International Economics: Theory And Policy (7th Edition) [Hardcover]

Paul R. Krugman (Author), Maurice Obstfeld (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321293835 | ISBN-13: 978-0321293831 | Publication Date: August 2, 2005 | Edition: 7

"International Economics "captures the vitality of modern international trade and finance. A classic textbook by world-renowned authors, the Seventh Edition is comprehensively revised and updated in a new, full-color format. Each half of the book contains a core of theory chapters followed by chapters applying the theory to major policy questions of the past and present.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

International Economics captures the vitality of modern international trade and finance. A classic book by world-renowned authors, the Seventh Edition is comprehensively revised and updated in a new, full-color format.  Each half of the book contains a core of theory chapters followed by chapters applying the theory to major policy questions of the past and present. 

• Core theory chapters, followed by chapters that apply theory to major policy questions.
• Integrated treatment and empirical evidence of the latest models of trade, including the Gravity, Ricardian, specific factors, factor endowments, and imperfect competition models.
• Thorough discussion of the causes and effects of trade policy, focusing on the income-distribution effects of trade.
• Clear presentation of a unified model of open-economy macroeconomics based on an asset-market approach to exchange rate determination with a central role for expectations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 680 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 7 edition (August 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321293835
• ISBN-13: 978-0321293831
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good guide for an undergraduate course, March 21, 2007

By 

Ernesto Sepúlveda-Villarreal (Mexico, D.F., Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: International Economics: Theory And Policy (7th Edition) (Hardcover)

I used several times the fifth edition of Krugman and Obstfeld's book to teach International Finance to undergraduates in economics, and I found it comprehensive, understandable and very didactic. True, the book does not follow a rigorous mathematical approach, even less a dynamic one, but I think that is not the authors' intention. On the contrary, they use simple equations, basic graphical analysis, empirical data illustrations and some economic history to show the main issues they want to. And I must say that they clearly succeed in explaining virtually every topic an undergraduate student should know about international economics.

There are several essential topics that should be part of the backbone of a course in international finance, and they are included in this book:

- the asset approach to exchange rates;
- the crucial role of expectations;
- the relationship between money, interest rates and the exchange rates in the short run;
- the long run relationship between prices and exchange rates;
- the internal and external equilibrium for small open economies;
- the interaction of fiscal and monetary policies in an international context;
- inflation bias and other policy formulation problems;
- fixed exchange rates and foreign intervention;
- A description of the evolution of the international monetary system;
- floating exchange rates; macroeconomic policy and international coordination;
- optimum currency areas;
- recent topics on the global capital markets; and
- growth, crisis and reform in developing countries.

In sum, the book by Krugman and Obstfeld is a pretty good undergrad textbook to learn for the first time the core of monetary issues in international economics.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A not-so-bad survey of international economics, November 28, 2006

By 

Coleman Nee "economist dad" (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: International Economics: Theory And Policy (7th Edition) (Hardcover)

Regarding Gerald Senarclens de Grancy's comments: The idea of Krugman as a Bush administration cheerleader is pretty funny. At first I thought this was a joke but then I realised it wasn't. Granted, the book doesn't mention the Tobin Tax, but there's only so much you can pack into a superficial survey text like this. Overall, I think the authors are pretty unbiased and mainstream. (Haven't used the web supplements, so can't comment on that).

Having seen this book evolve over several editions, I can honestly say that the current one represents a distinct improvement, with the new introductory chapter on the gravity model providing some much needed perspective at the start. However, it's not an ideal book to learn trade theory and open econonmy macro from. My favorite (although slightly more rigorous) is "The International Economy" by Kenen. And if you are only interested in trade theory, "International Trade, Theory and Evidence" by Markusen et. al. is superior.

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One word describes the book, March 10, 2007

By 

Asad Merchant (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: International Economics: Theory And Policy (7th Edition) (Hardcover)

Verbose! The authors spend pages upon pages wasting trees trying to explain a concept that could be explained using one paragraph. The authors go in circles in my opinion, sometimes i feel that they forget what they had initially started. And the shyness to use math and write out what could be written as a single equation makes the book about 600 pages when it should only be 200.