ABSTRACT
International political economy (IPE) studies how politics shape developments in the global economy and how the global economy shapes politics. It focuses most heavily on the enduring political battle between the winners and losers from global economic exchange. Although all societies benefit from participation in the global economy, these gains are not distributed evenly among individuals. Global economic exchange raises the income of some people and lowers the income of others. The distributive consequences of global economic exchange generate political competition in national and international arenas. The winners seek deeper links with the global economy in order to extend and consolidate their gains, whereas the losers try to erect barriers between the global and national economies in order to minimize or even reverse their losses. IPE studies how the enduring political battle between the winners and losers from global economic exchange shapes the evolution of the global economy.
