ABSTRACT
Why study international economics? For one, it is difficult to read a newspaper today without references to “globalization,” and its effects on firm profits and employment. What are the fundamental catalysts of globalization and how does international economics help us understand these drivers? Often a mental picture is worth a thousand words, and, in this general introduction to our textbook, we take the concrete example of the Apple iPod to highlight the many facets of the international economy. We will use this ultra popular portable media player to trace its production and sales patterns and introduce the forces of globalization and how they relate to the principles of international economics.
