Turnaround: Third World Lessons for First World Growth
New York University Stern School of Business dean Henry has written a thoughtful albeit scholarly book about the world’s financial ills, and he includes a proposal for a solution (which will be clear to anyone concerned about the Washington gridlock). His thesis is that many of the emerging nations—Brazil, China, and Korea, among others—can teach the First World a thing or two about financial discipline and the long-term pursuit of growth. Examples proliferate. China, catching up after decades of poverty, is ceding political control for economic growth (farmers now can profit from their work). Brazil is taming runaway inflation with stern yet workable measures. It is not an easy sale these days for governments to reduce spending, increase their revenues, and devalue currencies, but judging from Henry’s very reasoned arguments and expansive case histories, it might be the only solution. --Barbara Jacobs