"Selected as one of the six best nonfiction books of 1990 by the editors f the New York Times Book Review, this is a compelling and entertaining account of the author's two-and-a-half year adventure in"
This is an account of the author’s two-and-a-half year adventure in Equatorial Guinea, and his efforts to get this small bankrupt African nation on the path of structural development.
Originally published in 1991, Robert Klitgaard’s classic book addresses questions of enduring relevance in a lively and insightful way. Bribes, tribes, and markets that fail—these are the realities in many developing countries. The usual strategies for reform—be they capitalist or socialist—have failed to address them effectively. What is to be done when economic reforms leave the poor behind or when when new constitutions and elections are undercut by inefficient bureaucracies, overcentralization, and corruption? And what to do about persistent ethnic inequalities within developing countries? The book provides inspiring examples from around the world, as well as analytical frameworks to guide inclusive policy discussion. Theorists will enjoy the novel uses of industrial economics, the theory of the firm, and the economics of discrimination. The book highlights overlooked causes of underdevelopment: imperfect information and weak information processing in individuals and institutions. In the preface, the former President of Panama, Dr. Nicolás Ardito Barletta, writes: "Poverty, Klitgaard argues, is—and should be—a principal concern of development strategists, but policy makers and analysts will continue to run from pillar to post in their search for a cure unless they can adjust their development schemes to reality...." "The new approach that the author proposes is based on two fundamental principles. One is that the proper choice of economic strategies cannot be determined in the abstract but depends on particular circumstances... The other is that information is at the heart of problems in the real world of the developing countries... Klitgaard offers examples from Bolivia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, and the Philippines to make his point. "The author suggests creative ways in which the state and citizens themselves can solve their own ‘inevitably unique problems.’ One of the key tasks, in Klitgaard’s view, is to ensure that environments are rich in information. This volume offers a broad framework for policy analysis that moves us closer to intelligent solutions to the real problems of the real poor in the modern world."
Klitgard, a former professor of economics at Harvard, describes his experiences in Equatorial Guinea, a country in which corruption flourishes among capitalist adventurers and government officials. This book describes the difficulties of implementing a development plan in such conditions.
The highly acclaimed novel that reveals the life of a Vietnamese family in America through the knowing eyes of a child finding her place and voice in a new country. “A brilliant evocation of human sorrow and desire.... Heartbreaking and exhilarating.” —The New York Times Book Review In 1978 six refugees—a girl, her father, and four “uncles”—are pulled from the sea to begin a new life in San Diego. In the child’s imagination, the world is transmuted into an unearthly realm: she sees everything intensely, hears the distress calls of inanimate objects, and waits for her mother to join her. But life loses none of its strangeness when the family is reunited. As the girl grows, her matter-of-fact innocence eddies increasingly around opaque and ghostly traumas: the cataclysm that engulfed her homeland, the memory of a brother who drowned and, most inescapable, her father’s hopeless rage.
In Imperial Gateway, Seiji Shirane explores the political, social, and economic significance of colonial Taiwan in the southern expansion of Japan's empire from 1895 to the end of World War II. Challenging understandings of empire that focus on bilateral relations between metropole and colonial periphery, Shirane uncovers a half century of dynamic relations between Japan, Taiwan, China, and Western regional powers. Japanese officials in Taiwan did not simply take orders from Tokyo; rather, they often pursued their own expansionist ambitions in South China and Southeast Asia. When outright conquest was not possible, they promoted alternative strategies, including naturalizing resident Chinese as overseas Taiwanese subjects, extending colonial police networks, and deploying tens of thousands of Taiwanese to war. The Taiwanese—merchants, gangsters, policemen, interpreters, nurses, and soldiers—seized new opportunities for socioeconomic advancement that did not always align with Japan's imperial interests. Drawing on multilingual archives in six countries, Imperial Gateway shows how Japanese officials and Taiwanese subjects transformed Taiwan into a regional gateway for expansion in an ever-shifting international order. Thanks to generous funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities Open Book Program and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.
MONEY, MURDER, AND MACHIAVELLIAN MAYHEM . . . CONTAINS A NEW EPILOGUE Mafia Prince is the first person account of one of the most brutal eras in Mafia history -- "Little Nicky" Scarfo's reign as boss of the Philadelphia family in the 1980s -- written by Scarfo's underboss and nephew, "Crazy Phil" Leonetti. The youngest-ever underboss at the age of 33, Leonetti was at the crux of the violent breakup of the traditional American Mafia in the 1980s when he infiltrated Atlantic City after gambling was legalized, and later turned state's evidence against his own. His testimony led directly to the convictions of dozens of high-ranking men including John Gotti, Vincent Gigante, and the downfall of his own uncle, Nick Scarfo -- sparking the beginning of the end of La Cosa Nostra (the insiders' term for the Mafia, translated as "This Thing of Ours").
In a world grappling with seemingly insurmountable challenges like systemic corruption, elitism, and chronic inequality, this book is a beacon of hope and a wellspring of practical solutions. Brimming with real-world examples and actionable insights, this remarkable anthology equips readers with the knowledge and inspiration needed to ignite transformative change. The book explores topics as awesome as world development, as sordid as extortion, as vital as cultural responsiveness, as intimidating as racial inequalities. Its settings stretch from Harvard to the Himalayas, from the corridors of power to the backwaters of poor places. What binds together its diverse topics is the author’s belief in the possibility of simultaneously being humane and analytical, of dealing with both ultimate goals and concrete choices. Tailored to resonate with policymakers, activists, and scholars alike, this anthology’s global scope and unwavering focus on positive and practical solutions make it an indispensable addition to any collection.
In modern-day Havana, the remnants of the glamorous past are everywhere—old hotel-casinos, vintage American cars & flickering neon signs speak of a bygone era that is widely familiar & often romanticized, but little understood. In Havana Nocturne, T.J. English offers a multifaceted true tale of organized crime, political corruption, roaring nightlife, revolution & international conflict that interweaves the dual stories of the Mob in Havana & the event that would overshadow it, the Cuban Revolution. As the Cuban people labored under a violently repressive regime throughout the 50s, Mob leaders Meyer Lansky & Charles "Lucky" Luciano turned their eye to Havana. To them, Cuba was the ultimate dream, the greatest hope for the future of the US Mob in the post-Prohibition years of intensified government crackdowns. But when it came time to make their move, it was Lansky, the brilliant Jewish mobster, who reigned supreme. Having cultivated strong ties with the Cuban government & in particular the brutal dictator Fulgencio Batista, Lansky brought key mobsters to Havana to put his ambitious business plans in motion. Before long, the Mob, with Batista's corrupt government in its pocket, owned the biggest luxury hotels & casinos in Havana, launching an unprecedented tourism boom complete with the most lavish entertainment, the world's biggest celebrities, the most beautiful women & gambling galore. But their dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara & others who would lead the country's disenfranchised to overthrow their corrupt government & its foreign partners—an epic cultural battle that English captures in all its sexy, decadent, ugly glory. Bringing together long-buried historical information with English's own research in Havana—including interviews with the era's key survivors—Havana Nocturne takes readers back to Cuba in the years when it was a veritable devil's playground for mob leaders. English deftly weaves together the parallel stories of the Havana Mob—featuring notorious criminals such as Santo Trafficante Jr & Albert Anastasia—& Castro's 26th of July Movement in a riveting, up-close look at how the Mob nearly attained its biggest dream in Havana—& how Fidel Castro trumped it all with the revolution.