Paul Krugman

Paul Robin Krugman [ kɹu ː ɡmən ] ( born February 28, 1953 in Albany, New York) is an American professor of economics at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, nonfiction author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008. Krugman is the founder the New Economic Geography. In the United States it has become also known for its weekly columns in the New York Times about professionals.

Biography

Krugman grew up on Long Iceland up in a middle-class American family. His father was an insurance manager, his grandfather was a Jewish immigrant from Belarus. After high school, he studied economics and earned in 1974 from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1977 he completed his doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a thesis on flexible exchange rates. In September 1977 he became an assistant professor at the prestigious Yale University. From 1979 he worked then additionally as a guest assistant professor also at MIT. In 1980 he moved to MIT as an associate professor. At the same time he was a member from September 1982 to August 1983 in addition as Senior Economic Advisor to the Council of Economic Advisers to the government under President Ronald Reagan on. Looking back, he stressed that his critical arguments against the political decisions found only little attention during this time. In 1984 he was promoted to full professor at MIT. In 1994 he moved temporarily to Stanford University, but returned in 1996 back to MIT. Since July 2000 he is a professor at Princeton, he also teaches as a professor Centenary regularly at the London School of Economics.

Krugman is married to the Princeton professor Robin Wells. Together with his wife Krugman published between 2004 and 2006 Economics, a textbook on economics, as well as one textbook on micro-and macroeconomics.

Economic policy positions

Krugman describes himself as a " free -market Keynesian " ( Keynesians and proponents of free markets ). He may free markets, but at the same time advocating government intervention to correct market failures and provide stability. Several of his market-friendly comments have angered the political left and were Milton Friedman and Margaret Thatcher have been friendly towards.

With the essay " Who Was Milton Friedman? " Which deals critically with the scientific heritage Friedman, Krugman came in early 2007 to a lively debate. In the essay he describes Friedman as a " great economist and great man ", but at the same time criticized Friedman's public appearance, in which there had been " some serious doubts about his intellectual honesty ." In a comprehensive examination of Friedman's scientific excellence and their political implementation Krugman concludes that monetarism outdated and only " a shadow of his former self" is. It could also be said with good reason that the " Friedmanism " as " doctrine and its application in practice " has gone too far.

Published in 2007, Krugman Conscience of a Liberal, which deals with the history of the distribution of income and wealth distribution in the U.S. of the 20th century, what Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty have intensively studied. Krugman believes that unlike often assumed that since the 1980s, resulting wealth and income inequality largely from political decisions - results ( Reagan had in 1981 reduced the long-standing high top rate of income tax to 28%, see Reaganomics ) - especially taxation. In this context, Krugman distinguishes four major phases of U.S. economic history:

The first phase is characterized by a large income and wealth inequality. The second phase, beginning with the New Deal, leading to the biggest adjustment of income and wealth in the United States, which contributes to the third phase. The fourth phase has led since the 1980s to the present day to an even greater income and wealth inequality as the beginning of the 20th century.

In the current debate about economic policy dealing with the economic crisis Krugman raises the prevailing economic models claim to have no adequate answer to the current problems, since the models were too strong assumptions about the rationality of actors. Although Krugman basically in favor of the use of economic models, since they significantly increase the possibilities of insights. Even Krugman does not understand people who criticize unrealistic assumptions of models, and in turn help it to define their own assumptions accurately. According to Krugman models are metaphors, but not the truth. But he warns against making formalization and mathematization an end in itself. Models would need to be based on a realistic description of human behavior; such models should take into account, for example, that people do not act rationally. Paul A. Samuelson's textbook Economics published in 1948 fit better to the current economic crisis than many modern studies.

