Paul Krugman by Ethan Houston https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman en-us 2017-05-11 06:08:25 UTC 2023-02-26 19:04:52 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Shakinghands.png Life and Influences ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166310 Born in 1953 to a Jewish family originally from Poland-governed Belarus, Krugman grew up in Albany, the capital of New York. His interest in the field of economics was originally sparked by a series of science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov, called Foundation. 

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Yale University, Krugman proceeded to gain a PhD in economics from MIT. After his years at MIT, he worked for Portugal's central bank for a summer, a country who at that time (1976) was going through particular economic turmoil. 

Krugman credits his PhD thesis advisor as being "one of the great economic teachers of all time". Krugman would pitch his economic ideas to this advisor, who was particularly intrigued by Krugman's interesting take on a monopolistically competitive trade model. 

In addition to his brief stint at Portugal's central bank, Krugman has also been employed by Yale, MIT, the White House, and Princeton. His current occupation is being the Centenary Professor at LSE, the London School of Economics. 

The views of John Maynard Keynes have been particularly impactful on Krugman's views, he is even a self-described "Keynesian". As Krugman writes in his New York Times column: “In the long run the economy is self-correcting: shocks to aggregate demand affect aggregate output in the short run but not in the long run”, directly agreeing with Keynes. 

Krugman has self-identified as a liberal, and the implications of that permeate through his writings]]> 2017-05-11 06:16:44 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166310 Major Publications ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166328 Paul Krugman doesn't limit himself to being the author of just one text-type. He has written academic books, textbooks, and books for a general audience all regarding the field of economics. Below are some of the most notable pieces from each of the three text types Krugman specializes in

Academic books:
  • The Spatial Economy - Cities, Regions and International Trade
  • The Self Organizing Economy
  • Currencies and Crises

Economics textbooks (he was not very creative with these names):
  • Economics
  • Macroeconomics

Books for general audience:
  • End This Depression Now!
    • Delivers a call for an expansionary policy to be enacted by the government. Krugman claims that failing to stimulate the economy will cause an economic depression to be longer
  • The Conscience of a Liberal
    • Focuses on the state wealth gap between the rich and poor in the United States in the 20th century, which decreased in the first half of the century ('the great compression'), but then widened again in the 80's as a result of changes in trade as well as technology
  • Peddling Prosperity
    • Discusses the slowdown in economic activity in the United States that has been occurring since the 1970's, the changes in the ways of thinking economists used, and presents constructive criticism towards both conservative supply side economics, as well as strategic policy, which is a form of government intervention.

In addition to the aforementioned books Krugman has authored, he also has his own column in the New York Times, in which he is able to freely express his views, both political and economic.
]]> 2017-05-11 06:16:55 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166328 Economic Ideas ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166340 Of all the things Krugman has contributed towards the field of economics, it is hard to deny that his most important contributions came in the form of new ideas regarding international trade.

Krugman even won a Nobel Prize for these contributions, specifically relating to his approach towards the economies of scale. What this means is that the production of goods and services gets cheaper as more of them are produced. At the same time, customers' demands are not static, they demand a wide variety of goods. In addition, some places are better at producing certain goods and services than others. Ultimately, this contributes to the idea that it is better for certain countries/regions to focus heavily on, and specialize in producing one small selection of products and to trade with other regions doing the same, rather than everywhere in the world trying to produce everything. Spreading out this production of goods and services will result in both cheaper, as well as higher quality goods and services, due to the specialization in the production of these goods. 

Urbanization is another concept which has also been explored extensively by Krugman. As more and more of a country's population lives in cities, transport costs are even lower, which when combined with the aforementioned economies of scales does wonders in terms of making the world more connected. It is Krugman's New Trade Theory that combines all of these elements, to help justify the reasons behind certain geographical trade patterns.]]> 2017-05-11 06:17:11 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166340 ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166455 2017-05-11 06:18:47 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171166455 ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670505 2017-05-14 12:43:08 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670505 ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670512 2017-05-14 12:43:20 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670512 ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670523 2017-05-14 12:43:35 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670523 ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670576 2017-05-14 12:45:02 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/171670576 Influence on Field of Economics ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/175205485 Krugman is without a doubt one of the leading economists of the modern age, with his views being somewhat polarizing. This is possibly a result of his outspokenness, and his lack of fear of offending the opposing side.

Using his New York Times column as an outlet, he is able to easily express his views that range beyond economic, delving into political. In terms of recent events, he has continually criticized plans Donald Trump has proposed be implemented within the United States. It is possibly this inclusion of politics that cause Krugman's views to be as polarizing as they are]]> 2017-06-05 13:07:49 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/175205485 Comments (just edit this post) ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/175207133 2017-06-05 13:13:51 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/175207133 To: Pikkety ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176084443 In regards to free markets, I do indeed question their ability to freely function without problem. I agree with Keynes before me, who stated that government intervention can indeed help stabilize the economy. The theory behind this is that an economy should be mostly guided by the private sector. However, there are definitely instances where intervention from the government is more than necessary, for example when a government must use its discretion to increase/decrease AD depending on the scenario. So, to answer your second question, I believe that the government should play a relatively small, however crucial role in the operation of a macro economy ]]> 2017-06-12 12:00:55 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176084443 To: Laffer ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176084480 First of all, I commend your ability to tolerate our baffoon of a president, let alone work with him actively regarding economic policy. I am of the firm belief that big tax cuts are simply nothing more than a chance for the rich to thrive at the expense of the poor. I personally am a huge fun of an equitable redistribution of income, and nothing solves that better than a progressive tax system in which the poor pay a higher percentage of their paycheck to the government than the poor. This benefits the poor as there is now more funding for resources such as welfare programs, etc. I believe the argument of a "complicated tax system" is ludicrous, and should have no weight in a formal discussion. It's not rocket science. ]]> 2017-06-12 12:01:30 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176084480 To: Freidman (Chris) ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176086284 Like my man Keynes before me, I am a huge advocate for the use of fiscal policy in a macroeconomic environment to help aid in the benefit of everyone involved. I believe that fiscal policy is overall more effective than monetary policy. This is because monetary policy fixates mainly on the expectations and opinions of the central bank, which contrasts starkly with how fiscal policy operates, wherein the government can simply go out and start creating jobs (expansionary). While I do concede there is obviously a political component to fiscal policy, which can cause a time lag, I still maintain the belief that fiscal is overall a better choice for an economy than monetary policy]]> 2017-06-12 12:16:07 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176086284 To: Yellen ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176087477 2017-06-12 12:25:38 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176087477 To: Fisher ethanzh https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176088560 There are many things I would like to say about Trump, but I don't think I am allowed to write them on this family-friendly Padlet unfortunately. Moreover, onto your question. It's quite an intriguing question indeed, which I believe warrants an equally insightful answer: back in the 1970s, countries who were still developing (LEDCs) overwhelming produced, and exported primary products, meaning not final, specialized goods. Over the years we have seen a shift, with these developing countries exporting more and more specific, specialized goods. I believe that this trend will continue, as it aligns with my beliefs of how countries should focus on producing and exporting certain goods (namely, the ones they are good at doing so with), rather than trying to be a 'jack of all trades'. Let me remind you that I won a Nobel prize for this idea, just saying. ]]> 2017-06-12 12:33:02 UTC https://padlet.com/ethanzh/krugman/wish/176088560