Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power and Politics of World Trade

October 19, 2005

Wednesday, October 19, 2005 12:30–2:00 p.m.
(Light refreshments will be provided.)
Meeting Hall B (Visitors enter via the IMF Center)
720 19th St. NW, Washington, DC

Transcript of the book forum

This Book Forum is free and open to the public.

For security reasons, please RSVP to EventsRSVP@imf.org or
(202) 623-7001. A picture ID will be required; persons and bags will be screened.

Please arrive 15-20 minutes early to allow for these additional measures. Visitors should enter through the IMF Center, 720 19th St. NW.

Only IMF/World Bank Staff ID holders should use IMF main entrance at 700 19th St. NW.

Those who have already sent a RSVP in response to an earlier announcement about this event need not respond again.

Is globalization a force for good? Pietra Rivoli takes this oversized issue and shrinks it down to size: Her new book tells the story of a simple $6 T-shirt as it goes from production to market in a global economy. From Texas cotton farms to garment factories in Shanghai, from the U.S. market to second-hand markets in Africa, the T-shirt's travels amidst ever-changing economic and political regulations offer a unique insight into the debate over the effects of globalization.

Featuring:
Pietra Rivoli, Associate Professor, Georgetown University

Rivoli's book was recently shortlisted for the inaugural Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

Discussant:
Brink Lindsey, Vice President for Research, Cato Institute

Moderated by:
Hans-Peter Lankes, Policy Development and Review Department, IMF.

* * * * *

Dr. Rivoli is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. She is the author of International Business and has been published in numerous journals, including Journal of International Business Studies and Journal of Business Ethics.

Mr. Lindsey oversees the Cato Institute's research programs. From 1998 to 2004, he was director of Cato's Center for Trade Policy Studies, helping to make it a leading voice for free trade. An attorney with extensive experience in international trade regulation, Lindsey is the author of Against the Dead Hand: The Uncertain Struggle for Global Capitalism, winner of the 2003 Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Award. Lindsey holds an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Mr. Lankes has been Chief, since January 2002, of the IMF's Trade Policy Division, which reviews and provides advice on Fund policies on trade and foreign direct investment. He joined the IMF in 2001 from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where he was Director of Strategy.