10 JEFFREY SACHS
UAntwerp awards honorary degree to Professor Jeffrey Sachs
On 29 March, The Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development( IMDO) of the University of Antwerp conferred its honorary degree and paid tribute to Jeffrey Sachs. On this occasion, Prof. Sachs also gave a masterclass on his book The Age of Sustainable Development( 2015). Professor Sachs was born in Detroit, Michigan on 5 November 1954 and received his PhD from Harvard University in 1980. He is“ probably the most important economist in the world”( New York Times); his fame stemming from him being one of the driving forces behind the MDGs and the SDGs; his extensive work on fighting poverty, overcoming macroeconomic instability, and promoting sustainable environmental practices; and his many best-sellers.
Sachs’ work has taken him to more than 125 countries around the world, where he has advised dozens of heads of state and governments, and he currently serves as a Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. In addition to his role at Columbia University( where he is the director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management) Sachs has authored and edited numerous books, including The End of Poverty( 2005), The Price of Civilization( 2011), and Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair & Sustainable( 2017). He is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Blue Planet Prize, the World Sustainability Award, 24 honorary degrees, and many awards and honors around the world.
Although he is considered one of the world’ s leading experts on economic development, Professor Sachs’ s work is subject to criticism. For instance, regarding his work on the economicreform program for Russia( which is widely seen as a failure), Joseph Stiglitz( in 1999 and as chief economist for the World Bank) blamed“ an excessive reliance on textbook models of economics”. Besides, his ideas on fighting poverty with more aid money and more expert interventions are disputed by William Easterly( Professor of Economics at New York University, Co-director of the NYU Development Research Institute, author of The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor, 2014; The White Man’ s Burden: Why the West’ s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, 2006), Dambisa Moyo( author of Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, 2009) and many others. According to Michael Clemens( senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and a leading Sachs critic),“ There is zero scientific evidence that the Millennium Villages Project is meetings its goals.”
But rather than explaining why things( will) fail and why good intentions often go to waste, Sachs’ s discourse is- without playing down the magnitude of the threats the world is facing- that of positivism and optimism, and that is probably what makes it attractive. As he says himself: " You can be pessimistic about the current trajectory, but also optimistic about the solutions." According to Sachs, the main challenges to sustainable development are vested interests in politics, the technicity of the required solutions, the limited awareness of challenges and solutions. He is quite cautious regarding the first aspect, saying:“ Although we can work together to address major dangers, such as man-induced global warming, we still seem to live in an age that is completely trapped in increasing distrust. We are even at risk of global destruction.” And he is particularly critical of President Trump:“ It is remarkable that the US, which was the dominant power worldwide for the past 75 years, is itself unstable and in some respects a rogue state, a rogue nation … The situation is very serious, and dangerous, until the next president is there.”( interview given to Universiteit Antwerpen Magazine, March 2018 issue). However, some initiatives such as China’ s proposed Global Energy Interconnection – based on renewables, ultra-high-voltage transmission, and an AI-powered smart grid – which he considers“ the boldest global initiative by any government to achieve the goals of the Paris climate agreement”, make him remain positive overall about the future.
Professor Jeffrey Sachs with IOB student Kujiek Ruot Kuajien after the Masterclass on Sustainable Development.
Sources
- https:// goo. gl / 4gWW4V( live stream masterclass)- http:// jeffsachs. org / about /- https:// goo. gl / wQb4Ks( oxfam blog)- https:// goo. gl / PHmZWs( project and syndicate blog)
Exchange to change June 2018