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Failure to Adjust
Book

Failure to Adjust

How Americans Got Left Behind in the Global Economy

Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., 2016 more...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Analytical
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

As the world economy grows ever more competitive and connected, US politicians have done little to protect America’s position in global markets. That’s the premise behind this astute analysis by trade expert Edward Alden, who reports on decades of stagnating wages and dying factory towns. He notes that Washington, DC, has gone missing in economic strategy – leaving city and state officials to do battle on the international stage. Alden does see a way out, but his strategies would require levels of common-sense cooperation from a system mired in political gridlock.

Take-Aways

  • America’s manufacturing sector has been struggling for decades.
  • The existence of a global economy is a relatively recent phenomenon.
  • Free trade has claimed millions of American jobs.

About the Author

Edward Alden is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration, and Security Since 9/11, which was named a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize for nonfiction.


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