On Covering Up

“We design performance measures to cover up error. They are called benchmarks.

Unfortunately, we make decisions based on: “Will we be found out? Discovered? Identified as the wrongdoer? The recommender of unwisdom? Will we be hassled? By peers, supervisors, the bureaucracy. Do we really want to have to explain this stuff to someone who spent his life in sales or marketing?”

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Welcome

I have included in this website selected speeches and articles, made over my professional career, which I believe are still relevant. They reflect the influence of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the World Bank where I spent much of my professional life. Most of these speeches and articles deal with matters relating to globalization; financial excesses, crises and reforms; derivatives and strange accounting conventions; the World Bank and development; poverty and its geopolitical implications; uncertainty, vulnerability and risk; and the role of incentives and peer pressure in the financial markets. A basic theme is: "Be modest. The only perfect hedge is in a Japanese garden," and as I wrote over 30 years ago: "Learn Chinese!"

From time to time this website will be updated to reflect commentary on current developments.

—Gene Rotberg