Real world economic outlook

Edited by Ann Pettifor, Palgrave, 232 pages, paperback, £16.99

The gloomy conclusion of this book is that the world economy is heading for a crash. It argues that the US economy is currently running on credit bubbles that will eventually burst.

The authors also argue more convincingly that global inequalities have increased in the last 20 years, with a transfer of wealth from some of the poorest countries to the some of the richest, and growing maldistribution of wealth and income within all countries.

The book is the first of an annual alternative to the IMF's World economic outlook. It includes some mild proposals for reform, including capital controls, an international clearing union and a Tobin tax on financial speculation.