5 comments about On Competition, Updated and Expanded Edition.

1. This book is a collection of essays and articles by Michael Porter alone or with others. Most of them are collected from his writings in the Harvard Business Review although two are new to this book. Think of this as a "Porter's Greatest Hits" kind of thing. That is a bit misleading because his HBR articles are not exactly the same thing as his Competitive Advantage books although the topics are definitely related.

   The essays are grouped into three broad sections: 1) Competition and Strategy: Core Concepts, 2) The Competitiveness of Locations, and 3) Competitive Solutions to Societal Problems. Will you find each article of the same high quality? Probably not (again, like a greatest hits collection), but you will find them informative and thought provoking. It is impossible to study for an MBA nowadays without invoking "Porter's Five Forces" in your discussions of competitive and marketing strategy.

   This book can help add to your thinking and understanding of how every aspect of our life is in some way part of a competitive context and the ways it improves our standard of living. It will also help you improve your thinking in how to best strategize for and participate in competitive situations.

   It would be a mistake to think that Porter advocates for a Hobbesian nightmare of life being nasty, brutish and short. Rather, he is more or less helping us think through the nature of the way competition arises and how to best think about its sources and how to manage it and the traps to avoid.

   While Porter's model is used by some as a hammer that sees everything as a nail, it really needn't be used that way and, in its proper context, is very helpful.




2. Remember when you were a youthful entrepreneur operating a neighborhood lemonade stand? If author Michael E. Porter had walked up to buy a cup of punch from you, he probably would have asked about your business strategy. While you poured, he would have questioned what made your lemonade different from anyone else's. If he liked your lemonade, he'd no doubt give you suggestions on how to earn millions competing in the global marketplace. Ah, if only you had listened... The author, America's dean of competition, has spent two decades asking seminal questions such as, "What is competition? What are its effects? How can society benefit?" The Harvard Business Review previously published 11 of the 13 articles collected in this book. In the two new essays, Porter serves up invaluable concepts. His take on the growing importance of location, despite rising globalization, is a tour de force. Oddly, Porter sees no inconsistency in encouraging "productive competition" in the health care industry while advocating universal health care. For Porter, competition is the ingredient that turns lemons into lemonade. We recommend his latest book to any corporate strategist who seeks ideas on becoming more competitive, starting in your own neighborhood.



3. 
   I read this book when it was first published (in 1979) and recently re-read it prior to reading his most recent work, Redefining Health Care which I will also review in the near future. In the Introduction (which then became the first chapter of Competitive Strategy, published in 1980), Porter observes that competition "has intensified over the last decades, in virtually all parts of the world." That is even more true of competition - especially global competition -- during the 27 years since Porter shared that observation. Nonetheless, the core concepts which he and his collaborators rigorously examine remain relevant...indeed, in my opinion, have become even more relevant. Consider these assertions:
   
   1. Competition shapes strategy
   
   2. Successful strategy creates a "fit" among all organizational activities
   
   3. Information can provide a decisive competitive advantage
   
   4. Declining industries require an "end-game" strategy
   
   5. Successful corporate strategy "builds" on three premises: Competition occurs at the business unit level, diversification inevitably adds costs and constraints to business units, and, shareholders can readily diversify themselves.
   
   6. "Moving from competitive strategy to corporate strategy is the business equivalent of passing through the Bermuda Triangle."
   
   Porter carefully organizes the material within three Parts: First, he focuses on competition and strategy for companies at both the level of a single industry and then for multinational or diversified companies; next, he addresses the role of location in competition; and then he Part III, he addresses some important societal issues (e.g. environment, urban poverty, health care, and income inequality), each of which he asserts - and I wholly agree - is "inextricably bound up with economics and, more specifically, with competition."
   
   All but two of the articles originally appeared in Harvard Business Review, the exceptions being "Clusters and Competition: New Agendas for Companies, Governments, and Institutions" and "Competing Across Locations: Enhancing Competitive Advantage through a Global Strategy." In the former, Porter explains his concept of clusters, clusters which are geographic concentrations of firms, suppliers, related industries, and specialized institutions that occur in a particular field in a nation, state, or city. In the latter, Porter brings together the two dimensions of international strategy - location and global networks. As he observes, "The concept of activities, so important to understanding competitive advantage in general terms, provides the basic framework for international strategy as well."
   
   This is by no means an "easy read" but it will generously reward those who read it with appropriate care. By all accounts, Michael Porter is among the most influential and productive knowledge leaders, justly renowned for his cutting-edge thinking on the subject of strategy formulation and implementation but in this volume and in countless others, he also has much of great value to say about competitive and corporate strategy insofar as their global impact is concerned. That said, many of his greatest concerns are those specifically related to the U.S. economy. Hence the importance to me of what he and his collaborators (Claas van der Linde, Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg, and Gregory B. Brown) have to say in Part III: "Competitive Solutions to Societal Problems."
   
   Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Porter's other works as well as two recently published books: Kenichi Ohmae's The Next Global Stage and C.K. Prahalad's The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.



4. I am new to buying used copies through Amazon, so I orignally had some doubts. However, the experience I had with this purchase suprised me in that it was delivered a lot quicker than I expected it, and the book was in great condition. I thank the distributer for displaying such great service and will look foward to making any purchases in the future.



5. Good book from Porter, however this updated and extended version is complicated, I would prefered the non-expanded edition

5 comments about Globalization and Its Discontents.

