Joseph Stiglitz

“One can only hope that America, and other countries, will not need more natural persuasion before taking to heart the lessons of Hurricane Harvey.”

“Those who have contributed great positive innovations to our society, from the pioneers of genetic understanding to the pioneers of the Information Age, have received a pittance compared with those responsible for the financial innovations that brought our global economy to the brink of ruin.”

“When you don't have equality of opportunity because you don't have equal access to education, it just seems so outrageous. It weakens our economy and leads to more inequality.”

“The Paris climate agreement may be a harbinger of the spirit and mindset needed to sustain genuine global cooperation.”

“Macroeconomic policy can never be devoid of politics: it involves fundamental trade-offs and affects different groups differently.”

“A lot of my book, 'The Price of Inequality,' is about why there has been an increase in rent-seeking.”

“My teachers helped guide and motivate me; but the responsibility of learning was left with me, an approach to learning which was later reinforced by my experiences at Amherst.”

“Negative interest rates hurt banks' balance sheets, with the 'wealth effect' on banks overwhelming the small increase in incentives to lend.”

“While it was an experiment to bring them together, nothing has divided Europe as much as the euro.”

“Climate change poses an existential threat to the planet that is no less dire than that posed by North Korea's nuclear ambitions.”

“In debate, one randomly was assigned to one side or the other. This had at least one virtue - it made one see that there was more than one side to these complex issues.”

“It is always better to tax bad things than good things.”

“America and the world are paying a high price for devotion to the extreme anti-government ideology embraced by Donald Trump and his Republican party.”

“What separates developing countries from developed countries is as much a gap in knowledge as a gap in resources.”

“With my kids, I'm a little sappier than my father may have been.”

“The IP standards advanced countries favour typically are designed not to maximise innovation and scientific progress, but to maximise the profits of big pharmaceutical companies and others able to sway trade negotiations.”

“Europe can't rely on a Trump-led U.S. for its defence. But, at the same time, it should recognise that the cold war is over - however unwilling to acknowledge it America's industrial-military complex may be.”

“High levels of economic inequality lead to imbalances in political power, as those at the top use their economic weight to shape our politics in ways that give them more economic power.”

“To maximise global social welfare, policymakers should strongly encourage the diffusion of knowledge from developed to developing countries.”

“Having excessive power in the hands of one country meant the fate of the world was too dependent on what happened in that one country.”