Paul Robin Krugman (pronounced /ˈkruːɡmən/;[3] born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times.[4][5] In 2008, Krugman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his contributions to New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography.

According to the Nobel Prize Committee, the prize was given for Krugman's work explaining the patterns of international trade and the geographic concentration of wealth, by examining the impact of economies of scale and of consumer preferences for diverse goods and services.[6] Krugman is known in academia for his work on international economics (including trade theory, economic geography, and international finance),[7][8] liquidity traps and currency crises. According to the IDEAS/RePEc rankings, he is the fourteenth most widely cited economist in the world today.[9]

As of 2008, Krugman has written 20 books and has published over 200 scholarly articles in professional journals and edited volumes.[10] He has also written more than 750 columns dealing with current economic and political issues for The New York Times. Krugman's International Economics: Theory and Policy, co-authored with Maurice Obstfeld, is a standard college textbook on international economics. He also writes on political and economic topics for the general public, as well as on topics ranging from income distribution to international economics. Krugman considers himself a liberal, calling one of his books and his The New York Times blog "The Conscience of a Liberal".[11]

Personal life

Krugman is the son of David and Anita Krugman and the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Brest-Litovsk.[12] He was born in Albany, NY, and grew up in Nassau County, New York.[13] He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore.[14]