The Summers memo was an excerpt of a 1991 memo signed by Lawrence Summers (though actually written by an aide, Lant Pritchett) who was, at the time, Chief Economist of the World Bank.
In this excerpt, the memo advanced an economic argument for the dumping of pollution from first-world countries in the territory of third-world countries. The argument was intended to be an "ironic aside" by the memo's original author, Lant Pritchett, and was intended to support an argument in the memo that free trade would not necessarily cause environmental benefits for developing nations.
The excerpt was leaked to the media with the implication that it was a serious, standalone memo, and it instantly became a symbol within the anti-globalization movement of "the arrogant ignorance of many conventional 'economists' concerning the nature of the world we live in" (Brazilian Secretary of the Environment Jose Lutzenberger).
Lawrence Summers initially accepted responsibility for the memo, but claimed that this argument was satirical and not meant to be taken seriously. An aide, Lant Pritchett, later stated that he had written the memo and Summers had only signed it.
Several economists have noted that although the "memo" may be regarded as morally deplorable, the economic argument in itself is impeccably logical and makes perfect economic sense.
External links
- Two websites with the full text of the excerpt and commentary: [1] [2]
- An article that provides mitigating perspective: [3]
Last updated: 08-22-2005 23:58:53
