International Political Economy

This exciting text provides students with a superior grounding in contemporary international political economy. It emphasizes current scholarship and provides the background in politics, economics, and history that students need to understand developments in the contemporary global economy.International Political Economy is based on the assumption that IPE is best understood as enduring political competition between the winners and losers generated by global economic exchange. The book develops this theme by examining the origins and nature of this competition. It explains that while global economic exchange raises social welfare, it also creates winners and losers who compete to influence government economic policy. It explains how political institutions--international and domestic--mediate this competition. Finally, it demonstrates how this political dynamic shapes the global economy. This Second Edition presents the material in a streamlined fashion that is accessible to students.Examines IPE through the lens of the enduring competition between the winners and losers from global economic exchange. Develops distinct explanations for the politics of trade and exchange rates in the developed and developing world. While each explanation is distinctive, all share the perspective that economic policies are forged by competition between those who gain and those who lose from global economic exchange.Includes extensive treatment of the domestic politics of trade and exchange rate policies to help students understand how the global economy creates winners and losers and how competition between them shapes developments in the global economy.Includes wide-ranging treatment of important economic concepts and theories (e.g., comparative advantage) to provide students with little background in economics the knowledge they need. "Closer Look" boxes examine in detail important concepts, trends in the global economy, and institutions (e.g. The World Bank).