1. Joseph Stiglitz thoroughly disects the brain dead institution called the IMF. Read this book and you will clearly see why African countries and other 3rd world countries are as poor as they are. it's not simply because of corruption and mismangement by their government as we all tend to believe. It's not even a conspiracy of any kind. It's just stupid policies by arrogant idiots forcing unproven "free market" policies on the countries.
   
   My one gripe about this book is that the author seems to abdicate some responsibilty of his former employer, the world bank. They've also been part of the problems is developing countries as well. Maybe not to the extent of the IMF but they are also culpable.



2. Anyone with an interest in global affairs would be aware of the East Asian crises and the Russian attempt at becoming a market economy. These are the two main examples used by Stiglitz to frame his arguments and the policies are well known. They are the same problems the anti-globalization movement protests against outside various international financial meetings so there are no new insights here of any great significance. Some of the less prominent countries like Ethiopia and Malaysia are covered though and these sections are interesting although still using the same themes - co-ercive IMF tactics, capital market liberaliztion or protectionism etc. Stiglitz also contradicts himself at times. In one section he argues for greater transparency and public debate (ie. politicization) of the IMF's policies, then in another criticises the U.S. government for enacting protectionist measures domestically (assuredly for political purposes).
   The problem with these 'insider' accounts is that they are by definition subjective. The only examples of the inner workings of these institutions put forward are self-serving anecdotes of when Stiglitz himself opposed, or tried to oppose, IMF policies. There is also very little talk, and even less criticism, of the World Bank which is where he was the chief economist. Would recommend a book by, say, a respected professional journalist who can be a more objective, more dispassionate, and much more coherent.



3. "Globalization and Its Discontents" is an impressive critique of the Washington Consensus and international economic institutions. Even more so because the author is not only an eminent economist, but also an insider on the issues that are being discussed. Some of the things it covers are the historical context, the East Asian financial crisis, and Russia's transition from central planning to a market economy. Stiglitz demonstrates how a combination of unwillingness to consult, market fundamentalist ideology and financial interests led to terrible outcomes. Everyone who has taken an introductory macroeconomics course will be surprised to find out that the IMF pushed contractionary policies during downturns. The Russian experience underscores the importance of cautious and contextual policies that create the institutions necessary for a market economy. Besides retrospective insights, Stiglitz provides a list of alternative policies that could yield a much better result in the future.
   
   It may be less revolutionary now than it was in 2002: many mainstream economists such as Dani Rodrik have come out against the Washington Consensus since and the influence of the IMF seems to have decreased prompting economist Dean Baker to say that "No one needs the IMF anymore" ("The IMF: A Sandbox to Play In", April 10, 2007, Truthout). It may also have its share of flaws, most notably a somewhat naive sounding belief that getting closer to the free trade ideal (which includes cutting subsidies to agriculture so that the poor countries could better compete) will help developing countries a great deal. Many developing countries are in fact net importers of food and cutting agricultural subsidies in rich nations might actually increase prices that they pay for food. Nevertheless, "Globalization and Its Discontents" is an accessible and very interesting book that provides lessons about the need for open dialogue and contextual approaches to development. Not to forget that with the impact that this book has had it is also already a piece of history.



4. It should have been subtitled: "Or how the IMF screwed everything up, despite Joe's best efforts."
   
   It's a tiring tirade.



5. I don't doubt that Stiglitz is right. People with a background like that and have won the Nobel Prize usually know what they are talking about. But man this book is frustrating in the first few chapters. I initially categorized it as anti-western propaganda because it is extremely opposed to western policies. However, it is right. The economics of it are sound, the politics also make sense and the details of this are all laid out. You definitely need some economics knowledge to get through it and it makes a VERY good case against market fundamentalism and excessive deregulation. Unfortunately, the same market fundamentalism that drives the IMF is also what drives Wall Street and the Treasury and it's causing a lot of problems nowadays.

5 comments about The Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel.

1. The investment advice is based on the assumption that the "coming economic collapse" will be like the recession in the 1970s. Pretty unlikely, given that the causes are totally different. He just wants us to buy gold - who needs his book to hear this?
   
   This is a simplistic book with little to recommend it.



2. This book has a lot of great info, particularly about economy and aspects of history that may be misunderstood, or may have been completely misrepresented to us. The book is also a relatively easy read. I read it about a year ago, which was actually a little late, but even now it is still a worthwhile investment.



3. I wish he saw the credit market collapse and subsequent bailout. I'm off topic, i know, sorry. Regarding oil, hind sight is 20-20. After reading the book i in summer '07 i went off to my CFA and got this take: oil prices are being fueled by speculators, in inflation adjusted numbers it's still less (even at $100 plus) then the spikes in the early 80's, Not to worry the price will come done. Now with oil at 90 plus (10/08), my CFA has proven correct at least in the short term.
   
   The book takes good sources, references, common sense, and some marketing license with the title and makes a good case. The author still sounds shrill. During the period of $140 plus, i went to the authors site expecting to get the i told you so and the get ready here it comes and here's what you can do...but NOTHING! So much for committment.
   
   Don't get me wrong, if nothing he has heightened my senses and i will keep a diligent eye towards the oil industry, international economies, government action and inaction. I think it has elevated everyones thinking and the should be the sole reason for reading this book.



4. I read this book based on a recommendation by someone who was bullish in investing in Gold. The financial crisis (2008) has also catapulted the author to a series of media interviews. As others have already observed, the actual investment advice came only in the last three chapters. Much of the book devoted to building up the author's credence in analysing past periods of high inflation and volatile investment environment in the 1970s. In light of the current financial crisis, some of the author's observation makes interesting reading.
   
