A brief but thoughtful introduction to global trade and its discontents.
A debut book offers a rousing call to halt trade with China and reinvigorate truly liberal economic trade policy.
Economic experts seem to broadly agree that inequality is in an alarming ascendancy and that the global middle class is worryingly pinched. Jeia begins his work with a grim diagnosis of the problem: living standards are in a steady decline; decent middle-class jobs are rapidly disappearing and with them sustainable wages; and the manufacturing industry in the U.S. is hobbled. Politically, this has led to a historic rise in polarizing partisanship and a general loss of trust in government. The principal problem, the author argues, is the economic hegemony of China. Despite what many contend, trade with China has had pernicious effects on the global economy. First, China’s introduction of a massive workforce of cheap labor has generally lowered wages for the rest of the world, a result conventional liberal economic theory predicted. In addition, the existence of so much low-cost labor stymies innovation since it undermines the incentive for new technology or new job training. Furthermore, China functions as a Soviet-style monopoly, and its continued growth necessarily comes at the expense of the rest of the global market, which essentially compensates the nation for its systemic inefficiencies. Jeia offers a number of potential solutions, which include what he calls “labour differential tariffs,” specifically targeted to level the competitive playing field by penalizing those countries that maintain artificially low wages. But even this is not enough: “Therefore, the only real solution to the problems currently affecting the global economy is to completely remove China from the global trading system, as was done with the Soviet Union.” Jeia presents a complex argument shorn of hypertechnical language, composed in a breezy, informal style. Sometimes, the tone turns too strident, especially when he criticizes what he interprets as a departure from free market liberalism: “Remember, ‘comrade’?” But while it’s common to pillory China for currency manipulation, it’s comparatively rare for an economist to focus on the long-term impact the country has had on the international labor market. This is a short book and not by any stretch comprehensive, but it functions as a provocative catalyst to a new conversation.
A brief but thoughtful introduction to global trade and its discontents.Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5246-7678-0
Page Count: 126
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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