MEGATHREATS

In MEGATHREATS, Nouriel Roubini argues that we are heading toward the worst economic catastrophe of our lifetimes, unless we can defend against ten terrifying threats. Nouriel Roubini was nicknamed "Dr. Doom," until his prediction of the 2008 housing crisis and Great Recession came true--when it was too late. Now he is back with a much scarier prediction, one that we ignore at our peril. There are no fewer than ten overlapping, interconnected threats that are so serious, he calls them Megathreats.

From the worst debt crisis the world has ever seen, to governments pumping out too much money, to borders that are blocked to workers and to many shipments of goods, to the rise of a new superpower competition between China and the U.S., to climate change that strikes directly at our most populated cities, we are facing not one, not two, but ten causes of disaster. There is a slight chance we can avoid them, if we come to our senses - but we must act now.

In the 1970s, we faced stagflation: high rates of inflation combined with stagnant employment and growth. Today, we are heading toward a Great Stagflation that will make the 1970s look like a walk in the park.

Many of the megathreats in this book arose from actions that once looked like solutions to problems. To combat these megathreats we cannot make the same mistakes again. Our very survival may hinge on subordinating individual freedoms to the common good, national and global. Failure to restore sustainable and inclusive growth could plunge us back into the tribal dark ages. Change is coming, like it or not. The megathreats we face will reshape our world. If you want to survive, do not be taken by surprise.

Nouriel Roubini is a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business and the founder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics. He is a former senior economist for international affairs in the White House's Council of Economic Advisers and has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the US Federal Reserve, and the World Bank. His monthly Project Syndicate ("The World's Opinion Page") column has been published in more than 100 countries in 29 languages, in major publications ranging from The Guardian, Les Echos (France), Deutsche Wirtschaftsnachrichten (Germany), and Information (Denmark), to Nikkei Japan, China Business Network, Taiwan Economic and Daily News, Valor (Brazil), El Economista (Mexico), and many more around the globe. Roubini was born in Turkey and grew up in Milan, Italy. He received his undergraduate degree from Bocconi University in Milan and his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University (he also speaks colloquial Hebrew and Farsi). Prior to joining Stern (NYU), he was on the faculty of Yale University's department of economics. He lives in New York City.