   Here are some of the them,
   
   "Most authorities continue to reassure the public that today's soaring energy prices are temporary, that oil reserves are virtually limitless."
   
   "Most people don't realise how close the dot-com crash came to destroying the economy, the society, and the very fabric of our civilization came close to disintegrating."
   
   "... our leaders did the right thing and saved us from disaster by the rapid response from the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates to nearly zero."
   
   And these are just the first 10 pages from the book. Leeb made a big thing about not falling into "group think" and he was the lone voice in spotting the finite nature of oil reserves. The problem is, there is no evidence that national leaders or company CEOs think oil is limitless. That is a strange concept. To put things in perspective, the dot-com crash induced recession lasted only around 6 months and mostly limited to the US. The general market and the rest of the world escape relatively unscathed. The Feds' interest rates policy directly linked to the sub-prime crisis is even harder to defend. Interestingly, the author think because real estate was a sound investment in the 1970s, and think it will remain sound for some time.
   
   On the different in investment strategy during a volatile market, the author wrote, "a far more rewarding strategy in the 1970s was to sell shares at the market tops and buy them again at the start of the next rally." Oh, now I get it .... buy low and sell high. ;-)
   
   I am also uncomfortable with some of the scientific assertions in support of alternative energy investment. Leeb doesn't think nuclear energy has a future because nuclear waste management is a problem. Ignoring France is 75% nuclear powered, and waste management has been effectively managed for the past decades. Wind energy is the preferred solution to the energy crisis by the author. However, no base-loaded electricity requirement was mentioned. Wind energy can not provide base-loaded electricity. For readers interested in different energy alternatives, I recommend Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak by Prof. Kenneth Deffeyes.
   
   Gold investment actually makes a lot of sense. However, the rise and fall of gold price goes beyond the law of Supply and Demand. The strength of the US dollars used in paying for commodity, including oil and gold. And the influence of hedge funds. Even accepting the soundness of gold investment as a long term strategy, the lack of inclusion of any debate of the US dollars and hedge funds diminishes any serious recommendation.



5. I bought the audio book version and was only able to listen to about half of it. I couldn't finish it as it repeated itself constantly.
   
   Basically what I have taken from the author is that every civilization and empire that has failed did so because of energy supply problems. Forget corruption, forget fiscal irresponsibility or anything else just chalk it up to energy supply issues. Conclusion is the collapse of the American Empire will be the result of energy supply issues.
   
   The author constantly repeats himself throughout the book and it makes it really hard to finish.

5 comments about The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us.

1. China is the world's new manufacturing powerhouse while India is vying to supersede the United States by producing more code, more engineers and more scientists, although this book (I listened to the unabridged audio book) mostly focuses on the technology support services.
   
   Many of the items you buy in your local Wal-Mart are now designed in India and produced in China. Why? Because the United States cannot be competitive without innovation. It cannot compete in world markets when it produces less engineers, less scientists and less computer programmers - all of whom demand ten times the salary of the abundantly available Indian counterparts grasping for their own meteoric rise to a materially wealthy lifestyle. The Elephant and the Dragon explain the how and why of the global economics that are currently rocking the U.S. to its foundation.
   
   It may already be too late to recapture what made America the "shining light on the hill" but this book is a captivating look into the two vast countries that will replace us in the next century as the world's dominant suppliers of goods and services.



2. The author offers some good material about business trends in China and India and talks as well about the cultural and psychological factors which played an important role for the recent economic transformations in these countries. The description of the problems hindering a long-term development in India and China (corruption and infrastructure difficulties in India, Chinese communistic mindsets and government overregulations) is really interesting. The book proposes some recommendations for Americans and some predictions about Chinese manufacturing and their next economical targets, but this part doesn't sound convincible. Given the economic crisis, the predictions are no longer valid. I think however that some US consumers will shift from high-end products towards middle-end products. If the Chinese manufacturers can shift a part of their low-end production to middle-range products China could emerge event stronger from this crisis.



3. great turnaround. in south africa it took a week from date of ordering to delivery



4. Very informative book. Vividly illuminates how development in central Asia is reshaping the world market place.



5. Meredith's book is an attempt to describe and articulate the newly-fashionable theme of the China and India's rise to political and economic prominence.
   
   However, the book lacks a coherent plan of detailing its facts and linking them in a sensible way. The author jumps from one set of facts in one paragraph to some totally unrelated commentary in the next and then comes back to the first set of facts in a later section. This patterns keeps repeating througout the book, giving the reader a feeling this is a hastily cobbled collection of one-paragraph magazine articles. There's precious new information presented, as the author has made no effort to research beyond the top layer of Chinese and Indian economies i.e apparel factories and call centers respectively.
   
   I would highly recommend Edward Luce's book on India (Inspite of the Gods)as a more substantive and detailed book on emerging India. I'm sure there are better books on China as well, though I'm not as informed on those choices.

5 comments about Buy Gold Now: How a Real Estate Bust, our Bulging National Debt, and the Languishing Dollar Will Push Gold to Record Highs.

1. Bought this book because of all-5-star reviews. It turns out this book is not worth the money.
   
   The book is VERY dangerous, because it reaches right conclusion (buy gold) for all the wrong reasoning. Author either has no clear understanding of the processes that are going on around money, credit and debt, or believe what he's read in multiple economics schoolbooks on subject. He bases his analysis on Government-supplied economic numbers and NEVER QUESTIONS THEM (we all know there's lies, damn lies and Government statistics, especially since 1980th). He doesn't understand that the Federal Reserve is a privately owned enterprise, and that The Federal Reserve and Government together are responsible for inflation and other economic turmoil United States has found herself today.
   
