FAIR TRADE FOR ALL HOW TRADE CAN PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT By Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton Oxford University Press Pp: 315 Price: Rs 495

Shortcomings of the existing platform for trade negotiations have spurred paralysing debates that offer little meeting ground between the ideologies of free trade and anti-globalisation. Stiglitz and Charlton's Fair Trade For All, attempts to offer a prescription that addresses the widening schism between the developing and developed countries. The solution mooted by the Nobel prize-winning Stiglitz recognises the design fault in the framework, WTO, whose pedigree has meant little for addressing the inequality in development between the North and the South. The book effectively captures the events leading up to the concretisation of this divide-the Uruguay Round, etc.-which sowed the seeds of disenchantment for the African countries. This was followed by the American and EU resistance to reduction in their agriculture subsidies.

Stiglitz has lucidly argued that unless the negotiations marry trade liberalisation with development, trade talks would be an exercise in futility. In other words, the underlying theme of trade liberalisation based on comparative advantage between nations needs to be given a partial burial. Stiglitz has enumerated cases where the concessions offered by the developed world have meant little compared to the commitments extracted from the developing world. To prevent such abuse, clearly, there is need for greater research and analysis of trade data with a redefined, developing-country perspective. The prescription underscores the need to understand the sensitivities of individual countries and provide a 'soft landing' to developing countries embracing a more liberal trade regime, as well as to developed countries lowering their trade barriers. The key aspect of this prescription is that the larger part of the benefits should accrue to the poorer countries.

The authors have suggested radical measures in this regard, including that all WTO members commit themselves "to providing free market access in all goods to all developing countries poorer and smaller than themselves". Surely, such proposals are extremely ambitious, as they require political momentum of a high order to see them through. And this is unlikely to come through, since trade issues cannot be divorced from electorally-sensitive concerns such as employment. Alongside their attempt to redistribute the development and growth gains arising out of trade pacts, the authors have discussed in detail the attendant costs of adjustment that developing countries will face as they go in for further trade liberalisation.

Overall, the authors have attempted a future-proof prescription that requires a stiff dose of optimism. But then, as it is fairly recent that developing countries have come together to strengthen their voice on the 'unfairness' of the trade talks, such works of courage and insight are definitely the need of the hour.

ACCOUNTING & ANALYSIS THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE GDSIL Pp: 495 Price: Rs 3,500

How a company reports its annual accounts depends not so much on accounting rules as the management's interpretation of those rules. The auditors only look for glaring deviations from accepted norms, and take pretty much else on face value. That interpretation of rules varies widely from company to company shouldn't surprise anyone. Different companies have different 'compulsions', dictated by their performance in consumer markets and stock markets. Global Data Services of India Ltd (GDSIL) has been doing an outstanding job of capturing accounting practices in India Inc. Not surprisingly, then, the Crisil subsidiary's third edition of Accounting & Analysis: The Indian Experience is both interesting and instructive. The book, which is available in a stripped-down university version (priced at Rs 600) as well as a fully-loaded professional version, analyses published accounts of more than 500 listed companies in India. While the book brings out several interesting facets of accounting practices in the country, its best section (newly introduced in the third edition) is on human resource valuation. Check out what it has to say about HR valuation at Infosys compared to Satyam Computer.