Losing Control: The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity

A hard-hitting analysis of the future of the global economy and what it means for the Western way of life As the economic giants of Asia and elsewhere have awakened, Western leaders have increasingly struggled to maintain economic stability. The international financial crisis that began in 2007 is but one result of the emerging nations’ increased gravitational pull. In this vividly written and compellingly argued book, Stephen D. King, the global chief economist at HSBC, one of the largest banking groups in the world, suggests that the decades ahead will see a major redistribution of wealth and power across the globe that will force consumers in the United States and Europe to stop living beyond their means. The tide of money washing in from emerging nations has already fuelled the recent property bubble in the West, while new patterns of trade have left the West increasingly dependent on risky financial services. Unless things change drastically, King argues, the increasing power of emerging markets, when coupled with poor internal regulation and an increasingly anachronistic system of global governance, will result in greater instability and income inequality, accompanied by the risk of a major dollar decline. And as Western populations age and emerging economies develop further, the social and political consequences may be alarming to citizens who have grown accustomed to living in prosperity.

About the Author :
Stephen D. King is group chief economist and global head of economics and asset allocation research at HSBC. He lives in London.

Review :
"I’ve not come across another book which so forcefully gives the European or American reader a China-centred view rather than a western-centric one…A disorientating and thought-provoking perspective."— Diane Coyle, The Enlightened Economist “Mr. King lays out his arguments in accessible and engaging prose. He is a lively writer with a deft eye for catchy historical analogies.” — The Economist   "This book raises issues of wide significance for the future of the global political economy."—C. J. Talele, Choice