International Economics: Theory and Policy

by Paul Krugman, Maurice Obstfeld

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.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Finance, Business, Politics, Academic

784 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, liberal columnist and author. He is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. In 2008, Krugman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his contributions to New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography.

Reviews

[Nanci **Warning**IWasASailor⚓️MyMouthisDirty · Rating 4 out of 5]

My brain hurts

[Jake Losh · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a very good text for undergraduate international macro courses but a little too light on the math for my tastes. Still, I recommend to anyone who's interested in learning more about international macro and "big" economic questions like why we went off the gold standard (and why we were on it to begin with).

[Lynn Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for a course I was taking at George Washington University. I didn't much care for the teacher's teaching methods nor the book. The book seems well written, but not easy to understand. I only read small parts of it for the 1 semester class. Very dry reading.

[Dorotea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads has a character limit that the summary exceeded by a lot - so here's the link to it.

[J.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book covers a wide array of micro and macro theoretical concepts in regards to international trading.

It starts off interesting enough, but my lack of understanding in basic economic theories made it difficult to follow some of the more nuanced and challenging concepts. I found it particularly amusing that the authors continuously made graphs to explain their models. Honestly, they often made the concepts more difficult for me instead of easier. Also, the graphs and formulas are completely arbitrary. As in, you can use them to explain an event you see, but you can't really use them to predict an end state like you can with math. I might be explaining this poorly, but if you read the book you might understand what I am trying to articulate.

Also, either Paul Krugman himself, or Obstfeld, kept citing Krugman's work for examples. I think that might be the cringiest thing I've ever read. Note to aspiring authors, don't do that lmfao.

[Sergio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro interesante, con bastante información teórica, histórica y ejemplos que facilitan el entendimiento de conceptos económicos para los que no tenemos una educación fuerte en materias económicas y matemáticas. Considerando que son más de 700 páginas, no se hizo tan largo de leer.

Lamentablemente, debo reconocer que a veces me sentí superado por la parte más teórica del texto, y en particular cuando se empezaba a hablar de ecuaciones y gráficos. De seguro como texto de algún curso, dedicándole el tiempo a estas secciones un poco más áridas y con la guía de un profesor era mucho más entendible y llevadero, pero para los que lo quieran leer sin más acompañamiento puede ser algo complicado.

Lo que eché de menos, pero no es culpa del autor sino de la edición del texto que elegí, fue un análisis a hechos un poco más recientes en el ámbito económico, como la crisis sub prime. La edición que leí es del 2006 y fuera quedaron cosas más contingentes, aunque el aspecto histórico de mayor antigüedad fue bien tratado.

En definitiva se lleva cuatro estrellas porque era un texto claro y no tan abrumador, me refrescó varios conceptos que había aprendido hace tiempo y tenía olvidados, aunque se cargaba a veces demasiado a las fórmulas y eso dificultaba la lectura.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great undergrad introduction to international economics and finance.

While some familiarity with basic economic principles would help the reader immensely - opportunity cost and marginal benefit/cost, comparative vs. absolute advantage, no-arbitrage pricing conditions, imperfect market structures, etc. - the authors take time to properly define concepts and use intuitive examples to explain them.

Additionally, the story boxes provide handy historical case studies as well as offer differing opinions on contentious topics such as the effects of freer trade policies in the developed and developing world, the risks of different exchange rate regimes, and so on.

I wish my undergrad International Finance course used this instead of Madura's, which favored a strictly firm-level analysis and focused principally on application, although its coverage of derivatives as hedging/speculating instruments was largely absent from Krugman and Obstfeld's textbook.

[Matthias · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine read for everyone who seeks to establish a personal and fundamental understanding of today's complex economic world.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative read and I highly recommend it for anyone seeking deeper knowledge of international economics. It covered both macro and microeconomics topics, formulas, and models in an approachable way. This book really shines in helping the reader to understand international economic laws and policies and the role of the WTO, GATT, TRIPS, and so on. After following up some of the things I learned with outside research I found a lot of my long held opinions on economic policies were changed. So, be careful if you believe in strict trade regulations and hate to venture from the echo chamber.

