Paul Krugman (born February 28, 1953,Albany, New York, U.S.) is an American economist and journalist who received the 2008Nobel Prize for Economics for his work ineconomic geography and in identifyinginternational trade patterns. He also wrote an op-ed column inThe New York Times (1999–2024).

Krugman was awarded a B.A. fromYale University in 1974 and a Ph.D. fromMIT in 1977. He served as a member of MIT’seconomics faculty from 1979 to 2000, leaving for a year (1982–83) to work as the chief staffer for international economics on U.S. Pres.Ronald Reagan’sCouncil of Economic Advisers and again for a hiatus (1994–96) to teach atStanford University. From 1979 he also worked as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 2000 he became a professor of economics and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University; he retired in 2015 as professor emeritus. He subsequently became a professor at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.

Through the integration of economies of scale into general equilibrium models, Krugman furthered understanding of both the determinants of trade and the location of production in an increasingly globalized post-World War II economy. His research findings explained how the consumer’s desire for variety and choice enabled countries to achieve the economies of scale required for profitable trade in similar products. This led to later research on the “new economic geography,” which explained the location of jobs and businesses and the reason there was acceleration in the pace of urbanization and a population decline in rural areas.

A prolific writer, Krugman published more than 20 books and 200 papers in professional journals. Among his writings were regular magazine columns inSlate (1996–99) andFortune (1997–99), and from 1999 to 2024 he was an op-ed columnist forThe New York Times. His books included the essay collectionThe Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century (2003), which criticized the administration of Pres.George W. Bush; economics textbooks such asMicroeconomics (2004) andMacroeconomics (2005); and nonacademic works such asThe Return of Depression Economics (1999),The Conscience of a Liberal (2007), andArguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future (2020). In addition to the Nobel Prize, Krugman received many honors, including the 1991John Bates Clark medal, awarded to economists under age 40.