The Bridge to a Global Middle Class

Read an excerpt of The Bridge to a Global Middle Class.

The Bridge to a Global Middle Class compiles a unique series of papers originally commissioned by the Council on Foreign Relations in the wake of the financial crises of 1997-98. This thought-provoking retrospective culls the views of economists, international financial institutions, Wall Street, organized labor, and various public-interest organizations on how to fortify the U.S. global financial infrastructure. The effort is the culmination of an eighteen-month study that sought to encourage the evolution of middle-class-oriented economic development in emerging-market countries.

In addressing the world economic problems that led to the crises and examining methods to improve the workings of the world’s financial markets, Council Fellow Walter Russell Mead and Council consultant Sherle Schwenninger offer ideas and policy recommendations, and they suggest the concrete forms these might take in the drive to offer the developing world an improved standard of living.

These papers make a convincing case for middle-class-oriented economic development as the key to global prosperity and stability. U.S. and international policymakers will find these insightful discussions valuable in forming new policy and providing the appropriate stimulus for economic development in emerging economies.

A Council on Foreign Relations Book