Paul Krugman’s Nobel Prize lecture –  “New trade”, “new geography”, and the troubles of manufacturing – is available online (Video of the Nobel lecture and his slides).  His lecture describes his work on increasing returns and trad – themes that have parallels in work on pattern formation in spatial ecology, as well as being important in understanding the spatial patterning of human interactions with ecosystems.

Krugman concludes his lecture with the points:

• Increasing returns have been a powerful force shaping the world economy
• That force may actually be in decline
• But that decline itself is a key to understanding much of what is happening in the world today

Also interesting are his rules for research, which he explains in his Nobel lecture, they are:

1. Listen to the Gentiles (listen to experts outside your field – even though it can be difficult)
2. Question the question (can you simplify and generalize the question)
3. Dare to be silly (theoretical assumptions are never true but after being used for a long time can become unquestionable – it can be useful to make different assumptions – even if others think they are silly)
4. Simplify, simplify