Summary

This text is a rigorous introduction to international economics for upper-level undergraduates and above. The first half examines the causes and effects of international trade, how tariffs and other trade policies affect the gains from trade, and the ways in which governments try collectively to regulate those policies. The second half deals with monetary matters - the behavior of exchange rates, how trade and capital flows affect the functioning of monetary and fiscal policies, the causes and management of currency crises, and the new European Monetary Union (EMU). This fourth edition assesses the outcome of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, the work of the new World Trade Organization (WTO), and the challenges posed by regional trade blocs. It surveys recent theoretical work on currency crisis, examines recent crises in emerging-market countries and the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and appraises innovations in exchange-rate arrangements, including the EMU and the use of currency boards by emerging-market countries. A problem set follows each chapter.