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Rescuing Economics from Neoliberalism
Article

Rescuing Economics from Neoliberalism


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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Visionary
  • For Experts

Recommendation

The answer for a global economy still stymied by a slower than historical growth rate is simple: Slash taxes, reduce regulations and expand global trade. Not so fast, says professor Dani Rodrik, who argues that this line of thinking – broadly identified as neoliberalism – does not provide a sound and fundamental underpinning for 21st-century economies grappling with waves of disruption from globalization. getAbstract recommends this erudite but accessible report to economists, students and executives.

Summary

Free markets, laissez-faire, limited government, deregulation and open trade are just a few of the tenets associated with an economic philosophy broadly titled “neoliberalism.” Yet the term’s meaning has evolved over the decades, and many economic and political circles now deride it as the ultimate scourge of an international economic ecosystem struggling with inequality, stagnant wages and feeble growth. Critics blame the neoliberalism of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher – consisting of “deregulation, privatization, financial liberalization and individual enterprise” – for culminating in the financial...

About the Author

Dani Rodrik is a professor of international political economy at Harvard University.


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