A credulous friend sent me this Reuters item last week, and I'd meant to comment on it then. Now it's been picked up on Metafilter, and elsewhere, and will be cited in arguments on globalization years from now. Crap. IMF -- no clear proof globalization helps the poor. That's the headline. Shocking, eh, coming from the high priests of international economic orthodoxy. Except the report doesn't say that. It says that there's no evidence that financial liberalization spurs growth. In other words, it may not matter if you stop foreign hedge funds from punting on domestic stocks, or inhibit locals from keeping their money in dollars. The consensus, of the IMF and most economists, is still that free trade and foreign direct investment are vital to international development. That belief is conveniently overlooked by the antiglobo luddites, and the author of this remarkably shoddy Reuters report.
IMF -- no clear proof globalization helps the poor [Reuters]