MAKING GLOBALIZATION WORK By Joseph Stiglitz W.W. Norton Pp: 358 Price: Rs 595

Joseph Stiglitz takes to the globalisation pulpit with a missionary zeal. Making Globalization Work, his latest offering on the subject, is truly an endeavour in that direction. His prescriptions on the variety of vexed issues, while reflective of his untiring commitment to drive home equity in the globalisation process, border on the impractical. His theme is simple-the developed countries ought to give more to the developing countries in every sense. His solutions are radical. He condemns the prevailing patent regime as one that breeds monopolies, stifles research rather than promotes it, and at the end of the day, fattens the pockets of multinationals in developed countries. Stiglitz suggests measures like committed bulk procurement of medicines by global agencies to address the genuine issue of recouping research costs of pharmaceutical companies.

To save the environment, he suggests that countries levy a pollution tax at the consumption end that will provide a baseline for setting country-level emission reduction targets. On the corporate front, the book brings out the pitfalls of Limited Liability Partnership-they are often used to renege on contracts, since liabilities are limited to the extent of participation in the partnership-and possible solutions. Here, and on several other issues, a good part of his solutions involve the creation of global institutions that are insulated from the prejudices of the developed countries. Surely, such solutions have no feet to stand on, at least for the foreseeable future.

Stiglitz spares no opportunity in exposing the hypocrisy of the American system. It deems it fit to send the WorldCom CEO behind bars for 100 years on charges of cheating the American public, but does not think it right to extradite the CEEO of Union Carbide, a company responsible for thousands of deaths in Bhopal. The book is sprinkled with several such instances.

Inequities are equally perpetuated in the more impersonal world of state finances, says Stiglitz. Making a case for liberal lending terms and debt forgiveness by IMF and World Bank, the author argues that bankruptcy of a state and that of a corporate cannot be treated alike, for in the case of the latter, assets can be taken over. Moreover, he points out that the lending policies are formulated by the developed countries with the primary objective of securing the lenders' interests. Clearly, on this count, there are strong arguments on both sides of the fence.

That the legacy in global trade talks will not be easy to overcome is well known. Stiglitz's solutions, heartening as they sound, are unlikely to find an ear in the relevant quarters to make it work. Amen.

THE CONCISE OXFORD HISTORY OF INDIAN BUSINESS By Dwijendra Tripathi and Jyoti Jumani Oxford Pp: 265 Price: Rs 275

By now, Dwijendra Tripathi has come to be recognised as the most authoritative business historian in India. So, it's no surprise that his concise history of Indian business is actually a comprehensive look at the evolution of Indian business since the 1700s. It is to Tripathi's credit that he doesn't merely chronicle the times gone by, but also looks at available evidence to draw conclusions not always made by European chroniclers. For instance, 'conventional' business history would have us believe that Indian traders were mere peddlers when the Britons first came to India. But Tripathi, a former professor of business history at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, argues that was far from the case. "The association of merchants representing different trades that existed in many cities would have been wholly unnecessary if the number of participants in these trades was not sufficiently large," the authors write. Tripathi, who has authored several other books on Indian business and business communities, also contends that the Indian traders' inability to move from trade to industry wasn't due to some social or cultural reasons as commonly believed, but due to the lack of an enabling environment. Anyone who wants to understand the evolution of business in India will find the book an excellent starting point.