Premi Nobel d'Economia 2008, concedit a Paul Krugman

Abstract

This talk aims to discuss the 2008 Nobel Prize Winner for Economic Sciences, Paul R. Krugman. The Princeton University professor has earned this award for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity. Since its inception, and among many other concerns, the economy has raised and dealt with questions regarding the emergence of international trade and the rise and fall of certain economic areas; and, through his models, Paul Krugman has made a decisive contribution to answering both these questions. The author firstly provides a brief description of Paul Krugman himself, before moving on to analyse the Self-Organising Economy and the Agglomeration Economy. Finally, brief mention is given to whether either of these two models may be applicable to the Mediterranean Axis. The Self-Organising Economy is based on applications of chaos theory to individuals' behaviour in an economic context. On the other hand, the Agglomeration Economy is a more classic concept. Economies of scale are the fundamental concept in this theory. Is the Mediterranean Axis an exponent of the Self-Organising Economy or is it an Agglomeration Economy?