Summers: Memo 'Ironic'

A Harvard professor who is vice-president and chief economist of the World Bank defended himself this week against criticism over a memo that apparently endorsed toxic waste dumping in Third World countries.

Lawrence H. Summers, Ropes professor of political economy, said in an interview with The Crimson that the memo--which has prompted calls for his resignation from the World Bank--has been misinterpreted.

"I wrote the memo seeking to clarify ideas, using irony, regarding the relationship between trade policy and the environmental policy," Summers said.

In the memo, which was leaked to the press several weeks ago, Summers wrote: "I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that."

Summers said he was trying to be ironic by taking the position of "hard-core economists" and measuring the worth of a human life in monetary terms.

"I have not and do not favor judging the value of a life by what a person will earn," he said.

Summers said his comments were misunderstood and called the controversy surrounding the memo "very unfortunate."

Summers added that he was not concerned about the calls for his resignation.

"I enjoy the confidence of the Bank's senior management," he said. "The president [Lewis Preston] has labeled the matter closed."