‘America’s Wake-Up Call’: Q&A with New Canaan’s Stephen Roach, Economist and Author

When we heard that economist, scholar, author and New Canaan resident Stephen Roach was coming to New Canaan Library to talk about his widely discussed new book — “Unbalanced: The Codependency of America and China” — we immediately sought to put some questions to Roach himself: His history and involvement in our town, entry into the field of economics (where he is a prominent figure), and a bit about the book itself. We discovered that Roach is a fixture in the chicken line at New Canaan’s well-loved and recently held May Fair, and found him frank and engaging: “In a codependent relationship, the scorned partner usually ends up in serious trouble,” Roach says of the relationship between the two nations in his book. “Call it America’s wake-up call.” Our full exchange can be found below. A senior fellow at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanly Asia, he’sspeaking at 8 a.m. next Wednesday, May 21 as part of the library’s “Distinguished Authors Series on Economics,” presented in partnership with the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, Alliance of Business Professionals and Elm Street Books. Register here.