Competitiveness: An International Economics Reader

by Paul Krugman

Presented here is Paul Krugman's 1994 article, " a Dangerous Obsession", matched with the responses of his critics, Professor Krugman's rebuttal and other related articles. The collection provides an introduction to international economics.

Genres: Economics

79 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Leonardo]

To the extent that higher taxes raise wage costs, does this make the UK less competitive? I have always been puzzled by the term “national competitiveness.” I can understand that a firm may not be competitive, or a university, or even a whole industry, but not a nation. I was therefore relieved a few years ago when Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize–winning international trade theorist, said that “competitiveness is a meaningless word when applied to national economies” and that “not one of the textbooks in international economics I have on my shelves contains the word in its index.”

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