The infant-economy argument for protection: trade policy in a learning environment --
Part Three. Policies for a learning society. The role of industrial and trade policy in creating a learning society --
Financial policy and creating a learning society --
Macroeconomic and investment policies for a learning society --
Intellectual property --
Social transformation and the creation of a learning society --
Concluding remarks --
Part Four. Commentary and afterword. Introductory remarks for the First Annual Arrow Lecture / Michael Woodford --
Further considerations / Joseph E. Stiglitz and Bruce C. Greenwald --
Commentary: the case for industrial policy / Philippe Aghion --
Commentary / Robert Solow --
Commentary / Kenneth Arrow --
Afterword: rethinking industrial policy / Philippe Aghion.

Creating a Learning Society explains how the countries of the world went from centuries of stagnation to the enormous increases in standards of living that have marked the last two hundred and fifty years: they have learned how to learn. Yet, as Stiglitz and Greenwald make clear, markets won't succeed on their own in creating the learning society that we need. Achieving this requires good governmental policy in a variety of areas, including trade, industry, and intellectual property. Indeed, the central thesis of this book is that every policy-tax, regulation, and expenditure-affects learning, and that policymakers have been remiss in ignoring this. Some policies, such as the Washington Consensus policies foisted on developing countries by the World Bank and IMF, actually impede learning. In advanced and developing countries alike, Creating a Learning Society has had a remarkable reception. Governments in Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, Jordan, and South Africa have signaled strong support for its policies, and a Dutch think tank closely allied with the government released a blueprint for creating a learning economy. This streamlined edition, intended for everyone from scholars to general readers, omits the original book's complicated mathematical equations and, in accessible language, focuses on its central messages and policy prescriptions. Read less