   If you want to stay in the bubble media, economists and politicians have created for you, this is "your" book - lots of graphs and statistics based on false or fake economics. Ironically, author still reaches right conclusion - BUY GOLD. For the rest of us who want to REALLY UNDERSTAND what is going on behind the scenes - don't buy it, there are much better books out there.
   
   I would recommend starting with "The Revolution Manufesto" by Ron Paul and many other Gold books, for example "The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profif from It"



2. I liked this book. The author is not too opinionated and not dogmatic. He acknowledges that historically gold has NOT been a good investment over the long run, but makes a compelling case why he thinks it is a good investment now. He is also not emotionally attached to gold, and in fact hopes to sell it someday; he proffers that it could peak at ten thousand an ounce, which would be ten times its current price or about a 90 percent devaluation of the dollar. I think he offers a balanced analysis from a backround as a professional money manager. There are a number of books like this currently for sale, however I think this one is particularly thoughtful and worth reading, even though I have read several others on the subject. However, one complaint I do have is that book would have been much better if it had been published 2 to 5 years ago. At this point, gold is already up to four fold in that period of time. Several of the other books on this subject were more prescient and timely in their release. If one already has had gold investments, this books reinforces your strategy, however recommending investing in sectors that have already risen substantially lends less credibility and profit not to mention risk. Had he written the book when gold was $300, that would be a 33 fold profit if it goes to ten thousand. Gold at $1,000 is a ten fold profit, considerably less.



3. I'm a mainstream investor who has a solid diversification of investments, including a little gold purchased in 2006. However, my understanding of economics and the global economy is sketchy and never quite fit together in my mind. At a minimum, this book will create an outstanding base of knowledge in this arena in an easy-to-read format, and give solid guidance towards investing in gold. I appreciate his balanced approach to the possible economic outcomes ahead, presented as possibilities for the reader to weigh and make a judgement on. This isn't "the world is falling", but you will take serious stock of the current trends in our economy as it fits into the global picture. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to see these aspects and grasp the value of gold investments in your portfolio.



4. It was a good, balanced book. Most of what I have read on gold is generally over-the-top doomsday type....more about dire predictions then about actual facts. This one was a refreshing change.
   
   The only slight negative about the book was the author's writing style...which was a little bit of drag at times. Long sentences, with more than one point stressed in them.
   
   But overall, I would recommend this book to everyone. Pls insure your future against the excesses of US paper currency. The situation is far worse than what we think it is, not only for US citizens, but for the entire world. This book will help you plan for your and your family's safety in such extreme times.



5. Whether you are interested in buying gold or not, this book is of value for its general explanation of the world economy. If you are interested in such things as the housing market crash, dollar devaluation, trade deficits and the role of the American consumer in the world economy, you will enjoy this book. It explains and ties all these things together in clear and easy to understand reading.

5 comments about The Complete Guide to Currency Trading & Investing: How to Earn High Rates of Return Safely and Take Control of Your Investments.

1. The Complete Guide to Currency Trading & Investing discusses currency trading as well as introduces the reader to currency trading products and markets. This trading guide flows seamlessly from one topic to the next. The manual on trading starts out by describing the major currency markets and electronic trading strategies. Jamaine Burrell gives an excellent description of currency trading fees. The author explains that fundamental analysis and technical trading indicators influence the currency market. A prospective customer can check the firm's regulatory record with the National Futures Association for trades based in the United States or with foreign regulatory agencies if the trader is based outside the United States.
   
   Each currency trade is based on a pair of currencies that will be traded. The first currency is the currency bought (the bid/buy price) and the second is the currency sold or the ask price). Currency trading is a thinly-regulated, twenty-four hour international securities market. Forex is a very large foreign exchange electronic market. The National Futures Administration overseas the future markets. The role as well as the history of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Fed is described. Foreign regulators are listed and described as well as the types of currency trades that are prevalent in overseas currency markets
   The guide describes Forex trading platforms and foreign exchange market conditions. The guide explains how political and economic indicators shape currency markets. The types of trades are defined and described. There are spreads, forwards, options, foreign exchange and swaps. Jamaine Burrell warns the novice currency trader against trading forwards, futures since they are not as closely regulated. These types of currency trades are most frequently associated with fraud. The Complete Guide to Currency Trading & Investing: How to Earn High Rates of Return Safely and Take Control of Your Investments



2. I opened this book with no idea what to expect as I was not familiar with the idea of currency trading. But in the first chapter I was provided with a detailed description of what currency trading is - trading of world currencies on the Foreign Exchange Market (Forex), the largest financial trade market in the world.
   
   Following a brief introduction to various international currencies, I was educated as to the major financial entities that influence the market greatly, including some that were familiar to me such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
   
   In detail, the book educates readers on how the viability of the U.S. Dollar comes into play in more than 90% of all currency trading. With a true global look at the many ways currency can be traded and how one can put into place many trading avenues, its understandable how one can make a living as a currency trader. The book examines various types of trades on the Forex as well as brokers, dealers and accounts.
   
   This would be a great reference tool for anyone with some sort of a financial background, but a little difficult to follow if you have never been exposed to the financial arena.



