International economics : the theory of policy

As economics books go, this one does not even look difficult. It is not intended to be. I simply want to set forth as directly and succinctly as possible some central normative principles of international economics.

Economists have long debated the issues of trade policy, balance of payments policy, and development policy- the three parts of this text. But in our time, economic models have become ever more complex, and technique is frequently practiced for its own sake. Students naturally become dismayed when they cannot discover the basic relationships be cause they are covered over by elaborate filigree. Unfortunately, students also often become too enmeshed in the curiosa and arcania of "high theory" to comprehend the wider questions that must absorb economists when they move from being model builders to policy-makers. I have tried therefore to write in a large way about the fundamental normative principles that underlie commercial policy, international payments pol icy, and international development policy. I hope that this return to the first principles of international economic policy will have more meaning for students than yet another book on theoretical refinements, or one that is empirical, institutional, or descriptive.