Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet

In Common Wealth, Jeffrey D. Sachs-one of the world's most respected economists and the author of The New York Times bestseller The End of Poverty- offers an urgent assessment of the environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and extreme poverty that threaten global peace and prosperity. Through crystalline examination of hard facts, Sachs predicts the cascade of crises that awaits this crowded planet-and presents a program of sustainable development and international cooperation that will correct this dangerous course. Few luminaries anywhere on the planet are as schooled in this daunting subject as Sachs, and this is the vital product of his experience and wisdom.

Customer Reviews:

Earth Changing Trends and Solutions

By B.Sudhakar Shenoy - July 20, 2008

This is yet another classic from Jeffrey Sachs. Here is the most comprehensive and compelling list of issues facing Mother Earth in the twenty first century and also some excellent prescriptions for sustainable and inclusive global economic growth.

The list of "six earth changing trends" starts with convergence. Thanks to globalization and relatively peaceful environment despite some regional tensions, most developing countries are catching up fast for the lost time in the last three decades. Sachs explains the concept of convergence and a thumb rule for forecasting faster growth rates of poorer countries, relative to their income levels. The good news is that poorer countries can grow faster. The flip side is that there are about 6 times more people on this planet today than in 1830 and this is expected to grow by another 40 % to 9.2 billion by 2050. Assuming steady economic growth rates, the global GNP is expected to reach around $ 400 Trillion from the current $ 67... read more

Excellent at times, frustrating at others

By A. Berke "chemist" - January 15, 2011

Having recently finished Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" and Collier's "The Bottom Billion", I was excited to pick this book up as a continuation of those themes. In the end, I think I would have been better served sticking with the first two. At times, Sachs was excellent. For example, his chapter on population is full of figures, compelling and well-presented data, interesting anecdotes, and seemed written from the perspective of someone passionately involved with the topic. In other parts of the book he seemed out of his element. The sections on poverty and energy, while interesting, were much weaker than the section on population, and rather better covered (as one would expect from books specific to those topics) by Friedman and Collier. Overlap between topics in books is nothing new, I just think I suffered from having read the other two first.

I also was somewhat annoyed with the partisan tone the book took on at times. I was annoyed not because I necessarily... read more

The Rising Costs of Environmental Degradation

By Izaak VanGaalen - April 26, 2008

With the publication of The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time just a few years ago, Jeffrey Sachs estimated that it would take annual donations of 135 to 190 billion dollars by rich countries to eradicate poverty by 2025. Those were the UN Millenium Development Goals of 2000. But much has happened since then. Economic development has accelerated and not because of development aid, it was mostly due to globalization or market forces. The unfortunate by-product of this development has been enviromental stress. In order to continue development in a sustainable way and also reach areas of sub-Sahara Africa, the price tag will go up. According to Sachs, it will now require 840 billion dollars or about 2.4 percent of rich-world income. This is still a bargain when one considers the alternative.

Sachs is obviously a liberal with a grandiose plan that many will call utopian. He has... read more