Two renowned economists will criticize globalization's effects on poorer countries and suggest ways to help the trade strategy succeed while promoting their books tonight at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Ha-Joon Chang, an economist at Cambridge University in England, and Kevin Gallagher, a senior research fellow at Tufts' Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE), will speak on the topic of "Bridging the Development Gap: Making Globalization Work for Developing Countries." They will sign copies of their new books afterward.
Tufts is one of the first stops on Chang's tour to promote his recently published "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism."
According to Chang, the book presents his research on the folly of developed countries in pushing neo-liberal policies on developing countries. Chang noted that he tried to present his book in a "user-friendly" format.
"I've really tried to make it accessible to readers without [a] background in economics by explaining even the most basic concepts but also by using popular books, movies and songs to liven up my discussion," Chang told the Daily in an e-mail.
Chang, who since 1992 has served on the editorial board of the Cambridge Journal of Economics, is a prolific author and economist. He has been a consultant to the World Bank, assorted UN agencies and many countries' governments, including the United Kingdom and Canada.
Gallagher said he is looking forward to discussing globalization with Chang.
"He's emerging as one of the most important thinkers about economic development in the world," Gallagher said. "His work has really sharp and hard questions about how we think about development in the United States and how we think about development policy in the United States and in the administration. It's sure to be a lively talk."
Besides working as a researcher at the GDAE, which will co-sponsor tonight's event, Gallagher is a professor of international relations at Boston University and an associate professor at the Monterey Institute for International Affairs.
Gallagher recently co-authored "The Enclave Economy: Foreign Investment and Sustainable Development in Mexico's Silicon Valley" with Lyuba Zarsky. The book came out in October, and Gallagher has been promoting it for the last few months.
"I spent most of the fall touring around the country," he said. "This is my first chance to do a book launch here at home at Tufts."
Gallagher is the author or editor of numerous books and articles including "Putting Development First: The Importance of Policy Space in the WTO" and "IFIs and Free Trade and the Environment: Mexico, NAFTA, and Beyond."
Gallagher holds a Ph.D. in international political economy and a M.A. in international environmental policy from Tufts.
In 2005, Chang and Richard Nelson of Columbia University received the Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought from the GDAE of Tufts University.
"He got it two years ago, so he has an affinity for the university," Gallagher said. "So he put it early on his book tour."
Chang's most recently published book, "Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective," was the 2003 winner of the Myrdal Prize.
The event will be sponsored by the Center for International Environmental and Resource Policy, Tufts Latin American Studies Program, Tufts Institute of the Environment, Environmental Sustainability Initiative, as well as the GDAE. A reception with food and drinks will follow the talk.
