International Economics

Reading order

1. Essentials of International Economics

   Robert C. Feenstra; Alan M. Taylor Beginner

   A one-semester version of the authors' longer international economics textbook. It covers both halves of the field, international trade and international macroeconomics, in sixteen chapters, ending with exchange-rate regimes and the euro.

   Prerequisites: A principles course in microeconomics and macroeconomics is enough; the models use graphs and basic algebra.

2. The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy

   Dani Rodrik Beginner

   A readable account of the economics and politics of globalisation by an economist known for his work on trade and development. It traces how the world economy has been organised since the age of mercantilism and argues that deep economic integration, national sovereignty and democratic politics cannot all be pursued fully at once.

   Prerequisites: No technical background is needed; an introductory economics course helps with the discussion of comparative advantage and capital flows.

3. International Economics

   Dominick Salvatore; Ralf Hepp Intermediate

   A comprehensive undergraduate textbook covering both international trade and international finance. It presents trade theory, trade policy and economic integration, then the balance of payments, foreign exchange markets, exchange-rate determination and open-economy macroeconomic policy, explaining each model in words and diagrams with mathematical appendices and current global examples.

   Prerequisites: Principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics are assumed; the main text uses diagrams and algebra, with more formal treatments in appendices.

4. International Economics: Theory and Policy

   Paul R. Krugman; Maurice Obstfeld; Marc J. Melitz Intermediate

   An undergraduate text in international economics covering both the trade and the finance halves of the field. It presents the main models of why countries trade and who gains, the instruments and politics of trade policy, and the macroeconomics of exchange rates, capital flows and international policy coordination, with boxes that connect the theory to recent events.

   Prerequisites: Intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics are helpful; a solid principles course and algebra suffice for most chapters.

5. International Trade: Theory and Policy

   Steve Suranovic Intermediate Open access

   Read the official free edition ↗

   A free international-trade textbook connecting model assumptions, gains and redistribution with tariffs, domestic policies and arguments about protection.

   Prerequisites: Introductory microeconomics, graphs and elementary algebra are recommended. Be able to interpret a budget constraint, a production possibility frontier and a welfare diagram. Advanced mathematics is not the starting requirement, but you should be willing to track how changing an assumption alters a model’s conclusions.

6. Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence

   Robert C. Feenstra Advanced

   A graduate textbook that sets out the main models of international trade together with the econometric evidence used to test them. Each topic moves from the formal model to the empirical specification, so readers learn both how trade theory is built and how it is taken to data.

   Prerequisites: Graduate-level microeconomic theory, multivariable calculus and some econometrics are assumed.

7. Open Economy Macroeconomics

   Martín Uribe; Stephanie Schmitt-Grohé Advanced

   A graduate textbook on the macroeconomics of open economies, with particular attention to emerging and developing countries. Uribe and Schmitt-Grohé combine stylised facts with dynamic equilibrium models to study the current account, business cycles, interest-rate and terms-of-trade shocks, sudden stops, sovereign default and the choice of exchange-rate regime.

   Prerequisites: Intermediate macroeconomics and international economics, plus calculus and some dynamic optimisation, are assumed.