Easy access to a world of opportunity

This book is extremely well written, being both rigorous and lucid with mathematical derivations presented in appendixes. This structure makes it accessible to a wide range of readers, although it is particularly suitable for upper-level courses in international trade.

By emphasising the applied perspective of international trade theory and its empirical content, Charles van Marrewijk brings to life a theoretical apparatus that is frequently seen as rather dry and cumbersome.

The first two parts of the book present the classical theory of international trade in a slightly unusual format that, once again, emphasises the logical development of ideas rather than the historical evolution of the theories. The third part presents the standard "new trade theory" (that is, models of imperfect competition, intra-industry trade and strategic trade policy), while the fourth is an innovation to be welcomed in a textbook. The chapter on geographical economics provides an introduction to the theory of location and agglomeration by allowing for labour mobility in new trade models. Another tackles multinationals by offering an empirical and theoretical assessment of one of the most important topics of discussion in the globalisation debate.

The book has a dedicated website, with useful self-study material, graphs and figures from the text. A study guide, containing questions for each chapter, with an emphasis on empirical exercises for which data are provided, can be bought separately.

Maurizio Zanardi is lecturer in economics, University of Glasgow.