Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development (Initiative for Policy Dialogue Series C) (Hardcover)

by Joseph E. Stiglitz (Author), Andrew Charlton (Author) "In November of 2001, trade ministers from 140 nations gathered in Doha, Qatar, to seek to give the World Trade Organization (WTO) a historic new..." (more)
Key Phrases: large implementation costs, service sector liberalization, service sector reform, United States, Uruguay Round, World Bank (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Nobel Prize-winning economist and ex-World Bank official Stiglitz is the leading mainstream critic of the free-trade, free-market "Washington Consensus" for developing countries. In this follow-up to his best-selling Globalization and its Discontents, he and Charlton, a development expert, present their vision of a liberalized global trade regime that is carefully geared to the interests of poorer countries. They recap a critique, much of it based on Stiglitz's academic work, of orthodox trade theories, noting the real-world constraints and complications that undermine the assumption that unregulated free trade is always a boon, and analyze the bias towards developed countries in previous trade agreements. They call for the current round of trade negotiations to refocus on principles of equity and social justice that accord developing countries "special and differential treatment." The authors present detailed policy prescriptions, including measures to open developed countries to developing countries' exports of textiles and farm products and to ease the temporary migration of workers between countries; their most far-reaching proposal is a scheme to open every country to goods from any other country whose economy is smaller and poorer than its own. The authors' treatise is readable, but rather dry and technical and sometimes politically naive, particularly in glossing over the problem of workers in developed economies whose jobs are threatened by trade with developing countries. The book isn't quite right for a general audience, but it has a sophisticated, wide-ranging discussion of world trade, intriguing new ideas and the Stiglitz byline, so those already interested in trade issues will consider it a must-read.
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Review

"Provocative.... Stiglitz and Charlton show that standard economic assumptions are wrong when it comes to many developing economies.... Stiglitz is worth listening to.... The authors argue that the pace at which poorer nations open their markets to trade should coincide with the development of new institutions--roads, schools, banks and the like--that make such transitions easier and generate real opportunities. Since many poor nations can't afford the investments required to build these institutions, rich nations have a responsibility to help."--Robert B. Reich, The New York Times Book Review
"We are stuck with a global economic system that doesn't work for half the world. Stiglitz and Charlton propose a plan to embrace the other half, to move to a future of shared benefits and shared responsibilities." --President Bill Clinton
"Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz and co-author Andrew Charlton offer us an insightful and challenging new study on how to make the world trading system truly supportive of international development. Professor Stiglitz's leadership in the globalization debate reflects his remarkable combination of scholarly excellence, extensive political experience, and deep commitment to social justice. This powerful combination shines through in this accessible and timely new book."--Jeffrey D. Sachs, author of The End of Poverty, Director of the UN Millennium Project, and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University
"The best case made yet for trade's development potential...a must read--and must do--if the Doha Round is going to become developmental."--Jose Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations
"This is a really important book. We all want to fix the WTO. But different groups of developing countries--and developed countries too--have radically different ideas about what that means. Fair Trade For All shows how to fix the WTO, in these difficult circumstances, in a way which is also fair." --David Vines, Professor of Economics at Oxford University and the Australian National University, Canberra
"It is almost certain that the Doha Development Round will fail to live up to its name. Trade negotiators should turn to this book for bold new ideas on how to make the global trade regime work for developing countries." --Dani Rodrik, Harvard University
"The debate on trade and development has often been dominated by simplistic rhetoric, either overselling the benefits of trade liberalisation or demonising it. The authors of Fair Trade for All provide a well-written and balanced account of how to maximise the benefits of trade for development and avoid the pitfalls. For those with keen interest in the debates on the Development Agenda for trade, this should be a required reading."--Dr. Supachai Pantichpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD
"This is an interesting read and I welcome the overall message that liberalisation is beneficial provided it is properly done in the interests of the poor. This is a valuable contribution to the debate."--The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199290903
• ISBN-13: 978-0199290901
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #250,849 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One of the better critiques of complete free trade, July 22, 2006

By	ConsDemo - See all my reviews

Stiglitz is certainly a critic of the free trade ideology but his arguments are much more intellectually robust than I see from either the economic nationalists like Lou Dobbs or the anti-globalization movement (and those two are distinct among themselves). He doesn't favor developed world protectionism, and actually makes a few strong points against it. However his proposals do respond to some of the claims of the anti-globalization movement even if he doesn't accept their quasi-Marxist outlook in total.