3. The Foreign Exchange Market is where world currencies are bought and sold, serving as the largest financial trade market in the world with an estimated $1.9 trillion generated per day. While not everyone understands the ins and outs of currency trading and investing, this complete guide will explain to readers how this economic machine works and impacts their success rate with their personal investments.
   
   Serious investors know they must diversify their portfolio, but rarely consider currency trading. This book navigates the Foreign Exchange Market and futures markets, providing basic information for novice traders to help them notch up their investments and enjoy not just a financial gain, but an information gain, as well.
   
   The book starts out simply addressing currently trading, including the G8, Central Banks, the International Monetary Fund and the role of currency traders. With not enough information out there on this subject, novice traders will be encouraged to find detailed information about Central Banks, ranging from how to peg the U.S. dollar to the role of the Maastricht Treaty, the Bank of Japan and foreign currency like the Euro, the Yen, the British Pound and the Swiss Franc.
   
   Novice traders will glean valuable information about the Foreign Exchange Market and trading. They'll learn about click and deal trading, retail platforms, paper trading, micro accounts and the common forms of trading: spot trading, forwards trading, options trading and futures trading.
   
   It's important to know the lingo involved in trading and this book shares the terms and definitions of common speak used in this field, as well as the mechanics of the Foreign Exchange Market. The appendix of this book provides pertinent and valuable information for those readers wanting to learn even more about this subject, such as Web sites and charts.



4. For anyone that is looking to enter the world of currency trading and investing, this book is a must-read. After reading this book, I acquired a solid basic knowledge of this area of financing. Burrell starts with the history of currency and banking, and finishes with procedures that will help you to analyze the market, as well as yourself.
   
   The first chapters explain currency trading and the history of the banks and other financial giants that have an affect on the currency market. I felt the urge to skip these chapters due to dry subject matter and a lot of abbreviations, yet realized that this information would help me to understand how these financial giants affect the financial world. The remaining chapters involve terminology and the actual processes needed for analyzing the markets. Burrell also explains the present online trading and investing practices, as well as the pitfalls to avoid. The final chapters explain how currency trading can affect a person, and some things to consider before entering into this area of trading and investment.
   
   Not being financially proficient, I was impressed with Burrell's writing. Her way of teaching was simple enough, yet was written respectfully as far as the level of vocabulary that he used. The information that Burrell provides is useful and to the point. This book is not for casual reading; it is meant to be studied. I would recommend this book for people wanting to learn the basics when contemplating entering the world of currency trading.



5. The book has good a content for a beginner. For a more advanced forex person this book is too basic, that is why I give 3 stars.

5 comments about Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results.

1. Book Review
   Redefining Health Care by Michael Porter
   
   I am writing this review to help share some excellent ideas on the availability and quality of medical treatment in the United States and on the U.S. economy which is being dragged down by ever-increasing medical costs. The economic impact is not just on corporate profits and stock prices but also on U.S. employment because everything that raises costs makes it harder for U.S. manufacturers to compete with foreign suppliers and makes it harder for U.S. manufacturers to sell in foreign markets.
   Unfortunately, the book is long, turgid, and full of details, which help to substantiate his conclusions and also provide guidance on implementing improved policies. I am afraid the book does not appeal to executives, politicians, or doctors. It also proposes radical changes in all aspects of the medical system and its financing and operation. Dr. Porter proposes major changes on the part of all parties involved in delivering and paying for health care.
   The book begins with a review of health indexes and health care throughout the world and shows, while the U.S. has the greatest expenditures by any set of measurements, it does not have the best results.
   Then, Dr. Porter introduces his most important concept: that any medical treatment should be measured by its results; how much lost time and discomfort did the patient have, is he or she completely cured, or how much disability measured over the entire span of the illness or even the life of the patient. We tend to think of an operation as being successful if the patient left the hospital in good condition. But how much additional recovery time, disability, or reoccurrence was there? If the patient doesn't come back to see him, a doctor doesn't know whether he was cured by the treatment or if the patient was so dissatisfied he went to another doctor or simply gave up on a series of treatments. The goal is to develop a scoring system for each group of illnesses that can be compared with the cost of each individual's treatment and their results to determine what is the best set of procedures and the best doctor or group of doctors to do the work can be used to guide providers and treatments. Porter has some reason to believe that the best treatments are generally less costly even though the individual item costs may be more, the greater effectiveness and the less chance of complications reduces overall cost. Included in the overall cost should be lost wages, which is a reasonable proxy for the patient's time.
   The goal is to develop a health plan that pays for results not for treatments. In many cases, that would be a single payment to the provider for a whole series of treatments from diagnosis on through operations, post-operative care, and follow ups which could extend over a long period of time. This is a radical change from the present system which pays for treatments and tends to produce more treatments and does not have any effective means for either the insurers, or the employers, or the patients even to compare one treatment option with another. This is an extreme, radical change and would take a long time to implement, but there are pieces of the program in operation. A number of these are explained at length. Health insurance companies could hire these firms for their specialized expertise and would not have to do the work on their own. An example of what is done is how the firm studies the history of heart transplant patients and will give an insurance company a single payment for the entire course of treatment providing it is done in the manner and by people they specify. They would particularly focus on caregivers who have an outstanding record of success. It appears that for most illnesses, there are organizations that are substantially better than others and this program could be extended broadly.
   Another area of development would be to have counselors which would be part of the function of the insurer to advise a company's employees with a list of particularly well qualified doctors and suggest treatment elements.
   Government would seem to be poorly adapted to facilitating these changes because they are radically different from Medicare. Medicare seems to promote cheap, but not necessarily effective treatments and set arbitrary pay scales which do not allow the better providers to charge more for their services and thus encourage more providers to be in the high performance category. Companies that pay for the insurance are the ones that have to put pressure on the insurers to implement the above changes. This could not be done over a short period of time but would eliminate a lot of the wasted time that is now involved in the payments for each little step of the process and for each treatment step.
   Chapter 8 is a detailed discussion of how to implement the aforementioned concepts using modifications of Medicare and other laws. This is too complex to summarize here but it appears doable if Congress and the Executive are sufficiently motivated. It is likely that few people would understand what is happening, but the benefits to cost ratio is sufficiently great that the changes would probably be supported and accepted. On the other hand, the situation is so complex, it is questionable whether lawmakers and administrators would be willing to undertake the many complex tasks required. On the other hand, the downside risk appears quite small.
   Porter approaches the whole subject from the points of view of business strategy and the problems of decisions with very imperfect information. While the government frequently acts with very imperfect information, its strategy for doing so is not well developed and poorly applied.
   
   Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results



2. This book has received probably disproportionate attention due to Prof. Porter's notoriety as a strategic thinking theorist. There are better overall books on healthcare policy available. In particular I recommend the Bodenheimer/Grumbach books, one on healthcare policy and one on primary care, Dr. Arnold Relman's book, A Second Opinion, Strained Mercy, an outstanding and thorough analysis of healthcare economics with particular regard to Canada's healthcare system and Pricing the Priceless a more technically-oriented economic analysis by Prof. Joseph Newhouse, among other books.
   
   I find the analysis of the USA healthcare system by Profs. Porter and Teisberg to generally be excellent, although I find it wanting in regard to their disparagement of a single-payer/single-insurer system and to their description and analysis of healthcare systems outside the USA. From my perspective private health plans play only a net negative role in the system. The authors' analysis of how the health insurance market works is quite good. However their recommendation that a system of private insurers should persist is refuted by their own analysis! A single payer/insurer system will not cure many problems of the USA system, as they clearly point out, but it does remove the inherently dysfunctional characteristics of private insurance, not least of which is its failure to meet the needs of the uninsured - a very large number - and its inherent propensity to exclude the very people who need coverage and care. The authors rightly point out that mandatory health insurance along with risk-pooling among insurers to spread the costs of those insured individuals who generate the highest costs is a "solution" to the current non-functioning system, but the same result, at lower cost and with much greater simplicity, can be achieved through a single payer/insurer.
   
   The other key aspect of healthcare - how it is delivered - is ultimately more important than the financing/insurance side. The authors provide excellent analysis and recommendations in this regard. They correctly address the aspects of the healthcare market that prevent its functioning as a "competitive" market, specifically the abysmal lack of patient information on prices for services, on outcomes of actions by providers, comparative statistics on provider performance and similar. They also provide an interesting report by the Cleveland Clinic on outcomes, i.e. results, of the Clinic's heart surgery activity. They appropriately use this as an example of the kind of reporting that is needed.
   
   The authors' analysis of healthcare systems outside the USA is skimpy and inaccurate in my opinion. The authors underplay the demonstrated efficacy of government-funded systems that outperform the USA system almost across the board in gross measures of outcomes (infant mortality and longevity) and vastly outperform the US system in regard to cost. They gloss over the fact that per capita costs in the USA are 2.5 times! the average per capita costs in other OECD countries. It is not as though the costs are say 10% above the average with comparable outcomes. They are 150% higher with worse outcomes. Instead of noting this and analyzing it thoroughly, the authors assert that waiting times and rationing of care are significant problems in those countries, assertions which are simply not borne out by the facts. Also the fact that (mostly) single-payer/insurer systems function well universally does not fit the authors' main thesis, so rather than revise the thesis based on this evidence they choose to ignore the evidence.
   
   As a consequence of these limitations I rate the book with 4 stars rather than 5. Too bad, because most of the book is excellent.



3. Interesting view on the actual US healthcare and a challenging way to solve the mailaise



4. This a great book for physicians that likes strategic administration. Porter and Teisberg provides a major contribuition for the health care.This book will enable dramatic improvement in the efficacy and quality of patient care in the USA and other countries.



5. I am taking a Health Care Management Strategy class and this book was recommended by our professor.
   
   Very well thought and comprehensive book.
   
   Some comclusions can be challenged, but the book bringing a new look on Health Care and provide solutions for improvements.

5 comments about Making Globalization Work.

