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How The West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly - And the Stark Choices Ahead Paperback – 13 Jan 2011

by
Dambisa Moyo (Author)
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Dambisa Moyo (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 31 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Allen Lane (13 Jan. 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1846142350
  • ISBN-13: 978-1846142352
  • Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 1.7 x 23.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 758,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Moyo's diagnosis of the recent disasters in financial markets is succinct and sophisticated...I applaud her brave alarum against our economic and social complacency: her core concerns are sufficiently close to painful truths to warrant our attention. (Paul Collier The Observer)

We [in the West] have alienated trading partners and are colluding in the decline of our own prosperity, says Moyo, who sets out strategies for weighting the political seesaw back to our advantage. (Iain Finlayson The Times)

This argument...can rarely have been made more concisely...Moyo is a very serious lady indeed. (Dominic Lawson The Times)

The sad saga of the recession gives legs to Dambisa Moyo's provocatively-entitled book, for it goes to the heart of the great economic issue of our times: how swiftly will power shift over this century? (Hamish McRae The Independent)

About the Author

Dambisa Moyo is a Global Economist at an Investment Bank in London. She previously worked at the World Bank in Washington DC. A native of Zambia, Southern Africa, Dambisa holds a Doctorate in Economics from Oxford University and a Masters from Harvard University. Dambisa has spoken on issues of Aid, Debt and Poverty in developing countries at conferences including at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland in 2005. Dambisa lives in London. Dead Aid is her first book.

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsInteresting analysis,conclusions rather wonky...
By os TOP 500 REVIEWER on 19 Feb. 2013
Format: Paperback
This book promises a lot but sadly delivers little. As an analysis of the sub-prime melt-down and the general structural economic decline of the 'West' and the USA in particular, it has it's merits.Yet the premise is a faulty one.Her view roughly summarized, is that the barbarians are at the gates, so we had better look out.

The USA after the setting up of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 became ascendant in the World Economy.The dollar replaced the £ as the currency of international choice,the US military had few if any direct competitors and the British bankrupt, whilst the Europeans needed American cash to rebuild.Meanwhile, American trade policies were implemented by Western instruments such as the IMF and GATT and American multinationals gained new markets in territories opened up to them after the war us military presence overseas. The immediate post -war period was the time of unrivaled American economic dominance until costly ventures like the Vietnam war and consequent American leaving of the 'Gold Standard' in 1971, coupled with the oil price shocks of 1973, indicated that a fundamental shift in America's global position was not not only possible but likely.(Most of this goes unmentioned by Ms Moyo)

History tells us that empires can't last for ever.Empires are created it could be said, by strength of arms, leadership and some sort of economic system that supports civil society and pays for the imposition of order at home and abroad. When the system can't support the military or vice-versa,the end is never far away. Either complacency, a penchant for luxury,some sort of external shock or the arrival of a foreign competitor spells the disillusion of the current hierarchy to be replaced by another.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsGood foundations, but overstretched conclusions
By Thomas on 13 Mar. 2011
Format: Paperback
This was an entertaining read. It has a wealth of insightful analysis of things the West has done wrong and the consequences of having squandered such potential. The book is generally very clear and easy to follow, albeit a little academic in some places.

Ms Moyo is convincing in explaining the west and the consequences of its actions. However the conclusions and predictions seem selective and overstretched resulting in a few rather dry and not very convincing scenarios.

Ms Moyo seems not to recognise the inherent risks in the "rest of the world" while neglecting strengths in the West. An example is that a pensions liability in practise exists in both China and in the West and that a 1 child policy China will needs to fund the care of its pensioners. Whether pensions are funded by a Government or their private citizens, in both cases neither seems likely to be saving enough and economic activity will likely be depressed.

Equally framing the analysis with an almost exclusive focus on nation states seems to neglect how individuals and "micro societies" for lack of a better word are likely to shape future global prosperity. A more fluid world suggests a more nuanced approach than the "west vs the rest approach" is needed.
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4.0 out of 5 starsStimulating, insightful, but uneven
By T. D. Welsh on 28 Dec. 2012
Format: Paperback
This is a fascinating book: short enough to read in half a day or so, full of refreshingly unconventional views, but clearly aiming for balance. In spite of the provocative, "Buy Me!" title (presumably based on the famous Western movie "How the West was won"), the author does not adopt anything that could be called an "anti-American" attitude. Her thesis is that the West - the USA, UK, Western Europe, etc. - has been steadily losing ground economically to "the Rest" - led by China, and also including China, Russia, Brazil, India, and many other nations. Dr Moyo then takes a deeper dive, divided into the three critical factors of Capital, Labour, and Total Factor Productivity (TFP). In each of those, she claims, the West has been falling behind for well-defined reasons.

Starting with capital, Dr Moyo asserts that the West has seriously mismanaged its capital in several ways. One of the main reasons for this - an idea that crops up again later in the book - is that Western nations lack the political ability to make rapid decisions for the good of the nation as a whole. They are hamstrung by participative democracy and frequent elections. In a passage that, for me, is the most important in the whole book, Dr Moyo explains why "debt is cheaper than equity". All corporations are funded by equity and debt; but those who own the equity are much less risk-averse than those who own the debt. Thus the creditors should exert a restraining influence, forcing management to avoid excessive risk. When government underwrites banks and other enterprises, it removes this restraining influence - leading directly to catastrophes like the financial crisis of 2008.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent
By Holman on 25 Feb. 2011
Format: Paperback
A superb analysis of the sheer stupidity of US and UK misallocation of investment capital, (for example) in sectors such as ludicrously overpriced Housing, the borrow to consume House of Cards economy, in contrast to other countries that have wisely invested in factories and productive businesses that generate monthly incomes for people. Points out the uselessness of the misdirected (military) spending and stupid military adventure of the US and UK. A very good outline of the World economy as it is now and where it could be headed. The book also points out that the present economic and political structures in Western Europe and the US will not meet the challenges of ageing population, the Black Holes in pension funds and continuation of non-productive economies. Reading between the lines I would say the author questions the wisdom of certain countries even attempting to exist and compete in the same Trading Arena as China. Excellent Book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsInsightful Book

Great read! Opens the eyes to what's going on in the world.

Published 2 months ago by Fitzroy Edinborough
1.0 out of 5 starswaste of money

Moyo attacks anti GM campaigners, she's pro nuclear energy, she's ignorant about the certain dangers and she refers to "America's structural labour problems"- the workers... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Janet Lovell
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

am satisfied by your product.
thanks.

Published 17 months ago by victor chaungwe
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A book to be read with confidence.

Published 17 months ago by M MILBOURNE
4.0 out of 5 starsI enjoyed reading this book

I enjoyed reading this book. She is right in many ways but we are doomed anyway and nothing will change that.

Published 21 months ago by Mr. S. A. Kalwij
1.0 out of 5 starsTerrible - rambling, full of mistakes and dubious, ill-supported...

I don't often post a review but I was moved to so by this book because potential buyers need to be warned - it is rubbish, possibly the worst economics book I have ever read. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Mr. Jr Baker
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Brilliant as Dambisa always it

Published 22 months ago by PM
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Good

Published 23 months ago by Lulu
4.0 out of 5 starsVery intersting

Very interesting book by some one who knows so well her subject and easy to read even if it is a hard the issue

Published on 5 Oct. 2014 by dodo
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent book

This series of books were informative and well written. They are easy to read and understand, with the subject matter being covered in great depth.

Published on 24 April 2013 by Mr. Graham L. Vine

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