Customer Reviews

Pop Internationalism

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am an economics professor, and find this book an absolutely fantastic antidote to the alarmist crap (and dogmatic resistance to inconvenient facts) offered by foes of international trade. This book is easy to read and digest, and the data and ideas Krugman presents so clearly do not require any economic education beyond the ordinary undergraduate level. I hearitly recommend the book to anyone dazzled by fears of China or threats to U.S. manufacturing.

Easily the most entertaining part of this book is Krugman's treatment of Lester Thurow, Paul Kennedy and others who spent the 1990's extending wooly headed thinking to its local maximum. Modern writing on economics is awash in charlatans and cranks, and Krugman dispenses with them in a way to set the standard.

I re-read this book every few years and recommend it to all my grad students in economics as an example of communicating ideas with simple elegance.

I am no expert on economics, having only taken basic classes in college, but Paul Krugman SEEMS right in his book "Pop Internationalism." Krugman, the op-ed columnist for the New York Times and Slate magazine and also a professor at Princeton University, published this collection of essays, articles, and speeches back in 1996.

Perhaps the publishing date brings about the only weakness, as much of the talk seems less appropriate for today's economy. But the reviews of old topics like NAFTA and the Eastern economy is still good information, and presented clearly and concisely.
Krugman put this collection together to inform people of the latest trend of beliefs in international economics, a trend that is dead wrong in Krugman's eyes. And so we have his term of "pop internationalism."

The basic idea of pop internatiolism is that the U.S. does not depend on international trade as much as the "experts" portray. Very little of our GNP is actually in exports, and we are seemingly doing just fine as the world market becomes more "global." Krugman is so concise in this point that many of the essays actually repeat the point over and over. This is okay though (at least for me), because I understood it better reading it again.

The book is a quick read, and is divided into four secions: A Zero-Sum World, Economic Theory -- Good and Bad, The Emerging World, and Technology and Society.

As far as Krugman being correct in his economic thinking, get back to me after I read some of the "pop internaitionalism" literature from the likes of Reich and Thurow.

This is an excellent book in the sense that it helps non economists see the truth about the effects of trade on the Economy. Normally, people tend to overestimate the effects of trade treaties such as NAFTA on the U.S. economy and Krugman helps you understand why this isn't true. Common knowledge normally doesn't coincide with economic truth and people are mislead by such things as trade wars between mayor superpowers or trade wars between develop and developing nations. Krugman has the ability of explaing such glamorous issues in layman's terms and that's why this book is great.

This is a very good book and I will buy copies for several friends who speak the most eggregious crap about economics. But for a trained economist much of it should not be a surprise. The first half of the book is a background in basic trade theory for non-economists. Being an economist by training I thought this was a touch repetitive but basically solid. The second half contained some startling essays applying the first half items to real world problems. In this part Krugman tears apart the current "orthodoxy" on "National Competitiveness". GOOD STUFF AND OVERDUE. The reveiw of Laura Tyson's "who is bashing whom" is particularly good. But if you understood your second year trade theory books then there should be nothing too much new here. And the repetition (aimed at non-economists) will bug you somewhat.

If you have an interest in the field of economics, this book is likely to leave the mark on you. Concepts like "competitiveness" and "trade policy" (just to mention a few) won't look the same to you after you have finished reading the book. Actually, this book can serve as a gateway to the field of International Economics, as it can open your mind and spur your thoughts and interest on the subject. So far, in my limited experience, the most successfully written book from Krugman. Being made by an economist, it is most likely to be appreciated by readers with some background in economics. A "must" for students and ... politicians (yes!).

The problem the Krugman is trying to point out, and the reality that the reviewer from salem simply doesn't want to face, is that just because you are skilled as an autoworker doesn't mean the economy is always going to value your skills or even have a job for you. Saying that an industry MUST keep all its autoworker jobs, even when productivity is up and demand is down, is litterally the same thing as saying that consumers must buy cars they don't want relative to other goods they could have bought. And that's ludicrous. As happens when demand is so variable and technological change is so fast is that certain industries just become less and less dependant on labor. But this is only half the story. Is it tragic that people lose their jobs? Of course- but wouldn't it be equally tragic if the economy provided people with things they didn't need (and neglected some that they did) at higher prices and a reduced standard of living for everyone? And Krugman has a golden bullet- people lose their jobs, but the Marxist assumption that they'd simply remain an out of work labor army is ridiculous- productivity labor reducing gains in one industry only mean that other industries can increase output and require more labor. In fact, because of the new income from productivity gains, the economy litterally will demand those new jobs, unless there's a recession, which Krugman also describes how to do deal with. The central point is that in a modern economy, there can be no industry based job security. Unions simply can't understand that- it's inimical to their very purpose- but there's really nothing _anyone_ can do, short of planning, that can stop it. And no one should either- out of all the possible economic paths, it's the best we know. Krugman's got the bases covered.

A fresh, analytical and radical look at international economics WITHOUT THE CLASSIC BASHING OF AMERICA.

I have to admit I have enjoyed reading the rambling confused one-star reviews as much as I enjoyed reading the book.

While the information presented in this book is very interesting and has good evidence to back it up, I must say that I was much more impressed with some of the other economics-for-dummies books: _The Armchair Economist_ (which is an excellent overview), and _Hidden Order_ (which is considerably more in-depth). There are a few points in this book (_Pop Internationalism_) which aren't covered by the other books, however. The main point is that all of these books dispel horrible untruths in the media regarding economics. An example from _The Armchair Economist_ is that the New York Times would never think of publishing an economist's theories of physics without consulting a physicist, but not vice versa (with an actual example from the New York Times).

Well written and enlightening. Finally someone who dares stand up to voodoo theories and policies. As an economist, I was becoming disgruntled about the kind of information the public in general was getting on important economic issues. In order to debunk the mesages from the pseudo gurus Krugman demonstrates great writing skills and mastery of his field. Every student in economics should read Krugman's books.