express the opinion in his(her)review. The fact the he(she)didn't even signed his(her) opinion put his(her) criticism out of any kind of consideration.
I am very happy that there are another people that I even don't know personally, like Stephen Yhu that have a broader vision. I am also glad that other readers from USA, have expressed intelligent points of view.
Not so!.......2000-08-12
The previous reviewer, unfortunately, fails to understand much economics and likely rated this book for his own Republican purposes. As a Yale economist, I place my full support on the economics in this book. Unfortunately, the previous reviewer misses the point altogether, which has little to do with economics--it is a point about humanism. Not only are these authors qualified to draw the conclusions they do--their heavily documented and outstanding conclusions present a fresh analysis for those who have heard about global equity problems but need the details fleshed-out in an interesting and accurate manner. It is clear that this text is grounded in strong scholarly research while maintaining its voice to the common reader. Definitely a read for anyone interested in equity issues, global problems, and health care.
Book Description
We are used to thinking about inequality within countries--about rich Americans versus poor Americans, for instance. But what about inequality between all citizens of the world? Worlds Apart addresses just how to measure global inequality among individuals, and shows that inequality is shaped by complex forces often working in different directions. Branko Milanovic, a top World Bank economist, analyzes income distribution worldwide using, for the first time, household survey data from more than 100 countries. He evenhandedly explains the main approaches to the problem, offers a more accurate way of measuring inequality among individuals, and discusses the relevant policies of first-world countries and nongovernmental organizations.
Inequality has increased between nations over the last half century (richer countries have generally grown faster than poorer countries). And yet the two most populous nations, China and India, have also grown fast. But over the past two decades inequality within countries has increased. As complex as reconciling these three data trends may be, it is clear: the inequality between the world's individuals is staggering. At the turn of the twenty-first century, the richest 5 percent of people receive one-third of total global income, as much as the poorest 80 percent. While a few poor countries are catching up with the rich world, the differences between the richest and poorest individuals around the globe are huge and likely growing.
Customer Reviews:
Very good!.......2006-03-21
Anyone interested in the distribution of income on an international and world basis must read this book. It is a thorough and rich analysis of the topic. The best of its kind!
Book Description
This book tests a new approach to understanding ethnic mobilization and considers the interplay of global forces, national-level variation in inequality and repression, and political mobilization of ethnicity. It advances the claim that economic and political integration among the world’s states increases the influence of ethnic identity in political movements.
Drawing on a 100-country dataset analyzing ethnic events and rebellions from 1965 to 1998, the author shows that to the degree in which a country participates in international social movement organizations, ethnic identities in that country become more salient. International organizations spread principles of human rights, anti-discrimination, sovereignty, and self-determination. At the local level, poverty and restrictions on political rights then channel group demands into ethnic mobilization. This study will be of great importance to scholars and policy makers seeking new and powerful explanations for understanding why some conflicts turn violent while others do not.
Average customer rating:
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Global Political Economy in the Information Age: Power and Inequality (RIPE Series in Global Political Economy)
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- Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Pocket Classics)
- Www.Advertising: Advertising and Marketing on the World Wide Web (Design Directories)
- 3-d Negotiation: Powerful Tools to Change the Game in Your Most Important Deals
- A Course in Game Theory
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides)
- A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
- Applied Ethics for Program Evaluation
- Basic Business Statistics: Concepts and Applications and CD package (10th Edition)
- Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management
- Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought
- Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks
- Architecture Exam Review, Volume III: Graphic Divisions, 5th Edition
- Contemporary Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice: Essays in Honor of Gilbert Geis
- Essential Cosmic Perspective, The
- Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance
- Dead Even
- HOME RULES: TRANSFORM THE PLACE YOU LIVE INTO A PLACE YOU'LL LOVE
- Barn Style Living: Design And Plan Inspiration for Timber Frame Homes
- Biomechanical Systems: Techniques and Applications, Volume II: Cardiovascular Techniques
Making of Economic Society, The (12th Edition) (Heilbroner, Robert L//Making of Economic Society)
Theories of Development
The Globalization and Development Reader: Perspectives on Development and Social Change
Poverty and Development: Into the 21st Century
Promises Not Kept: Poverty And the Betrayal of Third World Development
