Toward a Better World : Memoirs of a Life in International and Development Economics / Gerald (Gerry) Helleiner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Helleiner, Gerald (Gerry), Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic development--Africa.

Economic development.

Economists--Canada--Biography.

Economists.

Africa--Economic conditions--20th century.

Africa.

Canada.

Helleiner, Gerald K.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (328 pages)

Place of Publication:

Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Towards a Better World describes the life, times and perspectives of Gerry Helleiner, a Canadian activist and university-based economist, who worked for roughly 40 years with developing countries and international organizations. In his memoir, Towards a Better World, Helleiner, recounts the profound early experiences in Africa that propelled him into a rewarding career devoted to research, advice and teaching in international economics, economic development and global poverty reduction. Describing himself as privileged, Towards a Better World recounts his early life as a young academic, having first landed in Africa in the 1960s for the purpose of research for Yale University. Detailing both successes and setbacks, frustrations and hopes, Helleiner, conveys his often difficult, yet transformative, experiences in Nigeria and Tanzania, missions in Uganda and South Africa, and witnesses the wavering efforts being made towards poverty alleviation in international organisations . Providing lively behind-the-scene accounts of multilateral economic meetings in the 1970s through the 1990s, Helleiner addresses his engagement with economic policymakers, his views often challenging common practice. In Towards a Better World, Helleiner speaks to his early motivation as a young man in Africa, and his lifework as a practicing economist determined to make a positive effort in addressing global poverty.

Contents:

Early years

Undergraduate life

The Yale years

Nigeria

Tanzania

Uganda

South Africa

AERC : macroeconomic background and early days

More African capacity building : ACBF

UN activities : satisfaction and frustration

Sonny times at the Commonwealth Secretariat

Cool relations with the IMF

Ambivalent relations with the World Bank

Life with the G-24

Interlude at IFPRI

Wilder with WIDER

IDRC : again and again

The North-South Institute : present at the creation (and demise)

Trying to influence Canadian foreign policy

Political economy and economics at the University of Toronto

Intellectual currents

Some reflections for others.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9781487514907

1487514905

9781487514891

1487514891

OCLC:

1083582899