Review by Choice Review
The title of this book is a bit of a misnomer. The book does not present a debate among the authors; rather, each author (or pair of authors) summarizes various aspects of the general debate on the global financial architecture and provides his or her positions and solutions. Papers are organized in four sections ("Core Questions and Mental Categories"; "Leadership and the Politics of Global Finance"; "Stability, Equity, and the Economics of Global Finance"; "The Conundrum of Multilateral Reform") with an afterword. The best chapter is the first. Written by editor Armijo (visiting scholar, Reed College), it provides an outstanding overview of the historical and political foundations of the current debate and would make an excellent addition to an undergraduate reading list in international relations or international political economy. Another notable essay is C. Fred Bergsten's "Reforming the International Financial Institutions: Dueling Experts in the United States." Bergsten was in the unique position of serving on two commissions that developed reform proposals for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. He shows that the conclusions of a committee report are determined mostly by the intellectual and political leanings of the committee's members and only slightly by their examination of the evidence at hand. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General readers and all levels of undergraduate students. L. D. Johnston College of St. Benedict/St. John's University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
