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Peddling prosperity: Economic sense and nonsense in the age of diminished expectations. By PAUL KRUGMAN. New York and London: Norton, 1994. Pp. xv, 303. $22.00. ISBN 0-39303602-2. JEL 94-1462
Rumor has it that Paul Krugman wanted a job in the Clinton administration. It is easy to see why. Krugman has been acclaimed as one of the best economists of his generation. His work on the theory of international trade with imperfect competition will likely win him a Nobel prize someday. Krugman has also shown himself to be a broad and astute commentator on economic policy. In his book The Age of Diminished Expectations (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990), he offered a cogent diagnosis of what ails (and what does not ail) the U.S. economy. Finally, Krugman is notably left-leaning, while at the same time showing a modern skepticism about the limits of government policy. He is, in short, exactly the type of economist that a bright "New Democrat" like Bill Clinton should be listening to.
For whatever reason, the Clinton administration did not find a place for him. Krugman stayed in the ivory tower with the rest of us, where he has continued as one of the most prolific writers in the field. In his new book, Peddling Prosperity, he offers a vivid portrait of the evolution of economic...