Introduction

Students who are studying international affairs must have solid background knowledge in a variety of disciplines. This interdisciplinary background includes studies in political science, anthropology, geography, history and economics. While a balance of disciplines is necessary to understanding international events and policies, this balance is also a challenge. For most students this challenge comes with the study of economics.

International economics concerns the study of goods-and-services flows across international boundaries, the size and distribution of gains from trade and the relevant policies. While it would seem that the study of international economics would be easily comprehendible for international studies students this is not necessarily the case. Most economics courses are taught for students with a more economic background, leaving many students questioning the applicability of the course to their needs and interests.

In order to make these economic concepts more relevant and accessible for students of international studies there are many options. An increasingly popular and emerging approach is blogging. Many major economists now debate and comment on current economic events and decisions as they unfold through their credible blogs. These economists include Mark Thoma in his blog “Economics View” and Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok in their blog “Marginal Revolution”. Not only do these blogs create academic discourse in real time between economists across the globe, but they are also having a profound effect on foreign policy. This blog will explore the pros, cons and different perspectives of these blogs and their general relevance to the study of international economics.

I hope that this blog will be a useful tool for students of international studies to introduce them to the world of economics blogging and to be a useful resource for students to learn alternative approaches to learning economics, and most importantly to show that economics can be fun, interesting and relevant!

Please feel free to comment or e-mail me with questions, comments or suggestions!