A Country Is Not a Company

By Paul Krugman

Book Overview

Nobel-Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman argues that business leaders need to understand the differences between economic policy on the national and international scale and business strategy on the organizational scale. Economists deal with the closed system of a national economy, whereas executives live in the open-system world of business. Moreover, economists know that an economy must be run on the basis of general principles, but businesspeople are forever in search of the particular brilliant strategy. Krugman's article serves to elucidate the world of economics for businesspeople who are so close to it and yet are continually frustrated by what they see. Since 1922, Harvard Business Review has been a leading source of breakthrough management ideas-many of which still speak to and influence us today. The Harvard Business Review Classics series now offers readers the opportunity to make these seminal pieces a part of your permanent management library. Each highly readable volume contains a groundbreaking idea that continues to shape best practices and inspire countless managers around the world-and will have a direct impact on you today and for years to come.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1422133400
• ISBN13: 9781422133408
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 4.2" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

True today as when it was written.

I laugh at those who try to apply outdated War strategies like “The Art of War”, which cannot keep up with today’s wars, to businesses. So, what makes them think that they can apply today's Economics is a different discipline than running a country? N-o-b-e-l Prize-winning “economist” Paul Krugman helps separate the differences between running a “Country” and running a “Business.” In the process, we also need to know that neither is ideal for the situation. I have read both “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, as it was required reading for the military, and took several required economic courses, such as “A Piece of the Action” by Stuart M. Speiser, a part of a business degree. The bottom line is that this book should be added to your repertoire and library.