Menzie Chinn, a well-known macroeconomist with the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Department of Economics at the University of Madison–Wisconsin, published a landmark new textbook last month to help college students make sense of the complex global economy and the geopolitics surrounding it.
In a rapidly shifting world economy, students of international economics need access to the most relevant and up-to-date information, yet most textbooks currently in use preceded major world events of the last decade that have destabilized the global economy and threatened globalization.
Coauthored with Douglas A. Irwin of Dartmouth College, a leading scholar on trade policy and tariffs, International Economics provides undergraduate students with tried-and-true macroeconomic theories and concepts in the context of recent and ongoing international trade issues and by using contemporary as well as historical examples.
“I am proud to release International Economics with my fellow international economist, Douglas Irwin,” Chinn says. “Through our many conversations over the years, it became clear to us that changes to the global economy were happening faster than ever before, and we wanted to make sure that students of international economics weren’t left behind when studying a topic that is increasingly complex and volatile.”
International Economics includes timely information regarding the effects of COVID on the supply chain, the latest inflationary period that sent prices around the world soaring, the potential consequences of the tariffs proposed by President Trump, and more. Chinn and Irwin use accessible language and engaging visuals that will help explain the principal concepts of international economics to students from any discipline. It also includes online resources for instructors that include teaching materials and lecture slides based on the book.
Many of International Economics’ examples and case studies draw on Chinn’s prolific writings from his popular Econbrowser blog where he and other leading economists analyze and discuss current economic conditions and policy on an almost daily basis. The approach is also informed by Chinn’s experiences on the Council of Economic Advisers, and at the IMF and Congressional Budget Office.
A faculty member of the La Follette School of Public Affairs since 2003, Chinn is also coauthor with Jeffry Frieden of Lost Decades: The Making of America’s Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery. Irwin is the author of eight books, including Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy, which The Economist and Foreign Affairs selected as one of their favorite books of the year in 2017.