AMMAN -- By undertaking more tax reforms, the Jordanian government will be able to spend its revenue in a better way to stimulate the economy, renowned economic expert Joseph Stiglitz told a group of Jordanian intellectuals on Sunday.
According to a press statement received from the Economic and Social Council of Jordan, Stiglitz was speaking during a session titled "Fiscal Discipline and Economic Growth with Special Reference to the Cost of Inequality".
"Countries should develop and emphasise an industrial policy to overcome tough economic situations, in collaboration with the private sector," the press release quoted Stiglitz as telling top Jordanian representatives from the public and private sectors during a meeting hosted by the Economic and Social Council of Jordan.
Tackling issues related to fiscal positions of developing economies, the influential American economist said governments should have broader measures of performance and cooperative research and development to support small- and medium-size enterprises.
He added in the press release that creating jobs is not only important for its direct contribution to gross domestic product but also for the sense of worth it gives to individuals.
Stiglitz, a professor at Colombia University and a recipient of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for 2001, expressed concern during the discussion of a potential upcoming global crisis if governments misdiagnose the issues of unemployment and growth. "Emerging economies should reconsider fixed exchange rate systems that would favour home-grown growth and promote exports," the press release quoted him as saying.
He briefed the audience of his initiative of reinventing the government during Clinton's administration to increase efficiency in public and private sectors.
Stiglitz, founder of the Policy Dialogue Initiative (PDI), a think tank on international development based at Columbia University, and president of the International Economic Association, was invited to Jordan by Columbia University Middle East Research Centre to attend the World Economic Forum.
© Jordan Times 2013
