Prof. Dr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram - Faculty of Economics and

Faculty of Economics and Administration
University of Malaya
Prof. Dr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram
(Former Assistant Director General and Coordinator for Economic and Social Development
(ADG-ES), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
Prof. Dr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram: A Short biography
Jomo Kwame Sundaram was Assistant Director General and Coordinator for Economic and Social
Development (ADG-ES), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations from August 2012
until the end of 2015. Before that, he was Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development in
the United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) from January 2005 until June
2012, and (Honorary) Research Coordinator for the G24 Intergovernmental Group on International
Monetary Affairs and Development from December 2006 until September 2012. In 2007, he was
awarded the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. He has
authored and edited over a hundred books and translated 12 volumes besides writing many academic
papers and articles for the media. Jomo was Professor in the Applied Economics Department, Faculty of Economics and
Administration, University of Malaya until November 2004, Founder Director (1978-2004) of the Institute of Social Analysis (INSAN)
and Founder Chair (2001-2004) of IDEAs, International Development Economics Associates (www.ideaswebsite.org); he now serves
on its Advisory Panel. He was also on the Board of the United Nations Research Institute on Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva.
He is on the editorial boards of several learned journals.
During 2008-2009, Jomo served as adviser to Father Miguel d’Escoto, the President of the 63rd United Nations General
Assembly, and as a member of the [Stiglitz] Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on
Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System. During 2010-2012, he was G20 sherpa to UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon, and also UN G20 Finance Deputy during 2011-2012.
Born in Penang, Malaysia, in 1952, Jomo studied at the Penang Free School (PFS, 1964-1966), Royal Military College (RMC,
1967-1970), Yale (1970-1973) and Harvard (1973-1977). He has taught at Science University of Malaysia (USM, 1974), Harvard
(1974-1975), Yale (1977), National University of Malaysia (UKM, 1977-1982), University of Malaya (1982-2004), and Cornell (1993).
He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University (1987-1988; 1991-1992) and a Senior Research Fellow at the Asia
Research Institute, National University of Singapore (2004).
Some of his most cited book publications include Rents, Rent-Seeking and Economic Development: Theory and the Asian
Evidence, Tigers in Trouble, Globalization Versus Development: Heterodox Perspectives, Southeast Asia's Industrialization, Southeast
Asian Paper Tigers? Behind Miracle and Debacle, Manufacturing Competitiveness: How Internationally Competitive National Firms And
Industries Developed In East Asia, Ethnic Business? Chinese Capitalism in Southeast Asia, After The Storm: Crisis, Recovery and
Sustaining Development in East Asia , The Origins of Development Economics, Pioneers of Development Economics, The New
Development Economics, the two volumes of The Long Twentieth Century -- Globalization Under Hegemony: The Changing World
Economy and The Great Divergence: Hegemony, Uneven Development and Global Inequality, Policy Matters: Economic And Social
Policies To Sustain Equitable Development, Flat World, Big Gaps: Economic Liberalization, Globalization, Poverty and Inequality,
Growth Divergences: Explaining Differences in Economic Performance, Towards Full and Decent Employment, Reforming the
International Financial System for Development, Poor Poverty: The Impoverishment of Analysis, Measurement and Policies, Is
Good Governance Good for Development?, Globalization and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ending Malnutrition.
Some of his titles on Malaysia include Malaysia’s Political Economy, Malaysian Eclipse: Economic Crisis and Recovery, Ugly
Malaysians? South-South Investments Abused, Deforesting Malaysia: The Political Economy of Agricultural Expansion and Commercial
Logging, M Way: Mahathir’s Economic Policy Legacy, Bail-Outs? Capital Controls, Restructuring & Recovery in Malaysia, Malaysian
Industrial Policy and Malaysia@50: Development, Distribution, Disparities.
He is married to Noelle Rodriguez and has three children, Nadia (born 1987), Emil (born 1989) and Leal (born 1990).
“WHAT KIND OF AN FTA IS THE TPP?”
- ABSTRACT All studies so far project negligible direct economic growth gains from TPP
trade liberalization. Such tariff-related trade benefits, consistent with
economic theory and evidence, only make up a small share of the PIIE’s
projected gains.
Only by claiming huge gains from non-trade measures with no bases in
economic theory and accepted methodology or evidence, they came up
with inflated projections of supposed gains.
Gains should be compared against costs, but the PIIE understates costs
and risks, while exaggerating benefits. Very diverse TPP provisions were
fed into the trade model as simple cost reductions, with little consideration
of downside risks and costs.
By understating crucial costs, and exaggerating projected benefits, net
gains are overstated. Instead of being the regional free trade agreement it
is portrayed as, the TPP seeks to transform economic governance to
favour powerful, mainly foreign corporate interests.
While the main US motivation for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) has
been to counter China’s influence in the region, it has also been used to
undermine trade multilateralism.