Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy Joseph E. Stiglitz W. W. Norton & Company, 2010 Joseph Stiglitz's Freefall is another excellent discussion of the global economic crisis, authored by a man who ranks high among the commentators. Stiglitz was the chief economist at the World Bank during the East Asian economic crisis in 1997-1998, and then chaired the United Nations commission that sought reforms for the global financial and monetary system. He was a member of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors. This is his fifth book. There seem to be a great many Nobel Prize winners in Economics (whose collective wisdom doesn't seem to have saved the world from its financial travails), but it would surely be amiss not to mention that Stiglitz is among them. This book testifies to his distinction in that select group. Because Freefall can hardly examine the crisis without covering much of the same ground as the other books we have reviewed, we will avoid repeating that analysis here. We prefer to focus on those aspects of Stiglitz's discussion that address unresolved issues or that most bring his own learning to bear: * His view of the plight in which today's "capitalism" finds itself. * What he says (and yet doesn't say) about the whirlpool of global finance. * His critique of the response that the U.S. Federal Reserve and government have made to the crisis, including what he thinks should have been done. * In connection with this critique, his reflections on the performance both of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations' actions through the end of 2009. * What reforms Stiglitz considers needed. His view of today's "capitalism." Although Stiglitz affirms "that markets lie at the heart of every successful economy" and is by no means anticapitalist, he shares the view that has come to be held by a great many thoughtful commentators that today's "capitalism" bears little resemblance to the competitive "private enterprise" that supporters of a market economy have long championed. He speaks of an "ersatz capitalism" that features a "corporate welfare state" driven by "blatant greed" and an ideology, sponsored by special interests, that has made a fetish of "self-regulating markets." "The current crisis has uncovered fundamental flaws in the capitalist system, or at least the peculiar version of capitalism that emerged in the latter part of the twentieth century in the United States." This realization is an intellectual earthquake. It should profoundly redirect the thinking of America's free-market enthusiasts, who will do their philosophy a great disservice if they insist on blind loyalty to the current system. We saw the same theme in our review of John Bogle's The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism,1 where we wrote that "in common with many others today, Bogle sees that the market system has become untracked - has 'lost its soul' - and needs much devoted attention (especially from capitalism's supporters...)." It is worth noting that Bogle saw the problem as societal, not just economic. "Our society is moving in the wrong direction," with "absurdities and inequities that we've come to accept" in a "wealth-oriented, things-fixated society" within which "the lure of money has overwhelmed the prestige of reputation." This suggests that even though national and international financial reforms are essential, they cannot appropriately be understood as a "quick fix" that will be sufficient to put things right. There needs to be deep concern for the systemic health of the society. What Stiglitz says (and doesn't say) about the multi-trillion dollar ocean of global finance. In our review of David Smick's The World is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy, 2 we found that "the risks Smick describes are so many and so palpable that any objective observer would be justified in considering them intolerable. …

Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy

The cement industry relies upon silos for storage of materials throughout the process of the creation of cement. Many arrive on site at a production facility fully realizing that mechanical systems and equipment need maintenance, but never think twice about their storage structures. Unfortunately, this can lead to tragic consequences for facility personnel as attested to by past failures.