In the Environment Krugman argues for a dedicated market-based climate policy. He emphasizes that climate change, the economy will weigh only slightly, and refers in this context to a study by the Congressional Budget Office. The allegations of politically conservative side about allegedly looming high costs due to climate change policy keeps Krugman for a "political ploy ". The Conservatives would lose their usual confidence in the innovative power of the markets, if they did not trust the economy to cope with climate change policy. When asked about the most appropriate model Krugman favors the Emissions Trading, as it currently does not hold a solution on taxation in the U.S. for politically feasible. At the international level, he proposes to put up with CO2 allowances and tariffs positive and negative incentives to engage emerging economies such as China in a global climate change policy. Krugman warns strongly against the consequences of inaction. One argument of Martin Weitzman following, he advocates that primarily should guide policy-making the existing possibility of a climate catastrophe.

In his 1998's essay collection The Accidental Theorist ( German title: Narrow - economics) Krugman criticized aspects of supply-side economics and the gold standard, but also in favor of low wages in developing countries and criticized some government intervention in the labor market.

In the euro crisis, Krugman criticized a group attached to German austerity monetary policy of the European Central Bank and speaks against it for a countercyclical fiscal policy. The fact that Greece and Ireland have fallen by the imposed austerity in depression, Krugman sees as full confirmation of the insights of Keynes.

Reception

Sometimes Krugman is accused of open partisanship, other commentators, however, see Krugman as " ideologically colorblind " to. Irwin L. Collier writes about Krugman in a postscript to one of his books that he became the most famous intellectuals in the U.S. through the columns that he wrote for the New York Times since 2000 and for George W. Bush as " threatening political villain ". Although many would regard his style as too shrill and the attacks on Bush on the border of " lese majeste " are, Krugman had to make economic issues understandable due to its ability to lay people can gain many loyal readers.

Awards and prizes

For his research and work he was awarded the 1991 John Bates Clarke medal for best young scientists. One year later, Bill Clinton did in his time as a presidential candidate by Krugman advised him, however, no items procured after the election to the White House. So Krugman built his side job as a nonfiction writer and columnist of the public and special interest magazines. In addition to regular articles for news magazines such as Fortune, Foreign Affairs and Slate, he wrote some books for a wider audience, in which he particularly criticized the work of the economists in the Clinton Cabinet.

The Munich Center for Economic Studies Krugman honored in 1997 as "Distinguished CES Fellow". In 1998, he of the Department of Economics at the Free University of Berlin awarded an honorary doctorate. Two years later he was awarded in Nuremberg, the Horst- Recktenwald Prize for economics.

For his achievements as an economist, he was awarded the 2004 Prince of Asturias Award.

The so-called Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008, he received particular for his " analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity ". The area is associated with New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography. The assumptions of the "old " trade theory ( Ricardo's comparative cost advantage, Heckscher- Ohlin theorem ) are hereby replaced by those that are better adapted to the historical reality; by explanations are possible, why, contrary to the predictions of the older theory of free trade has not led to a global economic equilibrium, but that regional disparities and agglomeration effects ( center / periphery ) occurs when some conditions are considered as modified production functions, the transport costs, the market structures and certain foreign trade policies.

2010 was awarded the Global Economy Prize Paul Krugman from Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Works ( in German )

• The myth of the global economic war. A settlement with the pop- economists. Campus, Frankfurt 1999, ISBN 3-593-36147-7 ( collection of essays )
• The great recession. What should be done so that the world economy does not stall. Campus, Frankfurt 1999, ISBN 3-593-36368-2; Ullsteinhaus, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-548-70054-3
• Vineyard economy. The 27 most popular misconceptions about the economy. Campus, Frankfurt 2000, ISBN 3-593-36287-2; Ullsteinhaus, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-548-70075-6
• The big sell-off. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-593-37437-4
• After Bush. The end of the neo-conservatives and the hour of the Democrats. Campus, Frankfurt 2008, ISBN 978-3-593-38565-5; Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 2009
• International Economics. Theory and Policy of Foreign Trade ( with Maurice Obstfeld ). Pearson Education, Inc., Munich 8 Curr. A. 2009, ISBN 978-3-8273-7361-8
• The new world economic crisis. Campus, Frankfurt 2009, ISBN 978-3-593-38933-2
• Economics ( with Robin Wells ). Poeschel, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-7910-2339-7
• Forget the crisis! Why do we have to spend money now. Campus, Frankfurt 2012, ISBN 978-3-593-39729-0