Paul Krugman

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Lore & Background

Krugman was born to a Russian Jewish family in Albany, New York, and grew up in Merrick, Long Island. He earned a BA summa cum laude in economics from Yale University in 1974 and a PhD from MIT in 1977, with a thesis titled 'Essays on Flexible Exchange Rates.' His interest in economics was sparked by Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels, which featured a fictional science of 'psychohistory.' He later credited his PhD advisor Rudi Dornbusch as 'one of the great economics teachers of all time' who inspired him to develop a monopolistically competitive trade model in 1978. Krugman recalled, '[I] knew within a few hours that I had the key to my whole career in hand.'

Krugman taught at Yale, MIT, Stanford, and the London School of Economics before joining Princeton University in 2000 as Professor of Economics and International Affairs, where he remained until retiring in June 2015. He then became Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He served as President of the Eastern Economic Association in 2010 and has been a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research since 1979. His academic work includes international trade, economic geography, liquidity traps, and currency crises.

Reader's Guide

Paul Krugman's significance lies in his transformation of international trade theory through new trade theory, which explained trade between similar countries by incorporating economies of scale and consumer preference for diversity. Prior to his work, trade theory emphasized comparative advantage between countries with very different characteristics. His 1979 paper in the Journal of International Economics introduced a model using a CES utility function, building on a 1977 paper by Avinash Dixit and Joseph Stiglitz, and this approach became central to modern trade economics. The Nobel Committee cited his analysis of economies of scale and consumer diversity in shaping trade patterns and economic geography. Beyond academia, Krugman reached a broad public as a New York Times columnist from 2000 to 2024, writing several hundred columns on income distribution, taxation, macroeconomics, and international economics. He is the author or editor of 27 books and over 200 scholarly articles. A 2011 survey named him economists' favorite living economist under 60, and the Open Syllabus Project ranks him second most cited on economics syllabi. His popular commentary has drawn both praise and criticism. After retiring from the Times in December 2024, he launched a Substack newsletter that reached 350,000-450,000 readers per post by mid-2025.

Did You Know?

• Krugman's interest in economics was sparked by Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels, which featured a fictional science of 'psychohistory.'
• In 1978, he wrote 'The Theory of Interstellar Trade,' a tongue-in-cheek essay on computing interest rates on goods traveling near the speed of light, to cheer himself up as an 'oppressed assistant professor.'
• During the summer of 1976, Krugman worked for the Central Bank of Portugal in the chaotic aftermath of the Carnation Revolution.
• His 1979 paper on new trade theory used a CES utility function from a 1977 paper by Avinash Dixit and Joseph Stiglitz.
• By mid-2025, Krugman's Substack newsletter was reaching 350,000-450,000 readers per post.

Scholarly Foundations and the Nobel Breakthrough

Paul Krugman's academic trajectory spans some of the most prominent institutions in economics. He held faculty positions at Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, and the London School of Economics, where he holds the title of Centennial Professor. His research portfolio covers international trade, economic geography, international finance, liquidity traps, and currency crises. The 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences recognized him as sole laureate for reshaping how scholars understand trade patterns and the geographic clustering of economic activity, particularly through the lens of economies of scale and consumer demand for variety. His co-authored textbook with Maurice Obstfeld, International Economics: Theory and Policy, remains a standard reference for undergraduate students worldwide. He has published over two hundred peer-reviewed articles, served as a National Bureau of Economic Research associate since 1979, and chaired the Eastern Economic Association in 2010.

The Public Intellectual and the Long Column

From 2000 to 2024, Krugman served as a columnist for The New York Times, writing several hundred columns on income inequality, tax policy, macroeconomic policy, and international economics. He also contributed to Fortune and Slate during that period. He has consistently described himself as a modern liberal, a stance made explicit in his 2007 book The Conscience of a Liberal and reinforced through his blog and columns. His commentary drew both enthusiastic support and fierce opposition. In December 2024, Times opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury announced his departure; his final column, 'Finding Hope in an Age of Resentment,' ran on December 9. Krugman wrote that he left the Times because his editors began to discourage him from writing columns that might 'get some people (particularly on the right) riled up.' He then launched a daily Substack newsletter titled 'Paul Krugman,' edited by his wife and fellow economist Robin Wells, offering most content free and a longer weekly tutorial post to paying subscribers. By mid-2025, each post was reaching between 350,000 and 450,000 readers.

Formative Years and the Spark of a Career

Born in Albany, New York, in 1953 to a Russian Jewish family whose maternal grandparents immigrated from Ukraine in 1914 and paternal grandparents from Belarus in 1920, Krugman grew up in the Long Island hamlet of Merrick and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore. He credits Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels—where future social scientists use 'psychohistory' to try to save civilization—with igniting his fascination with economics as the next best thing. He earned a BA summa cum laude in economics from Yale in 1974 as a National Merit Scholar, then pursued a doctorate at MIT, completing his 1977 thesis on flexible exchange rates. During a 1976 summer stint at the Central Bank of Portugal in the chaotic aftermath of the Carnation Revolution, he gained firsthand exposure to macroeconomic instability. His doctoral advisor, Rudi Dornbusch, whom Krugman later called 'one of the great economics teachers of all time,' encouraged him to develop a monopolistically competitive trade model in 1978. Krugman recalled knowing within hours that he had grasped the key to his entire career. That same year, he wrote 'The Theory of Interstellar Trade,' a tongue-in-cheek essay on computing interest rates on goods in transit near the speed of light, to cheer himself up when he was 'an oppressed assistant professor.'

Enduring Influence and the Broader Canon

Krugman's footprint in economics extends well beyond a single landmark paper. He has authored or edited twenty-seven books spanning scholarly monographs, textbooks, and works aimed at general readers, and his name appears on more than two hundred articles in professional journals and edited volumes. A 2011 survey of economics professors named him their favorite living economist under sixty, and the Open Syllabus Project identifies him as the second most frequently cited author on college economics course syllabi. His co-authored undergraduate text with Robin Wells and the Obstfeld-Krugman international economics textbook have shaped generations of students. He is a member of the Group of Thirty, an influential international economic body, and has maintained his NBER research affiliation since 1979. The Research Papers in Economics project ranks him among the most influential economists globally. Whether through his Nobel-recognized theoretical contributions, his decades of public commentary, or his teaching, Krugman has occupied a rare position at the intersection of rigorous scholarship and accessible public discourse, a duality that has defined his career from his early days as an 'oppressed assistant professor' to his present role as a widely read newsletter writer.