Steve Suranovic

Steve Suranovic headshot

Steve Suranovic

Former Director, Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Director International Trade and Investment Policy Program (July 2012 - 2014)

Former Director


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Steven Suranovic is an Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the George Washington University.  He is the current Director of the GW Global Bachelor’s program (Shanghai), and a former Director of the Elliot School’s Masters in International Economic Policy.  He teaches courses in international economics and microeconomics principles.  His research includes theoretical analysis of the role of ethics in economics, international trade policy, behavioral models of addiction, energy policy, and climate change policy.  (RePEcGoogle ScholarResearch GateSSRN)  

Professor Suranovic maintains two educational websites. The International Economics Study Center features a free online international economics textbook, and a complete Survey of International Economics course that includes a textbook, PPT presentations, video lectures, and problem sets.  The Ethical Economics Study Center features a collection of primers highlighting the role of ethical behavior in fostering good (or efficient) economic outcomes.  It also features case studies, including selected movie reviews, demonstrating how unethical behavior is often responsible for the negative outcomes attributed to free markets. Soon, the website will feature a free online Principles of Microeconomics course that incorporates the role that ethics plays in the fair and efficient functioning of a capitalistic market economy.  

Professor Suranovic received his B.S. in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University. He has published in numerous academic journals, including the Journal of International Economics, the Canadian Journal of Economics, World Economy, and the Journal of Health Economics.   His book titled, “A Moderate Compromise: Policy Choice in an Era of Globalization,” published by Palgrave-Macmillan, offers a critique of current methods of policy evaluation and choice and suggests a simple, principled, and moderate alternative.  He also has several textbooks about International Economics published by Flat World Knowledge.

In Fall 2002, he taught at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, as a visiting Fulbright lecturer.  From 2009-2016 he taught summer study abroad classes for GW students at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.  Since 2017 he has taught for the Global Bachelor’s program at Fudan and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.  He has spoken to many business, government and academic audiences in the US, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Mongolia.


International trade, international trade policy analysis, fairness in international trade

Ph.D. from Cornell University

U.S.-China Economic Relations, Global Economic Governance, International Trade

Books

A Moderate Compromise: Economic Policy Choice in an Era of Globalization

New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Looking at all sides of the globalization debate, Suranovic analyzes how international economic policy is made and how it has become so controversial. He offers a solution to the debate between free trade/unregulated markets and the push for greater government involvement that is consistent with both economic efficiency and social justice.

International Trade: Theory and Policy

Flat World Knowledge, 2010.

International Trade: Theory and Policy is built on Steve Suranovic’s belief that to understand the international economy, students need to learn how economic models are applied to real world problems. It is true what they say, that “economists do it with models.” That’s because economic models provide insights about the world that are simply not obtainable solely by discussion of the issues. International Trade: Theory and Policy presents a variety of international trade models including the Ricardian model, the Heckscher-Ohlin model, and the monopolistic competition model. It includes trade policy analysis in both perfectly competitive and imperfectly competitive markets. The text also addresses current issues such as free trade area formation and administered protection policies. The models are developed, not by employing advanced mathematics, but rather by walking students through a detailed description of how a model’s assumptions influence its conclusions. But more importantly, each model and theory is connected to real world policy issues. The main purpose of the text is to provide a thorough grounding in the arguments concerning the age-old debate about free trade versus protectionism.

International Finance: Theory and Policy

Flat World Knowledge, 2010.

International Finance Theory and Policy is built on Steve Suranovic’s belief that to understand the international economy, students need to learn how economic models are applied to real world problems. It is true what they say, that “economists do it with models.” That’s because economic models provide insights about the world that are simply not obtainable solely by discussion of the issues.

International Finance Theory and Policy develops a unified model of the international macroeconomy. The text provides detailed descriptions of major macroeconomic variables, covers the interest rate parity and purchasing power parity theories of exchange rate determination, takes an exhaustive look at the pros and cons of trade imbalances and presents the well-known AA-DD model to explore the effects of fiscal and monetary policy under both fixed and flexible exchange rates.

The models are developed, not by employing advanced mathematics, but rather by walking students through a detailed description of how a model’s assumptions influence its conclusions. But more importantly, each model and theory is connected to real world policy issues.

International Economics:Theory and Policy

Flat World Knowledge, 2010.

International Economics: Theory and Policy is built on Steve Suranovic’s belief that students need to learn the theory and models to understand how economics works and how economists understand the world. And, that these ideas are accessible to most students if they are explained thoroughly.

So, if you are looking for an International Economics text that will prepare your PhD students while promoting serious comprehension for the non-economics major, Steve Suranovic’s International Economics: Theory and Policy is for you.

International Economics: Theory and Policy presents numerous models in some detail; not by employing advanced mathematics, but rather by walking students through a detailed description of how a model’s assumptions influence its conclusions. Then, students learn how the models connect with the real world.

Steve’s book covers positive economics to help answer the normative questions; for example, what should a country do about trade policy, or about exchange rate policy? The results from models give students insights that help us answer these questions. Thus, this text strives to explain why each model is interesting by connecting its results to some aspect of a current policy issue.

This text eliminates some needlessly difficult material while adding and elaborating on other principles. For example, the development of the relative supply/demand structure, or the presentation of offer curves, are omitted as to not go too deeply into topics that tend to confuse many students at this level.

Steve developed new approaches in this text including a simple way to present the Jones’ magnification effects, a systematic method to teach the theory of the second best, and a unique description of valid reasons to worry about trade deficits. These new approaches help students learn the concepts and models and derive conclusions from them.

If you like to take a comprehensive look at trade policies, be sure to check out the chapter on Trade Policy (7). It provides a comprehensive look at many more trade policies than are found in many of the printed textbooks on the market today.

Working Papers

DateTitle and Author
January 2015

The Meaning of Fair Trade

Steve Suranovic

September 2014

Why a UN Climate Agreement Will Not Be Reached

Steve Suranovic

September 2012

 

Should the US Retaliate against China’s Currency Manipulation?

Steve Suranovic

November 2011“Addicted to Oil: Implications for Climate Change Policy”
Steve Suranovic
September 2010Greed, Capitalism and the Financial Crisis.” version: September 2010
Steve Suranovic with Michael C. Wolfson (Statistics Canada)
2009“Greed and Capitalism: A Source of Evil or Salvation?”
Steve Suranovic
tbdAn Economic Model of Youth Smoking: Welfare and Tax Effects
Steve Suranovic
June 2005A Behavioral Model of Cyclical Dieting.
Steve Suranovic and Robert Goldfarb
tbdModeling Alternative Motives for Dieting.
Steve Suranovic with Robert Goldfarb and Thomas Leonard