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Mark Weisbrot

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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. and the President of Just Foreign Policy, a non-governmental organization dedicated to reforming United States foreign policy. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. He is co-author, with Baker, of Social Security: The Phony Crisis (University of Chicago Press, 2000), a refutation of prevailing wisdom on reform of the Social Security system in the United States. He has written on economic policy and the economies of developing countries, with special attention to Latin America; CEPR has published a number of papers on them. More recently, Weisbrot and others at CEPR have criticized the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), claiming that they "exacerbate the world economic downturn".

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Weisbrot has been a critic of IMF-supported policies in developing countries, as well as IMF policy with respect to the late-2000s recession.

He has also been a critic of globalization. According to CEPR, Weisbrot documented in a 2001 paper long-term economic growth failure in the vast majority of developing countries since 1980, as well as the consequent decline in progress on such social indicators as life expectancy and infant and child mortality. The evidence did not indicate a broad decline in the indicators measured, nor that these declines were the result of policy changes, but CEPR says that there is "certainly no evidence in these data that the policies associated with globalization have improved outcomes for most low to middle-income countries". In a 2005 followup, CEPR said that, "contrary to popular belief, the past 25 years (1980–2005) have seen a sharply slower rate of economic growth and reduced progress on social indicators for the vast majority of low- and middle-income countries", and that, "'It is generally difficult to show a clear relationship between any particular policy change and economic outcomes, especially across countries. There are many changes that take place at the same time, and causality is difficult to establish. It is certainly possible that the decline in economic and social progress that has taken place over the last 25 years would have been even worse in the absence of the policy changes that were adopted."

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.

Latin America

Weisbrot has contributed testimony to Congressional hearings, in 2002 to a House of Representatives committee, on Argentina's 1999–2002 economic crisis and in 2004 to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on democracy and the media in Venezuela. In a reference to freedom of speech and the press, and human rights in Venezuela when journalists denounced alleged government aggression, according to Venezuela's El Universal, Weisbrot said that Venezuela was one of the least repressive countries in the Western hemisphere.

According to some sources, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez himself has consulted Weisbrot, who is described as supporting Chávez's policies. Weisbrot has been described as el artífice intelectual (the intellectual architect) of the Bank of the South, first proposed by Venezuela's Chávez. Weisbrot says that the idea cannot be attributed to him because there was nothing original about it, though he was involved in the discussions and provided specific consultancy to the governments involved. Weisbrot advised Oliver Stone on South of the Border, a 2009 film about Chávez.

De Paul University and the Financial Times have hosted a course and dialogue focusing on the debate over Chavez's economic policies between Weisbrot and Francisco Rodríguez, who was chief economist of the Venezuelan National Assembly from 2000 to 2004 in the Chavez administration.

