Whenever I go back to my home in New Plymouth I am not only inundated by hugs and kisses, tasty meals and requests to return more often, but hundreds upon hundreds of books that stare at me with a faint charm, silently petitioning, “READ ME.” My father’s book collection makes me nervous. Like a bad smorgasbord experience, I just want to down everything at once, but I know I’d get serious intellectual indigestion if I was to read in such haste.
Thankfully, last weekend Dad had something special for me. Knowing about my growing interest in poverty alleviation, he flicked me The End Of Poverty. Upon first glance, I didn’t think too much of it. Then I did a little research on the author.
Jeffrey Sachs is a ninja. “Probably the most important economist in the world,” according to the New York Times. He’s presently a Special Advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (and Kofi Annan before that), and has previously advised the IMF, World Bank, and World Health Organization among others. He heads up the UN Millennium Project. He’s the only academic to have been ranked as one of the world’s most influential people by Time Magazine. And to top things off, he’s currently the director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Need I say more?
Yes, I believe I do.
Let me share one example that expounds his abilities: Bolivia, 1985. Inflation had reached a whopping 20,000% per annum. By the time Mr. Sachs had done his dirty work in ’87, we’re looking at a meager 11%. He’s also had pretty major successes in Poland and Russia, and his hands have been in the pies of over 100 countries. This guy is a big deal. A bigger deal than Bono. This guy took Bono to school.
So, as you can see, I’m pretty excited. I’ve always thought about poverty from more of a humanitarian perspective than an economic one, but I’m hoping this book will widen my horizons. I’m also weary that I need to be cautious of blindly accepting Jeffrey Sachs’ word as gospel. Already from a little bit of peripheral reading, I can see that there is contention over his philosophy.
Let’s start the journey.
The Facts
Title: The End Of Poverty
Author: Jeffrey Sachs
Publisher: Penguin Books
Foreword: Bono
Price: NZD$29.95 (Whitcoulls New Zealand)
Pages: 416
Presently, 21 year old Elliot spends most of his time volunteering for 
4 Comments
7 September, 2007 at 10:51 am
Oooooh excitement. This is the kind of book I would read if I had brain cells to spare. Unfortunately I don’t. So, YOU read it, and then you can tell me about it. That way I can pretend I’ve read it and impress all my development studies friends.
And welcome to the blogging world, you come with Frank Ritchie’s recommendation.
9 September, 2007 at 4:29 am
Howdy Elliot,
If Frank respects you enough to get a post just about you on his blog, then you must be the man – or one of the men – or man-like – or man-ish…
Cheers, and welcome.
Dale
16 September, 2007 at 7:52 am
Good on ya !! Just two more titles on this subject I recommend :
“The Wealth and Poverty of Nations” by David Landes ( 650 pages ) Pub Abacus 1998 – a modern classic with very good reviews. Gives historical and geo-polictical reasons for the mal-distribution of wealth around the globe. A very interesting read. But the last chapter talks about ‘where to from here’. History shows us that the most successful ( and enduring ) cures for poverty come from within any given society. External economic programs help only to a limited extent. However sometimes they only serve to prolong deeply entrenched poverty. The hand-out mentality.
“Affluenza” by Clive Hamilton Pub A&U 2005. Australian authors using the play on the words influenza and affluence = the modern obsession with consumption. The sub-title is ‘when too much is never enough’. Being Australian it gives a more local flavour to this debate. Plus the author is one of Australias most prestigious economists.
26 November, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Sachs is a great economist indeed. However, his plans are just a bit too far fetched in many instances. For an alternative, and reality driven argument, read The White Man’s Burden – by NYU economist William Easterly.