Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey D. Sachs (born 1954 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American economist known for his work as an economic advisor to governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia, and Africa. He proposed shock therapy (though he himself hates the term) as a solution to the economic crises of Bolivia, Poland, and Russia. He is also known for his work with international agencies on problems of poverty reduction, debt cancellation, and disease control—especially HIV/AIDS, for the developing world.

Sachs' research interests include the links of health and development, economic geography, globalization, transitions to market economies, international financial markets, international macroeconomic policy coordination, emerging markets, economic development and growth, global competitiveness, and macroeconomic policies in developing and developed countries.

Sachs received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Harvard University in 1976, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard in 1978 and 1980 respectively.

He joined the Harvard faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1980, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1982 and Full Professor in 1983. In 2002, Sachs was named Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia. He is also a Special Advisor on the Millennium Development Goals, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Previously, Sachs has been an advisor to the IMF, the World Bank, the OECD, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Development Program.

In his 2005 work, The End of Poverty, Sachs wrote that "Africa's government is poor because Africa is poor", reversing the usual assumption. According to Sachs, with the right policies, mass destitution - like the 1.1 billion extremely poor living on less than $1 a day - can be eliminated within 20 years. China and India serve as examples; China has lifted 300m people out of poverty in the last two decades. For Sachs a key element is raising aid from the $65bn level of 2002 to $195bn a year by 2015. Sachs emphasises the role of geography, with much of Africa suffering from being landlocked and disease-prone, but stresses that these problems once recognised can be overcome: disease (such as malaria) can be controlled, and infrastructure created. Without specifically addressing these, political elites will continue to focus on getting resource-based wealth out of the country as fast as possible, and investment and development remain mirages.

Publications

• Sachs, Jeffrey (2005). The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time Penguin Press Hc ISBN 1594200459
• Sachs, Jeffrey (2003). Macroeconomics in the Global Economy Westview Press ISBN 0631220046
• Sachs, Jeffrey (1997). Development Economics Blackwell Publishers ISBN 0813333148
• Sachs, Jeffrey; Pistor, Katharina. (1997). The Rule of Law and Economic Reform in Russia (John M. Olin Critical Issues Series (Paper)) Westview Press ISBN 0813333148
• Sachs, Jeffrey (1994). Poland's Jump to the Market Economy (Lionel Robbins Lectures) The MIT Press ISBN 0262691744
• Sachs, Jeffrey (1993). Macroeconomics in the Global Economy Prentice Hall ISBN 0131022520
• Sachs, Jeffrey (Ed) (1991). Developing Country Debt and Economic Performance, Volume 1 : The International Financial System (National Bureau of Economic Research Project Report) University of Chicago Press ISBN 0226733327
• Sachs, Jeffrey (1989). Developing Country Debt and the World Economy (National Bureau of Economic Research Project Report) University of Chicago Press ISBN 0226733386
• Bruno, Michael and Sachs, Jeffrey (1984), "Stagflation in the World Economy"

  This list is incomplete.

External links

• The Earth Institute at Columbia University (http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/)
• Jeffrey Sachs' syndicated op/ed column (http://www.project-syndicate.org/contributors/contributor_comm.php4?id=2)
• Interview on PBS' Commanding Heights (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitextlo/int_jeffreysachs.html)
• Jeffrey D. Sachs, LA Times, 12 June 2005, "Africa's Suffering Is Bush's Shame: Millions are dying because of American policy" (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-sachs12jun12,0,3370311.story)
• The UN Millennium Project (http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/)
• Millennium Development Goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)