Review by Choice Review
Fragile Futures aims "mainly to call attention to the very limited role that governments have played in the past in dealing with exceptional situations" (p. 9), such as pandemics and natural disasters. Tanzi (emer., American Univ. and IMF) argues that markets have a hard time adequately responding to these problems and advocates for an increased role for government in tackling them, especially potential problems due to climate change. In separate chapters, Tanzi surveys historical pandemics; famines; and natural, atomic, and industrial disasters before turning to climate change. He promotes a shift away from economic growth toward greater concern for the environment. His most compelling warning is that current high debt levels give governments very little "fiscal space" to intervene efficiently and quickly when hard-to-foresee problems arise. The book adds considerable value and provides striking insights in many places, but too many sections appear to be hastily written and lack the citations and empirical evidence needed to argue their points effectively. Summing Up: Optional. Undergraduates. --Robert M. Whaples, Wake Forest University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
