Jeffrey Sachs on Sustainability and Inequality

(Bloomberg View) -- This week on our Masters in Business radio podcast, we speak with Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University. He is the author of numerous bestselling books, most recently “Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, and Sustainable.”

We had a far-reaching conversation, covering everything from globalization to technology to infrastructure development to income inequality.

Sachs describes the strengths and weaknesses of recent U.S. presidents -- and his discussion is likely to surprise you. He discusses how he approached the George W. Bush White House about a $3 billion project to stem the tide of AIDS in Africa, which Bush not only embraced, but also subsequently called his “greatest legacy.”

Sachs also discusses the Easterlin paradox, a concept in “happiness economics,” which notes that a country's higher level of per capita gross domestic product does not correlate with greater self-reported levels of happiness among citizens of a country. The general economic discontent is fodder for a discussion on government priorities and how we should solve economic problems.

The books we discussed can be found here.

SoundCloud: Interview with Jeffrey Sachs: Masters in Business (Audio) by Bloomberg View

Listen to the show on Bloomberg Radio. The full podcast can be heard on iTunes, SoundCloud and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts can be found on iTunes, SoundCloud and Bloomberg.

Next week, we speak with Professor Scott Galloway (return appearance!) of New York University's Stern School of Business.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg View columnist. He founded Ritholtz Wealth Management and was chief executive and director of equity research at FusionIQ, a quantitative research firm. He blogs at the Big Picture and is the author of “Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy.”

To contact the author of this story: Barry Ritholtz at britholtz3@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brooke Sample at bsample1@bloomberg.net.

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