[Estela · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a nightmare. The authors used up whole pages filled with useless information to make a point that could've been made in a much simpler and shorter way, and this was the case in every single chapter. I'm thinking that they figured it'd make it all the clearer that way, but in my case it only made me more confused.
If you need it for a class I'd suggest you search for an alternative.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my school book for two classes: International trade and Trade policy. I liked it because of its complexity and graphs and examples.

[Rizwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great text on trade - quite popularly used as a text for introductory trade and international economics classes in colleges.

[Bayarmaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to read it

[Motasem]

i can find some data frome this book

[Leonora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to read

[Eshan Balachandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took over a year to parse this textbook. Still not over, but I know I'm done. Gonna leave the last 3 chapters be. Book is hard to read at times, but that's the nature of the subject. If economics was easy, we wouldn't have had recession after recession exacerbated by bad policies.

It has A LOT to teach you, yet will leave you wondering is something is missing in the theory, that the next recession will highlight and the next edition of the book will end up covering.

But while you may not trust the predictive power of the economics in the textbook, it does become very easy to appreciate why the federal banks are doing what they're doing and what they expect to get out of it. Excellent recession reading in a way.

[Annalisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

L’argomento è molto interessante ma anche molto ma molto complicato. Il primo volume l’ho trovato molto più scorrevole. Questo, nonostante il grande interesse per la materia, a tratti mi annoiava.bisognerebbe rileggerlo almeno una seconda volta per comprendere a pieno tutto.

[Alexandria Avona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed this book in 2023.
Excellent textbook that really helped me to understand complex content on international economics. Will do a more thorough review at some point. Recommended resource for self-teaching.

[iry · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was too lengthy with a lot of unnecessary words and overexplaining. They made it harder to understand what other professors and books could convey in a few simple words. Made learning macroeconomy miserable in this semester.

[Chris Chronaios · Rating 5 out of 5]

First few chapters about commerce were a bit difficult to keep up with, but overall the book is excellent. It is filled with examples from the States but that doesn't bother someone who studies theory, you can just skip them.

[Nick Geiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, comprehensive introduction to international trade, international finance, and open-economy macro.

[Najeeb Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

studied this book last year and found it boring in the start but after the third chapter it makes me addicted to international economics... downloaded its slides too.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for uni. I learnt a lot and it used some great examples.

[Huseyin Karamelikli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has very useful knowledge for undergraduate students. But this book has a distinctive methodology for analyses.

[José María Leal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I try this book for my globalization class, I didn’t like it to much, i find it not digestible

[Daniel Rojas]

337 K94eco

[Cam]

ahora sí apruebo directo chucha

[James Millikan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krugman and Obstfeld's easy to follow writing style makes for a quick and engaging read. Trade, political economy, protectionism, development, and various topics in fiscal and monetary policy are all clearly and succinctly presented — a feat that explains its popularity in introductory international economics courses.

At times the authors' focus on clear communication papers over the finer theoretical details, and the mathematical models were somewhat more basic than I was expecting in for a university text, but these defects are (mostly) made up for by its solid case studies and a clear logical structure.

Recommended to students of politics, international relations, and history. Economics majors would probably be better served by a more computationally-focused book.

[Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't had much previous exposure, to Paul Krugman's work. This is a textbook, which is aimed at the core of his research. The focus appears to be on policy. The analysis, is top notch, however , there are some assumptions underlying the work, that colors it, specifically those related to "free trade", or money as a proxy, for all potential trade issues, which as mercantilism, has shown in the past, isn't quite true as an approximation, so it lacks a typology, and perhaps an understanding, of what is known as supply chains and ecosystems. Both terms curiously get close to the point, but miss it slightly. Recommended.

[Kiliyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has all the information, but it's not written all that well. Compared to the clarity of Mankiw for example, this is lacking. It was mostly repeating stuff I learnt in my seminar in a more convoluted way. Of course, if your prof is not as clear and structured, then this will certainly inform you very well, albeit with a high volume of reading to do. I do prefer a selection of works / essays on the topics covered though.