1. Since the Berlin Wall fell, the fact is, the next level of globalization has produced far too many losers and not enough winners. We are continuing to poison the environment; there are too many people living on less than $2 a day; states without security have left the door for terrorists and other malcontents to run rampant. It appears to some that the West will continue to underdevelop the rest of the world for the sake of increased profits.
   Yet, there is some hope on the horizon. Joseph Stiglitz, former lead economist at the World Bank and Nobel Prize winner offers a great follow up to "Globalization and Its Discontents." Stiglitz delineates the problems that the current global economic regime has caused and offers some prescriptions to ameliorate them.
   His look into the unequal demands from the West to underdeveloped countries is especially cogent. While trade barriers, industrial subsidies and tariffs are removed from developing countries, Europe and the United States continue their archaic agricultural subsidies. These subsidies improve the lot of a few (very few) farmers in the West, yet, make prices so artificially low that it erases the comparative advantage of developing countries in the agricultural system.
   Other global issues, such as Global Warming, the debt of the developing world and the issues facing nations with only primary production are also well elaborated. As Global Warming is a global issue, it should be dealt with as such. Stiglitz' blame rest firmly on the United States for the continuing problems. Jubilee type initiatives are pushed for debt relief; and, development towards secondary industry is suggested for those nations, such as Botswana, caught in the Resource Trap.
   I did have a few problems with the work. Corruption, both corporate and national, receives only lip service from Stiglitz in this book. There are a few of his familiar jabs at the International Monetary Fund, which after reading "Globalization and Its Discontents," and "Rethinking the Asian Miracle" become trite and dull. These made the book appear to be slanted against both the IMF and his successors at the World Bank.
   But, my biggest issue involved the "global greenback." Stiglitz correctly points to the currency reserve regime as an inducer of instability and a extractor of global surplus from developing to developed countries. He also correctly assesses that we should re-make the reserve system as Bretton Woods had done in the 1940s. Yet, his method is pie-in-the-sky, at best and crazy at worst. Now I am by practice a pro-Internationalist and believe in more global governance. Yet, his "global greenback" regime to replace the holding of dollars or euros is unworkable, all the reasons for which I'm not even going to try to go into here.
   In total, Stiglitz work is very good for its purposes. His ability to take his knowledge of the global economy and put it into words is unparalleled by any other major economist. This book should be a must read in concert with his "Globalization and Its Discontents" and Sen's "Development as Freedom." Add it to your shopping cart / wish list.



2. "Making Globalization Work" is a worthy follow-up to "Globalization and its Discontents". In fact, it is a more interesting read than the other book because it explores a broader array of issues. Here are some of its notable points.
   
   Chapter 3 ("Making Trade Fair") documents the discrepancy between the rhetoric and the practice of developed countries that preach the virtues of free trade and push for greater trade liberalization in the developing countries while in the meantime broadly engaging in protectionism in areas that could benefit the developing countries. Erik Reinert would probably put it like this: Jeffersonian rhetoric, Hamiltonian practice. Although Stiglitz recognizes the damage of such a discrepancy, his proposal is not all out liberalization. His "extended market access proposal" would open the markets of the richer countries to the poorer countries without requiring reciprocity (he also argues for cutting agricultural subsidies in the rich countries and other such reforms). That means that the poor countries would be allowed to use certain policy tools (infant industry promotion) to assure development. Thus, Stiglitz holds a positions similar to that of Ha-Joon Chang, or Friedrich List and the German Historical School, for that matter: free trade trade has to be well-timed and the developing countries have to be given time to catch up.
   
   Chapter 4 ("Patents, Profits, and People") provides a very good discussion of intellectual property. Stiglitz emphasizes that intellectual property protection is a means to an end: it is supposed to foster innovation. Thus, incentives for innovation (monopolistic rents) should be balanced against the inefficiencies that come from restricting the use of information, i.e. a public good. The author spends quite some time on patents in medical research. In case you read this book and become interested in the issue, Dean Baker's "The Conservative Nanny State" (provided online for free by Dean Baker himself) includes another interesting discussion of patents and copycat drugs.
   
   Chapter 5 ("Lifting the Resource Curse") is about the problems that resource rich countries face. This includes abuses by private companies that exploit the resources, a potentially predatory state, and currency appreciation that imposes enormous costs on other export industries (the "Dutch disease"). Among many other things, Stiglitz proposes a way to combat currency appreciation: reserve of foreign currencies that could be used when the economy needs stabilizing.
   
   These several chapters are just a taste of things found in the book. Other chapters address other important issues such as global warming (Chapter 6), country debt problems (Chapter 8), and the instability of the global reserve system (Chapter 9). Students fresh out of introductory economics courses should find themselves engaged as well: market failures (market power and all sorts of externalities), appropriate incentives, and public goods are some of the more frequently recurring themes.
   
   If "Globalization and its Discontents" had the problem of being somewhat self-congratulatory, "Making Globalization Work" has a different flaw: its tone sometimes turns naive. For instance, these words can be found in the last chapter: "America's standing in the world has long been based not just on its economic and military power but on its moral leadership, on doing what is right and fair". Stiglitz thus treats certain unfair trade practices as a temporary aberration from the usual moral leadership. People who are quick to remember, among many other things, the CIA-led coups of democratically elected leaders in Iran (1950s) and Chile (1970s), the support for Latin American death squads or Indonesia when it invaded East Timor, will probably not take such remarks about "moral leadership" too seriously. There are other examples but I believe this one suffices for illustration.
   
   Luckily, there is enough substance and interesting ideas in this book to make one overlook this one flaw. "Making Globalization Work" is a very important contribution to the debate and should be read by anyone interested in globalization and related issues.



3. I have read 2 books from Stiglitz so far, and this book is by far one of the finest I have read on the topic ... extremely well written, clear, concise and lucid ... this book leaves no doubt about Stiglitz's excellent intellectual capacity ... although I liked reading "The World Is Flat," by Thomas Friedman, a comparision of that with "Making Globalisation Work," makes Friedman look pedestrian and lacking in depth.



4. Stiglitz provides insight as well as information to enhance understanding of the economic globalization process, its weaknesses, strengths and potential for great good for all humans. His work is mature in perspective, contrasting with the "gotta have it now" attitude urged by the Bush Administration. This work has maintained its timeliness and the ideas are relevant in understanding today's economic options.



