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Mark Weisbrot is an American economist, columnist and co-director, with Dean Baker, of the progressive think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, D.C.

Professional life and views

Weisbrot earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. In 1999, he co-founded, together with economist Dean Baker, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), "to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives". Weisbrot is co-author, with Baker, of Social Security: The Phony Crisis (University of Chicago Press, 1999). In the book, Weisbrot and Baker argue that much of the United States Social Security debate has been based on misconceptions, that privatization would be unlikely to improve the system, and that the system in fact performs satisfactorily and does not need fixing.

Commenting on international matters, Weisbrot argues that globalization, as understood by the United States government and American lending institutions, has not brought wealth to the world's poorer countries, stating that "no nation has ever pulled itself out of poverty under the conditions that Washington currently imposes on underdeveloped countries." He has said that he considers the IMF to be "in need of reform" and has taken an active role in developing the concept of a Bank of the South, acting as a consultant to South American governments; he has been described as el artífice intelectual (the intellectual architect) of the idea. Weisbrot has been broadly sympathetic to Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, who spearheaded the idea. Weisbrot advised Oliver Stone on South of the Border, a 2009 film about Chávez.

Weisbrot is also the President of Just Foreign Policy, a non-governmental organization dedicated to reforming United States foreign policy.

Columnist and author

Weisbrot writes a column for The Guardian, and an opinion column on economic and policy issues that is distributed nationwide by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. His opinion pieces have appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times/International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe and The Nation. He has written for and been interviewed by online magazines such as SocialistViewpoint, Solidarity, "an independent socialist organization", Z Communications, Common Dreams NewsCenter, The Huffington Post, and Alternet, both as original work and as republication of syndicated columns. He has appeared on national and local television and radio programs, including CBS, the PBS Newshour, CNN, the BBC, National Public Radio and Fox News.

Publications

Books co-authored with Dean Baker:

• Weisbrot, Mark (1999). Social Security: The Phony Crisis. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226035444. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Weisbrot, Mark (2005). What the Experts Got Wrong about the Global Economy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195170184. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

References

1. "Mark Weisbrot". Just Foreign Policy.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
2. Staff. "CEPR – About Us". Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Retrieved 16 February 2010.
3. Staff. "Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot Social Security The Phony Crisis". The University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
4. Veseth, Michael (2002). The rise of the global economy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781579583699.
5. Keith, Tamara (April 24, 2009). "The Scrutinizing the role of the IMF". Marketplace. NPR. Retrieved January 24, 2010. Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and a critic of the IMF.
6. Template:Es icon Pino, Soledad (September 2007). "Mark Weisbrot entrevista: El modelo americano no es mejor que el europeo" (PDF). La Clave. CEPR. Retrieved January 23, 2010.  ...se le considera el artífice intelectual del Banco del Sur, un proyecto impulsado por el presidente venezolano ... Segun fuentes cercanas, el propio Chavez consulta con cierta frecuencia a Weisbrot, aunque no siempre seguiría sus consejos. (He is considered the intellectual architect of the Bank of the South, a project initiated by the Venezuelan president ... according to sources close to him, Chavez himself consults Weisbrot with some regularity, although he may not always follow his advice.) Yo estoy muy involucrado en las discusiones y de asesoria especifica a los Gobiernos cuando me solicitan. (I'm very involved in the discussions and in providing specific advice to the governments when they ask.
7. Template:Es icon "Promocionan Banco del Sur en Madrid". El Universal. September 19, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
8. Heredia, Lourdes (December 10, 2007). "Why South America wants a new bank". BBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
9. "Chavez and allies challenge IMF, World Bank". MSNBC. December 9, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
10. Romero, Simon (May 18, 2008). "Chávez Seizes Greater Economic Power". New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2010. Mark Weisbrot, a Washington-based economist who is broadly supportive of Mr. Chávez's economic policies, ...
11. "Polls: Support for Chavez government falling". USA Today. March 18, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2010. ... Weisbrot, who has supported Chavez's policies.
12. "Chavez gets red-carpet treatment in Venice". MSNBC. September 7, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2010. Also here.
13. "Board". Just Foreign Policy.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
14. ^ "Mark Weisbrot: Op-Eds and Columns". Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Retrieved January 24, 2010.
15. Weisbrot, Mark (October 2003, Vol 3, No. 9). "Labor Day 2003: Nothing to Celebrate". Socialist Viewpoint. Retrieved January 24, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. "About Solidarity". Solidarity National Office. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
17. "Suzi Weissman interviews Mark Weisbrot". Solidarity National Office. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
18. "Mark Weisbrot". zmag.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
19. "Mark Weisbrot". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
20. Weisbrot, Mark (August 28, 2003). "Labor Day 2003: Nothing to celebrate". alternet.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.

External links

• "10 Years with President Hugo Chavez: Diego Arria and Mark Weisbrot Debating the Progress of the Bolivarian Revolution at American University". American University, Washington DC. February 24, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2010.

• American economists
• American economics writers
• American columnists
• University of Michigan alumni
• Living people