Abstract:
Now in paperback, English and Español. A systematic and wide-ranging attack on neoliberal economic policies, as they have been practiced in the U.S. under Clinton and Bush, and in developing countries, under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund. The book also sketches an alternative policy approach for advancing a workable egalitarian economic agenda, again, both within the U.S. and for developing countries. Reviews of Contours of Descent A major new book by the eminent U.S. economist Robert Pollin…does an excellent job of demystifying the true nature of boom and bust in the U.S. and clearly identifying the effects on different sectors of U.S. society as well as on the rest of the world. In addition to this critical assessment, Pollin goes beyond analysis in seriously putting forward alternative economic policies. What is even more important is that he manages to do this in a lucid and highly readable style, which makes the book very approachable for the non-economist.
     – Jayati Ghosh, Frontline I strongly urge you to read Robert Pollin's Contours of Descent.... an unsparing scrutiny of Clintonomics.
     –Alexander Cockburn, The Nation
This is a book sophisticated enough to be of interest to those with economics training, but written in a comprehensible and popular style, so that without sacrificing rigor it will be accessible to any interested reader.
      –Edward S. Herman, Monthly Review
Pollin is a people's economist who presents complex economic issues in a comprehensible form and helps the reader sift through the class biases of conventional economics.
     – Jerry Kloby, Shelterforce Pollin writes with great clarity and a total lack of dogmatism.... Above all, Pollin is committed and he does not pull his policy punches.
     – John King, Journal of Australian Political Economy Contours of Descent provides an incisive political-economic analysis of neoliberal economics in the U.S.
     – Christopher Niggle, Journal of Economic Issues Robert Pollin has succeeded admirably in debunking the celebratory tone that seemed to have infected most journalists and too many economists during the late 1990s. And he has done it with good solid economic reasoning and research.
     – Michael Meeropol, Challenge