Rapid growth, reduced poverty, and stable societies: the announced benefits of the world economy celebrated by neoliberal proponents of "the Washington consensus" have failed to materialize. What does this failure mean for future world order and the U.S. role as global hegemon? Addressing this crucial question, William Tabb argues that global economic institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund constitute a nascent international state for which all previous models of sovereignty, accountability and equity are inadequate. Integrating economics and political science, Tabb traces the emergence of this global state from the closing days of World War II and examines its future prospects. Even as the United States will continue to dominate the emerging structures of world governance, Tabb maintains, it will have to change the assumptions behind its championing of classical models of international free trade. A new financial architecture must encompass debt forgiveness, multilateral agreements on investment, and a more inclusive model of growth in the twenty-first century.

Tabb argues that global economic institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund constitute a nascent international state for which all previous models of sovereignty, accountability and equity are inadequate. Integrating economics and political science, he traces the emergence of this global state from the closing days of World War II and examines its future prospects.

About the Author
William K. Tabb is professor of economics at Queens College and (sometimes) professor of political science at the Graduate School of the City University of New York. His previous books include The Amoral Elephant, Reconstructing Political Economy, and The Postwar Japanese System.

Reviews
The best critical analysis of the constructing of current economic governance institutions and agendas. Throughout this analysis Tabb shows us how partial a map of this process has been produced by the main scholarly traditions on the subject. This juxtaposition illuminates the contingent character of the current system and the work that can be done to develop alternative objectives. -- Saskia Sassen, author of Losing Control? Sovereignty in an Age of Globalization This is definitely an original and constructive contribution. The book is well written and engaging and the arguments are clear and well formulated. -- Christopher Chase-Dunn, University of California, Riverside The book does a wonderful job of laying out the dilemmas of the current incomplete attempts to govern the global economy, placing them in a historical context that allows us to see viable alternatives. -- Craig N. Murphy, Wellesley College and chair, Academic Council on the U.N. System (2002-2004) His book is an original contribution to the discussion on the current state of globalization. -- Oliver Marnet Journal of Economic Issues Tabb's manuscript on this subject is not a traditional research monograph... He offers a strong critical assessment of the neoliberal economic agenda. -- David H. Bearce International Journal Up-to-date... unusually well informed about the academic literature across economics, IR, IPE, and security studies. -- Robert Hunter Wade Perspectives on Politics The book clearly identifies links between politics and economics in the age of globalization and puts them in an interesting historical perspective -- Dirk-Jan Koch Development and Change



Book Information
ISBN 9780231131551
Author William K. Tabb
Format Paperback
Page Count 528
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press