Stiglitz favors global trade agreements and infrastructure but he would change the rules. Basically he suggests a regimen where wealthier countries (measured either by GDP in the aggregate or per capita) would give preferential access (i.e. little or no trade barriers) to poorer nations. Thus India would get access to the U.S. market without reciprocating on American products but India would have to give access to Uganda without getting equal treatment in return. The poorer nations would have more leeway to employ subsidies and tariffs and have longer transition periods to liberalization but the long run goal would still be fewer barriers to trade.

Stiglitz makes a very strong case that even if one accepts that trade barriers are a bad idea, the developed and less developed nations aren't on a level playing field when it comes to arbitrating trade disputes, simply because of size.

He also suggests intellectual property issues and a common set of investment rules should not be part of global trade governance. Those are interesting points of view, certainly intellectual property enforcement is spotty in the third world already. He suggests that if investment agreements are wise for developing countries they will implement them on their own. He gets a little vague on this point because he suggests that labor and environmental standards should be WTO functions if investment rules are, which makes one wonder if really believes investment rules should be in or out. On the flip side, he also thinks allegations of currency manipulation should not be part of the agenda.

The dogmatic free traders like Milton Friedman contend there is never any net benefit to protectionism; Stiglitz obviously departs from this point of view in that he selectively endorses it for developing countries. It is hard to argue with much of his logic, I just wonder if the developed world would act as altruistically as he suggests they should. The reluctance of the larger economies to part with farm subsidies is an obvious obstacle, on the other hand what he suggests is already the case in manufactured goods.

Stiglitz deserves credit for moving beyond the simplistic and often disingenuous claims from the developed world who are just engaging in rent-seeking behavior. His proposals would involve governments in aiding people who are genuinely less well off rather than coddling inefficient industries in the developed world.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A radical new trade model, July 12, 2006

By	Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The authors state rightly that trade policies should be designed to raise living standards and to integrate developing countries into the world trading system. Global poverty (more than 2 billion people live on less than a dollar a day) is the world's most pressing problem.
They say rightly that the developed countries have to date received the lion's share of the benefits from previous trade negotiations. Those ought to do more for the developing countries. The adage should be `help-my-neighbor', nor `beggar-my neighbor'. Right should persevere over might.

Therefore they want to put a radical new trade model on the table of the Doha Round: the Market Access Proposal (MAP). Their model is simple and straight:
All developing countries can have free access to all markets with (1) a larger GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and (2) a larger GDP per capita.

Besides MAP, they give also recommendations for the upcoming trade negotiations, of which many will be extremely difficult to realize, even partly: liberation of labor markets and unskilled services, promotion of labor mobility (immigration), elimination of agricultural subsidies, no technical provisions (like rules of origin), no export subsidies, no tariffs, no non-tariff barriers (dumping duties), no currency exchange manipulations, no arms sales, no briberies, pro-generic drug policies, elimination of secret bank accounts.

They also want better access to financial means for developing countries, institutional reforms (a less costly accession mechanism) and a new international trade tribunal.
By the way, trade negotiations should be about trade, not about intellectual property rights.
Generally, they ask for more democratic media, which are actually controlled by a few rich conglomerates.

Any trade agreement that differentially hurts developing countries more or benefits the developed countries more should be considered as unfair.

J. Stiglitz and A. Charlton have written a most necessary book. The implementation of their simple and radical proposition should constitute a big leap forward for the developing countries and concomitantly for global international trade.

This book is a must read for all participants of trade negotiations and for all those interested in the future of mankind.

N.B. For a viewpoint of the South I recommend Walden Bello's `Dilemmas of Domination'.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for those interested in Fair Trade, March 17, 2006

By	Carson Couling - See all my reviews

Generally I think it is another great book from Stiglitz. The MakePovertyHistory campaign, Bono, Bob Geldof and their Live8 concerts has shined a bright light on trade justice.

The World Trade organisation literally has the livelihoods of billions of people in its hands. This book shows how the trading relationships between rich and poor countries have become so unfair that the rich countries are creating more poverty. Free trade does not automatically lead to poverty eradication or environmental sustainability. In fact, if done wrong, it can increase poverty and cause harm to countries at different stages of development.

If you want to understand the issues behind fair trade and the problems facing people in poor countries, this is an excellent place to start.