I read this book during my course of IPE while studying an MBA. These book will really help students, financial advisors, CEO's, politicians and everyone involved in International Management to make better analysis and take better decisions. Some time people believes in a conspiracy and take events like a isolated things, the fact is that everything is related and the three major perspectives of the world are in constant conflict everyday. ¿The three major perspectives? Yes: The liberals and the free trade perspective, the nationalists and the structuralism or modern socialist. It also covers the green perspective (oriented to take care of the environment) . Balaam makes a very clear analysis and he doesn't take sides so you will understand the way thinks happen and the media and politicians will not cheat on you to push you to "take sides on poll's". Enjoy.

Unfortunately for those of us who teach International Political Economy to undergraduates on a regular basis, most text books on the subject are either better suited to a graduate-level course, or are still mired in the past. I am grateful to David Balaam and Michael Veseth for providing a fresh, up to date, approach. I particularly like the fact that they cover basic theory as well as the modern structures of the international system. Perhaps most important to me (because I expect my students to acutally read their text) is that their book can not only be understood by undergrads, it is far less likely to be used as a sleep aid that any of its competitors.

I found this book to be most helpful in preparation for a large term paper. While the paper was for an International Economics class Veseth taught, I found many of the ideas presented in the book to be slightly different than those presented in the text we were using for the term paper. The differing viewpoints really made me think about what I was going to argue, and I feel pushed me to come with new ideas. I would recommend this book to any student of economics.

I used this book to study for my international economics exam and to write a term paper. It is truly great. Knowing the author personally and his extended knowledge of the international economics, I would recommend to anyone, even with a slim background in economics (although some would be helpful).

The Readings in International Political Economy is well-balanced with all the classic texts as well as new ones. However, there is a need to boost the relevance of texts on IPE to the contemporary scene considering two key trends that affect the discipline today: international finance and the implications of information technology and e-commerce. Gilpin's much-used textbook, for instance (at least the 1987 edition), is still written within the context of 1980s economics. It is difficult to capture such an elusive subject, undoubtably, but the challenge still remains to keep up with the times and posit new theories on how such forces work on the global economy and international community. The "Readings in IPE" is a great introduction to new students in the field, but a better balance still has to be struck between the old and the new in order to sustain interest.