Philippe Legrain
Biography of Philippe Legrain
Critically acclaimed author, commentator and consultant
Philippe Legrain is a critically acclaimed author, commentator and consultant. His latest book, 'Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them' (Little, Brown, 2007), was shortlisted for the 2007 'Financial Times' Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.
A visiting fellow at the 'London School of Economics' European Institute, journalism fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and contributing editor to 'Prospect' magazine, he is also a commentator on globalisation, migration and European issues for publications such as the 'Financial Times and the Guardian', as well as for BBC TV and radio.
Previously trade and economics correspondent for The Economist and special adviser to World Trade Organisation Director-General Mike Moore, his first book was 'Open World: The Truth about Globalisation' (Abacus, 2002).
Topics
- Economics
- Globalisation
- Migration and mobility
- Diversity
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Books of Philippe Legrain
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Title:ImmigrantsSubtitle:Your Country Needs ThemAuthor:Philippe LegrainPublisher:Princeton University PressBook:Hardcover, 392 pagesISBN:978-06-911-3431-4"Mr. Legrain performs an invaluable service; he makes a good case for the unpopular cause of free flows of people. The book is a superb combination of direct reportage with detailed analysis of the evidence." — Martin Wolf Financial Times
"Mr. Legrain has assembled powerful evidence to undermine the economic arguments against immigration." — Economist
"In all important respects Legrain is right on target…. In the context of the fearful chatter that surrounds the subject, sense as good as this needs cherishing." — Guardian
"Immigrants boldly challenges the conventional thinking at every turn. [Legrain] makes a powerful case that free movement of people is just as beneficial as the free movement of goods and capital. The book is carefully written; the argumentation is never slapdash stuff of the xenophobes. [A]n extraordinary book, making the best case I have ever read for an open-border policy." — George C. Leef Regulation Magazine -
Title:Open WorldSubtitle:The Truth About GlobalizationAuthor:Philippe LegrainPublisher:Ivan R. Dee, PublisherBook:Hardcover, 384 pagesISBN:978-15-666-3547-9Globalization is not some faceless bogeyman bent on destroying democracy and controlling the world, argues Legrain. That misunderstanding, he says, arises from the bad rap it gets from opponents of its current manifestation, like Naomi Klein, or even from proponents like Thomas Friedman, who characterizes globalization as inevitable. In fact, says Legrain, who is "chief economist of Britain in Europe" and a former trade correspondent with the Economist, globalization is "a political choice," and generally a beneficial one. Focusing his analysis on the historical benefits of international trade, Legrain readily criticizes what he sees as globalization's primary flaws. International patent law and financial markets each receive a scathing rebuke for the (sometimes lethal) harm they wreak on the developing world. Nevertheless, "No country has escaped poverty without trading with the rest of the world," and Legrain spends much of the book refuting depictions of globalism as a "race to the bottom," loading the book with examples of globalization's positive effects on global labor and environmental standards and its role as a lubricant for democracy. He is less persuasive and less rigorous when downplaying America's predominance in the global culture, and he too often deals with popular culture and European examples, such as fashion or opera, paying little or no attention to smaller, local cultures in developing countries. Likewise, his glib assertion that the most dominant mass media companies are a global hodgepodge, rather than rigorously calibrated and competitive organizations centered on profit, is unlikely to assuage the fears of their many opponents. Legrain's attempts at reconciling opposing arguments might not render the "truth," but they paradoxically mirror adjustments that have recently been made by activists, who have moved from "antiglobalization" actions to demands for "global justice."
References of Philippe Legrain
Publications of Philippe Legrain
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