For a century, economists have driven forward the cause of globalization in financial institutions, labour markets, and trade. Yet there have been consistent warning signs that a global economy and free trade might not always be advantageous. Where are the pressure points? What could be done about them? Dani Rodrik examines the back-story from its seventeenth-century origins through the milestones of the gold standard, the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the Washington Consensus, to the present day. Although economic globalization has enabled unprecedented levels of prosperity in advanced countries and has been a boon to hundreds of millions of poor workers in China and elsewhere in Asia, it is a concept that rests on shaky pillars, he contends. Its long-term sustainability is not a given. The heart of Rodrik’s argument is a fundamental 'trilemma': that we cannot simultaneously pursue democracy, national self-determination, and economic globalization. Give too much power to governments, and you have protectionism. Give markets too much freedom, and you have an unstable world economy with little social and political support from those it is supposed to help. Rodrik argues for smart globalization, not maximum globalization.

In Global Paradox, John Naisbitt builds a powerful instrument of comprehension from this one profound and vital insight about the seemingly chaotic changes that appear to grip our world. The Paradox, as he sees it, is powered by the explosive developments in telecommunications which are the driving forces simultaneously creating the huge global economy and multiplying and empowering its parts. The Global Paradox is funded by the largest and fastest-growing industry in the world - tourism. Tourism is the face-to-face corollary of the communications revolution. Tourism creates infrastructures and can lift Third World economies; tourism incites our interest in other cultures and tribes - gives them validity, makes us want to visit them. The force shaking the foundations of huge economic and political structures is this same tribalism: The more universal we become, the more tribal we act.

Naisbitt and Aburdene provide a forecast of the coming ten years, including a booming global economy, the decade of women in leadership, and the religious revival of the third millenium. A thought-provoking study which gains new significance as we approach the last decade of the 20th century.

A radical new approach to tackling the growing threat of water scarcity Water is essential to life, yet humankind’s relationship with water is complex. For millennia, we have perceived it as abundant and easily accessible. But water shortages are fast becoming a persistent reality for all nations, rich and poor. With demand outstripping supply, a global water crisis is imminent. In this trenchant critique of current water policies and practices, Edward Barbier argues that our water crisis is as much a failure of water management as it is a result of scarcity. Outdated governance structures and institutions, combined with continual underpricing, have perpetuated the overuse and undervaluation of water and disincentivized much-needed technological innovation. As a result “water grabbing” is on the rise, and cooperation to resolve these disputes is increasingly fraught. Barbier draws on evidence from countries across the globe to show the scale of the problem, and outlines the policy and management solutions needed to avert this crisis.

Why the news about the global decline of infectious diseases is not all good. Plagues and parasites have played a central role in world affairs, shaping the evolution of the modern state, the growth of cities, and the disparate fortunes of national economies. This book tells that story, but it is not about the resurgence of pestilence. It is the story of its decline. For the first time in recorded history, virus, bacteria, and other infectious diseases are not the leading cause of death or disability in any region of the world. People are living longer, and fewer mothers are giving birth to many children in the hopes that some might survive. And yet, the news is not all good. Recent reductions in infectious disease have not been accompanied by the same improvements in income, job opportunities, and governance that occurred with these changes in wealthier countries decades ago. There have also been unintended consequences. In this book, Thomas Bollyky explores the paradox in our fight against infectious disease: the world is getting healthier in ways that should make us worry. Bollyky interweaves a grand historical narrative about the rise and fall of plagues in human societies with contemporary case studies of the consequences. Bollyky visits Dhaka—one of the most densely populated places on the planet—to show how low-cost health tools helped enable the phenomenon of poor world megacities. He visits China and Kenya to illustrate how dramatic declines in plagues have affected national economies. Bollyky traces the role of infectious disease in the migrations from Ireland before the potato famine and to Europe from Africa and elsewhere today. Historic health achievements are remaking a world that is both worrisome and full of opportunities. Whether the peril or promise of that progress prevails, Bollyky explains, depends on what we do next. A Council on Foreign Relations Book

The must-read summary of John Naisbitt's book: "Global Paradox: The Bigger the World Economy, the More Powerful Its Smallest Players". This complete summary of the ideas from John Naisbitt's book "Global Paradox" answers a fundamental question: what is the global paradox? In his book, the author explains that as the world economy expands, the smallest elements (right down to the individual) will become ever more significant. The global paradox is a framework for developing an insight into the world as it is today and how it is moving towards tomorrow. This summary includes John Naisbitt's analysis of the consequences that this global paradox will bring, as well as its contradictions and implications. Added-value of this summary: • Save time • Understand key concepts • Expand your knowledge To learn more, read "Global Paradox" and discover how the economy is changing and what this means for you.

In The Platform Paradox, Wharton professor Mauro F. Guillén argues that many platforms misunderstand key aspects of what it takes to succeed globally, from culture and institutions to local competitive dynamics. He offers an integrated framework for digital platforms to identify and implement a strategy on a truly global scale.

The Paradox of a Global USA describes the vexed relationship between the United States and globalization. On the one hand, the U.S. has vociferously promoted modernization and open markets, both central components of the process of globalization. On the other hand, it appears to be resolutely determined not to live within an institutional framework of globalized authority. As the world's only superpower, the United States is often perceived as championing its own narrow national sovereignty—for example, by opposing the Kyoto Protocol and the International Criminal Court, and by taking action in Iraq outside the auspices of the UN. The book treats the paradox of American exceptionalism and globalization as a "local" happening within the broader process of globalization. These essays analyze the ways in which the USA has both played a role in, and reacted against, emerging present-day globalization. Examples are drawn from the fields of history, political science, cultural studies, and economics, making this collection one of the very few to link together so diverse a group of authors and approaches to the subject of global USA.

John Naisbitt's book Megatrends (1982) sold more than 8 million copies world wide and remained at the top of the bestseller lists for two years. That book, and Megatrends 2000, established John Naisbitt as one of the world's foremost forecasters of social, economic, political and cultural trends. In those books, he accurately predicted trends ranging from the globalisation of the economy to the surging impact of technological innovations and the renewed power of culture on our lives. Now he provides a vision of the forces that will transform the world following the epochal changes of the early 1990s.InGlobal Paradox, John Naisbitt explores the new global environment of the 1990s and the powerful opportunities and challenges it will present to nations, businesses and individuals in this period of growth and transformation at the millennium's end.New patterns have emerged in the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The global economy is growing at an unprecedented rate, but large organisations in business and government are faltering. The 'European dream' is fading, and dozens of nations are establishing their own identities. Multinational corporations are loosening their fetters and becoming loose confederations of small, agile operating units. Small and medium sized businesses are coming to increasingly dominate the marketplace. This is the global paradox: as the global economy gets larger, the individual units-people, countries and small firms-are becoming more powerful.Global Paradoxspells out the patterns that will reshape our daily life, at home, in business, in politics and travel. This is a book for everyone concerned about the shape of the future.-As nations proliferate, electronics will become both a universal currency and language.-Small and medium sized companies will be the driving force behind the future's huge global economy.-The world will shape itself into new trading and political blocs.-Big multinational companies will reshape themse

The same aspects of American government and society that propelled the United States to global primacy have also hampered its orderly and successful conduct of foreign policy. This paradox challenges U.S. leaders to overcome threats to America's world power in the face of fast-moving global developments and political upheavals at home. The fully updated Fifth Edition of Steven W. Hook’s U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power explores this paradox, identifies its key sources and manifestations, and considers its future implications as it asks whether U.S. foreign policymakers can manage these dynamics in a manner that preserves U.S. primacy.