Too big to fail

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the disrupting usage and impacts of blockchains and cryptocurrencies and advocate their role as enablers of sustainable tourism development goals.,Literature on blockchains and cryptocurrencies is critically synthesized, debated and expanded to identify and discuss their implications toward sustainable tourism futures.,As a distributive digital ledger, blockchains have the potential to create a more inclusive tourism future to address debates around tourism as a vehicle for sustainable development that alludes to value accruing to only certain providers and consumers. Blockchains and their cryptocurrencies (as a financial transaction capability) elevate trust and relational capabilities in an expedited and holistic manner, democratize participation in economic systems and re-distribute power and economic relations amongst actors by influencing the way data (the currency of the digital economy and the lifeblood of tourism) is collected, stored, exchange, owned and traded for co-creating value.,The paper is conceptual and speculative by identifying ways in which blockchain and cryptocurrencies can support sustainable tourism development goals. Directions for future research are provided for further elaborating and collecting primary evidence on whether the premise and applications of these technologies can deliver the acclaimed sustainable impacts.,The paper contributes to the emerging but controversial literature about the trajectories between technology and sustainability by critically debating on how blockchains, through cryptocurrency economies, can be positioned to facilitate sustainable tourism futures.,本论文旨在讨论区块链和加密货币的使用和影响, 并且建议其对于可持续旅游发展目标的积极作用。,区块链和加密货币的文献得到批判式的综述, 作者对有些文献进行辩论, 有些学说进行延伸, 以确立和探究其对可持续旅游发展未来的作用深意。,区块链作为分布式电子账本技术, 有潜力创造一个更加融合的旅游未来, 以解决旅游作为媒介打造可持续发展的争论问题。区块链和加密货币（作为一种财务交易能力）通过以价值共创为前提, 影响数据（数字经济货币和旅游生命力）收集、储存、交换、所有、以及交易, 快速全面地提高了信任和关系能力, 使得经济系统参与更加民主化, 并且重新分配了各种角色中的权力和经济关系。,本论文是概念性文章, 主要通过指出区块链和加密货币如何支持可持续旅游发展目标的方式来进行讨论。未来研究可以深入探讨并且收集数据来验证是否这些科技的应用可以影响所谓的可持续发展。,本论文对这个前沿又充满争议的文献进行梳理和讨论, 指出了科技与可持续性之间的多种联系, 批判地综述了区块链如何通过加密货币经济能够帮助可持续旅游的未来。,加密货币, 电子付款, 破坏性创新, 分布式账本, 旅游业, 可持续发展,概念性论文

Road block(chain): bit(coin)s for tourism sustainable development goals?

Global digital platforms are conquering the world and rely critically on digital infrastructures to function, yet little research has explored the fundamental interrelationship between the two. This working paper argues that understanding centralization and decentralization in digital networks as asymmetry and symmetry in mutual interdependencies between the constitutive elements of a digital network can help us understand the platform-infrastructure relationship more fundamentally (and vice versa). To this end, the paper proposes, as a starting point, the in-depth analytical and literature study of blockchain networks as a particularly revealing type of digital platform/infrastructure duality. The paper proposes an analytical model for characterizing de/centralization in digital networks and maps this onto blockchain networks. Based on this, the paper explores the de/centralization of blockchain, arguing that the extant blockchain literature largely has failed in providing a comprehensive understanding of de/centralization by not considering the complex second-order interdependencies between the different constitutive dimensions of a blockchain: the symbolic, technological and political dimension. Based on this, the paper provides an analysis of the meaning of de/centralization in blockchain networks by studying the interdependencies between its constitutive elements of coin, network technology, and social community.

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Towards a theory of digital network de/centralization: platform-infrastructure lessons drawn from blockchain

In the crypto world, there is a proverbial (and literal) gold rush now occurring. Currently, more than 37 gold-backed cryptocurrency companies have now emerged. Interestingly, some of them also claim to be Sharīʿah-compliant. Introducing precious metal-backed cryptocurrencies is perceived to be an innovation among global payment systems, hampered in part by lack of supporting empirical evidence. Therefore, this research investigates potential users' tendency to adopt a Sharīʿah-compliant precious metal-backed cryptocurrency. As such, this study adopts an extended adoption model, which consists of eight factors. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis was conducted on data elicited from economic active residents in Klang Valley from questionnaires. Overall, it was found six out of the eight constructs specified to influence the adoption of precious metal-backed cryptocurrency were statistically significant where 54.5% of the variation in adoption of PMBC can be explained by the structure model provided by this research. It was also found 63.55% of the respondents are willing to adopt precious metal-backed cryptocurrency in their future transactions.

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Acceptance of Sharīʿah‐compliant precious metal‐backed cryptocurrency as an alternative currency: An empirical validation of adoption of innovation theory

Bitcoin and its peculiar, decentralized transaction system, have already ignited interest by professional and retail traders in search for profits and by economists and legal experts, looking for p...

The disenchantment of Bitcoin: unveiling the myth of a digital currency

Except some limited initiatives aimed at fostering excellence in scientific research (Corradi & Rostan, 2009), the idea of academic excellence has been traditionally associated in Italy with teaching, especially with the mission of ‘producing’ excellent students and excellent young researchers.

Fiammetta Corradi

Papers

The disenchantment of Bitcoin: unveiling the myth of a digital currency

Schools of Excellence in Italy