Quantitative easing policies undertaken by the U.S. Federal Reserve may “backfire,” Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote in a commentary published in today’s China Daily newspaper.

Money will seek the best returns globally and will find those prospects in Asia and not the U.S., Stiglitz wrote. That will mean the funds won’t go to where they’re needed and will go instead to where they’re not wanted, Stiglitz wrote. The money will also fuel asset and commodity prices, especially in emerging markets, Stiglitz wrote.

The “gravest threat” to the global economy comes from a wave of austerity sweeping the world’s governments, especially in Europe, Stiglitz wrote. The slowdown in Europe will exacerbate the slowdown in the U.S., Stiglitz wrote.

Economic prospects for 2011 are “bleak” with little upside potential and a lot of downside risk, Stiglitz wrote.