Review
Filled with amazing data ... fascinating insights and revealing anecdotes, this is quite simply the best guide to the global economy today. Whether you are an observer or an investor, you cannot afford to ignore it. -- Fareed Zakaria There is nothing theoretical or abstract about this work. [Sharma's] new book adopts the same approach that served him well in his 2012 survey of emerging markets, Breakout Nations, considering the views of village barbers alongside those of presidents as he works out whether the fundamentals of the countries he considers suggest a more bearish or bullish stance. ... All of these views are not meant to be written in stone: Sharma believes long-term forecasting is a fool's game. But for insights into the forces operating in our world today, The Rise and Fall of Nations is a stimulating and useful guide. -- Henry Sender Financial Times The Rise and Fall of Nations has three aims: to assess the crash; to dismantle the analysis that led investors and economists to get overexcited; and to offer a new framework for thinking about emerging countries. The result is ambitious. It covers four-fifths of the world's population and 40% of its GDP ... it is also entertaining, acute and disarmingly honest. Instead of pious statements about poverty, or portentous mutterings on the importance of American leadership, Mr Sharma sees the world from the ruthless and restless perspective of an investor ... He has a knack for sharp comparisons between countries. ... If Mr Sharma is right that global capital flows will remain depressed, and that developing economies face a pedestrian future, then the hot money chasing them will recede-as, perhaps, will the influence of famous fund managers. Until then, Mr Sharma's book is a fine guide to the great emerging market boom and bust. The Economist Ruchir Sharma is a shrewd and thoughtful observer of emerging markets. His insights deserve the attention of all who care about the future of the global economy. -- Lawrence H. Summers This efficient, positive guide for the practical observer and investor shows how to choose healthy emerging markets. ... Evenhanded, measured, sage advice on the global economy. Kirkus Articulate ... Highly recommended to all readers interested in global economics ... Sharma presents a wealth of data and insights into the economic condition of the post-2008 world ... Some of his conclusions may seem jarring but are always thought provoking. Library Journal Sharma's wealth of knowledge ... and ample experience on the ground are strong foundations for his exploration of what makes economies break out, or break down. Reuters or sheer readability and insight on the developing world drama, I dare say you won't find a better choice. Wall Street Journal A vital guide to the new economic order. It's a new world, and investors are looking for a roadmap to help them capture whatever return they can. Ruchir Sharma's new book, The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World, provides a guide. ... Sharma's new book is ambitious in positing new rules that investors should take into consideration as they think about the growth prospect of all nations, developed and developing, in the coming economic era of bifurcation, political populism, growing inequality, and uncertain technological disruption. ... One thing that sets Sharma's take on the new world apart straight away: He isn't making 20, 30 or 50 year predictions about who will fare well or poorly as many banks like Goldman Sachs, or consulting groups like McKinsey have lately been wont to do. He points out sharply that even when all the economic vectors seem to be leading in a certain direction, unexpected human behaviour, usually in the form of political change, can shift everything in a heartbeat ... Rather he looks to help readers navigate this turbulent world with rules that can help them identify which countries might, over 5 to 10 year time horizons, rise, fall, or muddle through. -- Rana Foroohar Time
About the Author
Ruchir Sharma is Head of Emerging Markets and Chief Global Strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. With more than $20 billion of assets under management, Ruchir is one of the world's largest global investors. He typically spends one week every month in a different emerging market where he meets leading politicians, top CEOs and other local characters. He has been with the firm for 19 years and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Investment Management division.
Ruchir has been a writer for even longer than he has been an investor. He started writing at the age of 17 for India's largest economic daily, The Economic Times and is now a frequent contributor to the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs and The Times of India. His essays have also appeared in, Time, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Forbes and Bloomberg View. For much of the last decade he had been a contributing editor and regular columnist for Newsweek International.
Ruchir may be most well-known for his 2012 book, Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles. Breakout Nations debuted as the number one bestseller in India and earned Sharma the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award for 2012. Breakout Nations also made the Wall Street Journal hardcover business bestseller list and was chosen by Foreign Policy as one of its “21 Books to Read in 2012”. Ruchir’s next book, The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World will be released in June 2016.
Bloomberg named Ruchir one of the top 50 Most Influential people in the world in October 2015. In 2012, Sharma was selected as one of the top global thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine and in June 2013, India's premier weekly magazine Outlook chose Ruchir as one of The World's 25 Smartest Indians. The World Economic Forum in Davos selected Ruchir as one of the world’s “Top Young Leaders” in 2007.
Ruchir is especially passionate about politics and has formed an informal group of senior Indian editors and writers with whom he travels extensively before major state and national elections; usually logging in over 1,000 miles over 4-5 days, meeting with the nation’s top leaders and getting a first-hand feel of local politics. Ruchir's other interests include athletics and a serious commitment to running. Despite his extensive travels, he tries not to miss a single day of training no matter where he is in the world. He regularly trains with a former Olympics coach and competes in sprinting events. In 2011, he represented India in the World Masters Athletic championship in Sacramento. Ruchir is a movie buff and makes it a point to attend major film festivals anytime he can take a moment away from his investing, writing and running. He also has a fascination with wildlife and his annual safaris inform the prologue to The Rise and Fall of Nations, a meditation on how witnessing predator-prey behavior on the African plains has shaped his rules for national survival and success in the global economy.