References

  1. "Board". Just Foreign Policy.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  2. "Mark Weisbrot". Just Foreign Policy.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  3. "Mark Weisbrot". Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  4. "Mark Weisbrot: CEPR Reports and Policy Papers". Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Retrieved January 27, 2010. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Text "Books and Book Chapters" ignored (help)
  5. ^ Weisbrot, M. (April 2009). "Empowering the IMF: Should Reform be a Requirement for Increasing the Fund's Resources?". Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR). Retrieved 1 February 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. Weisbrot, Mark; Ray, Rebecca; Johnston, Jake; et al. (October 2009). "IMF-Supported Macroeconomic Policies and the World Recession: A Look at Forty-One Borrowing Countries". Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Retrieved January 24, 2010. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 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.
  8. Penderis, Marina (October 29, 2009). "WORLD: IMF Has Long Way to Go – Even After 'Istanbul Decisions;". Inter-Press Service. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  9. Weisbrot, Mark; Baker, Dean; Kraev, Egor; Chen, Judy (July 11, 2001). "The Scorecard on Globalization 1980-2000: 20 Years of Diminished Progress" (PDF). Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Retrieved January 24, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. Weisbrot, Mark; Baker, Dean; Rosnick, David (September 2005). "The Scorecard on Development: 25 Years of Diminished Progress" (PDF). CEPR. Retrieved January 24, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Mark Weisbrot: Op-Eds and Columns". Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  12. 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)
  13. "About Solidarity". Solidarity National Office. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  14. "Suzi Weissman interviews Mark Weisbrot". Solidarity National Office. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  15. "Mark Weisbrot". zmag.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  16. "Mark Weisbrot". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  17. Weisbrot, Mark (August 28, 2003). "Labor Day 2003: Nothing to celebrate". alternet.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  18. "Argentina's Economic Meltdown: Causes and Remedies" (PDF). U.S. House of Representatives. March 5, 2002. Retrieved January 24, 2010. Full Committee Panel here.
  19. ^ "Testimony of Mark Weisbrot on the state of democracy in Venezuela" (PDF). U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. June 24, 2004. Retrieved January 24, 2010. To set the record straight: Venezuela is a democracy, as much as any country in Latin America today. ... The same is true for freedom of the press, assembly, association, and other civil liberties. Anyone who calls the Venezuelan government "authoritarian" is in need of a dictionary, or perhaps needs to see the place. ... It is true that there are human rights abuses in Venezuela. But these are not different from those in the rest of Latin America, and I have not heard any reputable human rights organization argue that they have worsened under the five years of Chavez' government. Nor have they argued that the government has engaged in any systematic repression of political dissent. ... Our government also undermines democracy in Venezuela by disregarding the rule of law in that country, and encouraging the opposition to do the same. ... Of course Venezuela has rarely been front page news, unlike Iraq. But our government's involvement there has already caused considerable damage and could well push the country to civil war -- especially if our media continues to go along for the ride. Full Committee Panel here.
  20. Template:Es icon Matheus, Maria Elena (October 17, 2003). "Periodistas denuncian agresiones promovidas por el gobierno". El Universal. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  21. ^ 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 artifice 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. (According to close sources, Chavez himself consults with Weisbrot with certain frequency, although he may not always follow his advice.) ... Yo no soy el padre, porque no tiene nada de original tampoco, es simplemente establecer prestamos con filosofias diferentes. Yo estoy muy involucrado en las discusiones y de asesoria especifica a los Gobiernos cuando me solicitan. (I am not the 'father', because (the idea) is nothing original, it's simply establishing loans with different philosophies. I'm very involved in the discussions and specific advisement to the Governments when they ask.
  22. 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, ...
  23. "Polls: Support for Chavez government falling". USA Today. March 18, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2010. ... Weisbrot, who has supported Chavez's policies.
  24. Template:Es icon "Critican que Miceli exponga en una reunión contra el FMI". Grupo Capital SA. Retrieved January 24, 2010. ... Mark Weisbrot, un conocidísimo defensor -o apologista, según sus críticos-, del presidente Hugo Chávez (Weisbrot, a well known defender- or apologist, according to his critics- of Chavez).
    * Pupovac, Jessica (December 28, 2005). "Chicago Turns Down Discounted Venezuelan Oil". The New Standard. Retrieved January 24, 2010. Weisbrot is a staunch supporter of the Chavez administration.
    * "Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)". DiscovertheNetwork.org. Retrieved January 24, 2010. A longtime supporter of Chavez, Weisbrot, in a December 2002 article titled 'U.S. Intervening Against Democracy in Venezuela,' impugned the U.S. for sponsoring democratic opposition groups in Venezuela, organizations he dismissed as 'mostly managers and executives' who 'are trying to cripple the economy ... in order to overthrow the government.'
    * Laksin, Jacob (January 16, 2007). "'Socialism or Death' in Venezuela". FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved January 24, 2010. Predictably, Chavez still has his defenders. In the United States, the task of condoning every new attempt to consolidate power as an affirmation of people's democracy in action has been taken up most prominently by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. The center's co-director, Mark Weisbrot, has reliably praised Chavez's Venezuela as a 'democratic' country and hailed the alleged success of the government's economic policies.
  25. Template:Es icon "Promocionan Banco del Sur en Madrid". El Universal. September 19, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  26. "Chavez and allies challenge IMF, World Bank". MSNBC. December 9, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  27. Heredia, Lourdes (December 10, 2007). "Why South America wants a new bank". BBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  28. "Chavez gets red-carpet treatment in Venice". MSNBC. September 7, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2010. Also here.
  29. "PSC 349: Topics in World Politics: Latin American Political Economy" (PDF). De Paul University. Fall 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
    * Ask the expert: Chávez and Venezuela. Financial Times, January 30, 2007.
    * Rodriguez's March/April 2008 Foreign Affairs article; Weisbrot's March 2008 rebuttal; Rodriguez March 2008 response to rebuttal.
    * An October 2006, Rodriguez paper "Freed from Illiteracy? A Closer Look at Venezuela's Robinson Literacy Campaign, (also here) and Weisbrot May 2008 response.

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