RIO DE JANEIRO -- U.S. President George W. Bush poses a much greater threat to the world's economy than any candidate in Brazil, Nobel prize-winning U.S. economist Joseph Stiglitz said in an interview published here Saturday.

"I think that Bush represents a much greater danger to the world's economic policy than any candidate in Brazil. If I had to choose between Bush and Lula (Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Dilva), I'd opt for Lula," Stiglitz told the daily *****O Globo*****.

"When (candidates) rise to power, they have a better sense than ever before of what their obligations are. That's why what happened in the United States with Bush was so remarkable, because he did not treat the (financial) figures with the proper amount of caution," Stiglitz said.

Brazilian financial markets have had a turbulent couple of months, reflecting investors' worries about the upcoming presidential elections and the market's vulnerability to the economic crisis in neighboring Argentina, AFP reported.

In addition, bush's 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut, aimed at bolstering the U.S. economy, has earned criticism for digging deep trenches in a surplus left by the administration of former president Bill Clinton.

Stiglitz, who served as an adviser to Clinton and as the world bank's chief economist, was awarded the 2001 Nobel prize for economics along with two other U.S. economists for analyzing the central role of knowledge in market economics.