5. This book is extremely boring and very subjective. If you are looking for an objective well written easy to read book on globalization and the dynamics of our world economy then this is not the book for you. Lots of biased opinion. Also Stiglitz tends to be a master of the obvious at times regarding global economic issues. Nothing new here and no real new going forward insight.

5 comments about The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos.

1. The accredited economist and Professor of Economics tells the truth about concentrated world wealth and world government corruption that has manifested turmoil to today's civilization.
   
   In laymans terms, he explains economic principles and social infrastructure cycles which justify his hypotheis: "The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism: A New Study of History". The imbalance of resources and wealth has proliferated CEO greed and government corruption, slowly eliminating the middle-class. Dr. Batra outlines economic and social history in simple terms to bring a REAL and unavoid conclusion to our financial fate.
   
   His book does not provide hype nor fiction, but he attempts solidify his predictions with factual data. So far, his batting avg. is 90% on predictions. If you want a bite out of the Adam and Eve "apple", buy the book. It's an eye opener.



2. I learnt a lot about present World economics from this book. I recommend reading it for a better understanding of the situation we are in presently.



3. Read this book and tell me that the events currently unfolding all across America could not have been predicted. So we know that at least one person of intelligence saw the economic/geopolitical mess coming. A terrific book that has proven to be all too accurate.
   
   ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED READING FOR ALL!



4. We are now Sept, 29, 2008. I have just finished reading his book. Ravi Batra's expose of the current economic turmoil and its causes is absolutely superb. I don't need any economists' works to find some predictions neither do I expect their forecasts to be totally precise and accurate. None of us would have a crystal ball to predict the future. I simply believe he has a superbly logical approach to the facts he reveals. This is what I expect from a great economist.



5. End of October 2008 now. His predictions from two years ago are unfolding into reality quite relentlessly, on a week by week basis. I learned a lot from this book. I don't know if I can quite buy his theory of cycles, but his incredible success at predicting world events over the past 20 years give him a lot of credibility. He does bring hope that everything will turn out well eventually, but looks like there's going to be a lot of pain before that happens.

5 comments about Who's Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.

1. It's frustrating to read books like this. Florida's insightful observations are undermined by the number of errors in this book.
   
   Florida melds psychology, sociology, and economics to try to determine the importance of humanity's displacement from rural areas to cities and, now, megalopolises. Some of the ground he covers is well-trod, but he comes up with a number of ideas that I find insightful. I particularly liked his categorization of urban districts into such places as, e.g., strollervilles (wealthy neighborhoods full of two-year-olds being strolled around by nannies while Daddy is at the law firm and Mommy is either working or doing something else), designer digs (e.g., Aspen, La Jolla), ethnic enclaves (think Fremont, Calif.), preservation-burgs, and boho-burbs (chic neighborhoods, often on old streetcar lines, with lively shopping areas; e.g., the Sellwood district and N.W. 23rd Ave. in Portland, Ore.). The Rockridge neighborhood in Oakland, Calif., is both a strollerville and a boho-burb. Florida goes beyond the usual accolades one might expect to be conferred on such places to point out their drawbacks. It's very well done.
   
   If only Florida and his publisher had taken better care to vet the manuscript before publishing it! I'd read only a few pages before I started noticing typos: paarticular, New "Dehli" (must have excellent pastrami sandwiches), São "Paolo," Brazil (must have changed its official language to Italian). Then I started noticing factual oddities: Seoul, Korea, described in two different and seemingly mutually exclusive categories; San Francisco described as a place in which single women predominate when the accompanying map shows just the opposite. By the end of the book, the number of glitches had made me suspicious of every empirical datum Florida was presenting--so that when I read his statistic that only 1 in 20 U.S. households contains someone living alone, I couldn't trust it. It sounded too low. I went to the Internet and found an Associated Press report that "About 27.2 million Americans lived alone in 2000, accounting for about 26 percent of all households . . . ." That sounds right. A Population Reference Bureau web page confirms that Florida's statistic is highly inaccurate.
   
   In summary, the book is well worth reading for Florida's impressionistic observations, but I'd be careful about relying on any conclusion he draws that is based on empirical data.



2. Like all good things, there must be end; so goes this book; very relevant last year but with the real estate market as it stands, all bets are off. That being said, still very helpful and it does a great job at narrowing your options on where and why you would choose a particular place to live.



3. Read the charts of statistics in the back of the book, but skip the actual text. Unlike some other statisticians who employed co-writers ("Freakonomics" comes to mind), Richard Florida couldn't keep my mind on his prose. Statistics are recycled and explained over and over. Yes, every city has a personality...but where to live is hardly the "most important decision of your life," as the title implies. The statistics don't lie about such measures as happiness, but they also don't tell a compelling story worth reading.



4. I enjoyed some of "Who's Your City?". It's actually two books - one (Part 1 and 2) a fine discussion of economic localization and the second (Part 3) a ranking of various US places by a variety of usually not very interesting or persuasive metrics (that are supposed to help you decide where you want to live). The book would have been more interesting if Florida had just left off Part 3 and expanded Parts 1 and 2. For example, his Chapter 4 on the "Clustering Force" would have benefited by including the recent work by economists on the idea of 'increasing returns to scale'. Paul Krugman just won a Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in this area and his total absence from the book seems kind of embarassing. I would have loved a chapter comparing Jane Jacobs' work on cities and economic growth with Krugman's on 'economic geography'.



5. I placed order as new copy but found the product doesn't look like brand new one when I received it.
   Yet the content of the book is very interesting. It contains a lot of useful information.