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The Summers memo was a 1991 memo on trade
Nomination Of Lawrence H. Summers
Hearing before the Committee on Finance'', Senate, 103rd Cong. 1 (1993). Pritchett (who worked under Summers) stated that he had written the memo and Summers had only signed it, and that it was intended to be "sarcastic". According to Pritchett, the memo as leaked was doctored to remove context and intended irony, and was "a deliberate fraud and forgery to discredit Larry and the World Bank". Daniel Hausman and Michael McPherson have argued that the satirical section might seem to be based in economics as a science, but in fact contains strong moral premises which cannot be removed and still leave the argument intact. Brazil's environment secretary
The Whirled Bank (satirical website)
US Senate hearing records
for Summers' nomination to Secretary of the Treasury in 1993. In this hearing, Summers stated:
The Logic of a Free Market Economist
a critique of some of the economic logic in the memo. Environmental policy Memoranda Economic globalization Classified documents 1991 documents History of globalization
The Summers memo was a 1991 memo on trade liberalization
Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...
that was written by Lant Pritchett
Lant Pritchett (born 1959) is an American development economist. He is the RISE Research Director at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
He was born in Utah in 1959 and raised in Boise, Idaho. He graduated from Brigham Yo ...
and signed by Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as the 71st United States secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as pres ...
who was then Chief Economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
of the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
. It included a section that both Summers and Pritchett say was sarcastic that suggested dumping toxic waste
Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...
in third-world countries
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " Firs ...
for perceived economic benefits.
After the material was leaked by Roberto Smeraldi
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
of Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
to '' Jornal do Brasil'' on February 2, 1992., quoted on page 135 of Nomination Of Lawrence H. Summers
Hearing before the Committee on Finance'', Senate, 103rd Cong. 1 (1993). Pritchett (who worked under Summers) stated that he had written the memo and Summers had only signed it, and that it was intended to be "sarcastic". According to Pritchett, the memo as leaked was doctored to remove context and intended irony, and was "a deliberate fraud and forgery to discredit Larry and the World Bank". Daniel Hausman and Michael McPherson have argued that the satirical section might seem to be based in economics as a science, but in fact contains strong moral premises which cannot be removed and still leave the argument intact. Brazil's environment secretary
Jose Lutzenberger
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
argued that it demonstrated "the arrogant ignorance of many conventional 'economists' concerning the nature of the world we live in".text and commentaryThe Whirled Bank (satirical website)
Text of the excerpt
Coverage
Extensive news articles and discussion regarding this memo were included in thUS Senate hearing records
for Summers' nomination to Secretary of the Treasury in 1993. In this hearing, Summers stated:
References
{{reflistExternal links
The Logic of a Free Market Economist
a critique of some of the economic logic in the memo. Environmental policy Memoranda Economic globalization Classified documents 1991 documents History of globalization