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The cover of The Globalization Paradox

The Globalization Paradox

Dani Rodrik, 2011

Why hyperglobalization, democracy and the nation state cannot all coexist, and how an updated Bretton Woods compromise could keep trade open while letting democracies set their own rules.

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14 parts, about 30 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Argues that hyperglobalization, democracy and national self determination cannot all coexist, so nations must choose which two to keep
  • Helps you judge trade and capital flows case by case, asking who loses and which domestic norms are overridden
  • An economist who favours markets explains why they need strong states, drawing on centuries of trade and financial history

Who it is for

  • Readers torn over free trade and its backlash
  • Policy makers in poorer economies weighing how far to open
  • Economics students wary of one size fits all advice

What the summary covers

  1. Introduction: Recasting Globalization's Narrative2 min
  2. Of Markets and States2 min
  3. The Rise and Fall of the First Great Globalization2 min
  4. Why Doesn't Everyone Get the Case for Free Trade?3 min
  5. Bretton Woods, GATT, and the WTO2 min
  6. Financial Globalization Follies2 min
  7. The Foxes and Hedgehogs of Finance2 min
  8. Poor Countries in a Rich World2 min
  9. Trade Fundamentalism in the Tropics2 min
  10. The Political Trilemma of the World Economy3 min
  11. Is Global Governance Feasible? Is It Desirable?2 min
  12. Designing Capitalism 3.02 min
  13. A Sane Globalization3 min
  14. Afterword: A Bedtime Story for Grown ups1 min

Recommended by

  • Alan S. BlinderFormer vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
  • Gordon BrownFormer British Prime Minister
    Takes on the biggest issue of our time—globalization—and eloquently enlarges the debate about the extent and limits of global cooperation.
  • Nouriel RoubiniEconomist and professor emeritus at NYU Stern School of Business
  • Robert KuttnerCofounder and coeditor of The American Prospect
    Simply the best recent treatment of the globalization dilemma that I've read, by an economist or anyone else

About the author

  • Dani RodrikFord Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School
    • Turkish economist, born in 1957
    • Studied at Robert College in Istanbul, then took an A.B. in Government and Economics at Harvard College in 1979
    • Earned his Ph.D. in Economics at Princeton University in 1985
    • Formerly the Albert O. Hirschman Professor of the Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton
    • His 1997 book Has Globalization Gone Too Far? was called one of the most important economics books of the decade by Bloomberg Businessweek
    • Received the Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2002
    • Winner of the inaugural Albert O. Hirschman Prize of the Social Science Research Council and the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences
    • President of the International Economic Association from 2021 to 2023

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