International Economics [Paperback]

Krugman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1408208075 | ISBN-13: 978-1408208076 | Publication Date: July 3, 2008 | Edition: International edition

Renowned researchers Paul Krugman and Maurice Obstfeld set the standard for international economics courses with the text that remains the market leader in the U.S. and around the world. International Economics: Theory and Policy is a proven approach in which each half of the book leads with an intuitive introduction to theory and follows with self-contained chapters to cover key policy applications. The Eighth Edition integrates the latest research, data, and policy in hot topics such as outsourcing, economic geography, trade and environment, financial derivatives, the subprime crisis, and China's exchange rate policies.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Krugman is a professor in the Department of Economics and in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at PrincetonUniversity. Over the last 30 years, he has contributed to numerous academic journals as well as to the public discourse on economics and as an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. He is the author of over 20 bestselling books and has written more than 200 papers and articles for various professional journal volumes and newspapers. He is acclaimed in the field of economics for insights into international trade patterns that overturned long-held theories about the global economy. In 2008, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics and was recognized for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.

 

Maurice Obstfeld is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for International and Development Economic Research (CIDER) at the University of California, Berkeley. He also serves as honorary advisor to the Bank of Japan's Institute of Monetary and Economic Studies. Among Professor Obstfeld's honors are the Carroll Round Keynote Lecture, Woodward Lecture, and Bernhard Harms Prize and Lecture in 2004. Professor Obstfeld is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is active as a research Fellow of CEPR, a research associate at NBER, and an International Research Fellow at the Kiel Institute of World Economics.

 

Marc Melitz is a Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He is an economist who specializes in international trade theory and has worked on the development of trade models that account for differences in productivity between firms. His research is focused on producer-level responses to globalization.  The Melitz model helps to explain variations in export and foreign direct investment patterns and is now widely used in the field of international trade and has become a cornerstone of trade theory. Melitz is also associate editor of the Journal of International Economics and Economic Journal, a foreign editor for the Review of Economic Studies, and is a research fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research and a faculty research fellow with the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 706 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Academic; International edition edition (July 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1408208075
• ISBN-13: 978-1408208076
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #702,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not What I've Come to Expect from Krugman, April 3, 2005

By 

TitaniumDreads "http://blog.titaniumdreads.com" (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th Edition) (Hardcover)

First off, even if you totally discount the rest of my review, buy the low price international version of this book. On the March 10, 2005 episode of the daily show Krugman elucidated his feelings quite clearly. "The real money is in textbooks. With other books, people need to decide whether to buy them or not. Students have to buy textbooks." Thanks Paul. I think I'm being charitable when I say that at $125 this book is a ripoff. It isn't even full color.

Anyway, on to the actual content of the book. I have to say that I was excited when I found out that my International economics course at Stanford was going to be using Paul Krugman's book. I've enjoyed his articles for the New York Times because they manage to cut right to the core of issues with an unusual amount of punch. Yet, time and time again I was disappointed with the frequently inpenatrable language and obtuse, unrealistic examples in this book. Unfortunately, the only part of Krugman's characteristic writing style that came through was a feeling of overwrought vitriol, which makes sense in an op-ed but has little place in a textbook. Furthermore, this book occupies a strange niche in the world of econ texts, it is not mathematically rigorous, nor is it well written. Usually we see one or the other but rarely both. Initially, I thought these observations were mine alone, but other students began openly voicing pointed criticisms of the book during class (and I am perhaps being too kind here in not repeating them). I've been in school nearly as long as I can remember and I have never seen such discontent with a text.

During the second half of the course even my econ prof became fed up and abandoned the book altogether. Given that, I find all of the positive reviews for this book rather astounding. My suspicion is that there might have been open rebellion amongst my classmates had not the professor decided to leave this text by the wayside. I also found that it is brimming with misplaced, one-sided arguments that come across as Krugman blatantly strawmanning arguments opposed to his own. One of many examples of this comes out of nowhere near the end of chapter 2. Krugman implies that anyone who doesn't believe in unmitigated free trade is intellectually irresponsible!?! This book pushes for unrestrained market fundamentalism throughout, primarily by misrepresenting any arguments that would effectively challenge it's simplistic and seemingly outdated dogma. This book, in particular, feeds into the same system of self serving scientism so prevalent in economics for the last 60 years.

Please don't mistake this review as the bile of a jilted student, I did quite well in the course. However, this is almost certainly the result of looking for alternative explanations of virtually every topic covered. The reason this book gets one star instead of two is because it lacks a lot of the modern learning tools prevalent in almost every other textbook. Things like quality questions, keywords, vocabulary and historical context all get short shrift in this this volume. If you're into learning about incomplete models that only represent a theoretical version of the world, this book is for you. Unfortunately, just like Krugman said on The Daily Show, if you are a student there is probably little chance that you have a choice on the matter. Buy the cheap international edition for 20 bucks. I would recommend that you use to the difference to buy William Easterly's Elusive Quest for Growth...and a beer.

48 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book to start with in International Economics, May 4, 1999

By 

L. Battaglini "mauouo" (IT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (Hardcover)

For anybody - but especially students - interested in exploring the subject of international economics, this is the book to start with. It is illuminating (as it is always the case with Krugman's writings) on otherwise technical concepts as comparative advantage, trade policy and exchange rate determinants, but it is also entertaining, with its "reality checks". The first part of the book deals with the "real" economy, the second part with monetary international economics. It will save you a lot of time to begin your study of the field with this book. If you have had previous experiences with international economics but either forgot most about it or had trouble making sense of the whole thing you will probably get a good grasp of the subject after reading this manual. The bibliography is accurate and rich, the exercises won't give you an headache. Readers with some background in economics are most likely to take full advantage from the book. For the others, well, some introductory economics will be necessary. Once you've read this book, you can continue more safely your studies/readings on international economics.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Undergraduate International Economics Standard, June 28, 2004

By 

thisismyname "myname" (nowheresville, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th Edition) (Hardcover)

Well, I will start off by saying that the book really probably only deserves somewhere between 4-4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5 to offset some of the questionable reviews below.

No, the book is not perfect. However, it is an academic standard at pretty much any major college or university for teaching undergraduate International Econ/Trade theory, and for good reason. The book makes a clear a concise presentation of basic theory and policy, perhaps in points it is a little too simple. As pointed out, while I'm not sure about the 6th edition, there were some diagrammatical mistakes in the 5th...I bet, however, these were done by a graduate student. A quick bit of reasoning and a second of thought should yield the appropriate picture, however. And yes, I think a bit of Krugman's bias comes through, though its not terribly off-putting.

The book could use a bit more math I think. The real equations and difficult problems are few and far between, and are, for the most part, pretty straight forward. At the very most it would take a basic understanding of calculus, but the majority of the problems and equations can be explained and done without it. I have read a number of undergraduate economics books with far more intensive math. Despite this lack, however, the intentions come across pretty well.

No, this book is not for beginners to economics. At least an undergraduate course or reading in both micro and macro are needed, and really and truly, an intermediate level in each is probably better if one wants to get the most out of the book.

If you find the subject matter within to be terribly math intensive and you cannot get motivated to read the subject matter because it doesn't use "pizza and beer" (and um...I don't think I'd want an imported pizza anyway, but thanks), well I guess the subject and this book are not for you. However, if you are trying to enrich your understanding of economics at a very basic level, this book provides a good way to do so.

And, if you want graduate level book, and like Obstfeld, I recommend he and Rogoff's book.