Dance of the Trillions: Developing Countries and Global Finance

David Lubin tells the story of what makes money flow from high-income countries to lower-income ones; what makes it flow out again; and how developing countries have sought protection against the volatility of international capital flows.

Book Updated 29 March 2023

David Lubin

Michael Klein Senior Research Fellow, Global Economy and Finance Programme

Dance of the Trillions

Selected by the Financial Times as one of the best economics books of 2018, Dance of the Trillions traces an arc from the 1970s, when developing countries first gained access to international financial markets, to the present day.

Underlying this story is a discussion of how the relationship between developing countries and global finance appears to be moving from one governed by the ‘Washington Consensus’ to one more likely to be shaped by Beijing.

This book is part of the Insights series.

 

 

 

Praise for Dance of the Trillions

This brilliant, well-written book shows how the destinies of developing countries have been shaped by the capricious flows of trillions of US dollars in international capital. When the funds gushed in, many emerging markets flourished but were just as quickly left stricken when the tides of international capital deserted them.

James Kynge, emerging markets editor, Financial Times and author of China Shakes the World

About the author

David Lubin is managing director and head of emerging markets economics at Citi, an American bank, where he is responsible for a team of more than 30 economists in 15 locations globally.

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