Chapter 11

Towards the beginning of the chapter, Wheelan compares international economics vs. economics within countries.
"International economics shouldn't be any different than economics within countries. National borders are political demarcations, not economic ones. . .Captial flows across international borders for the same reason it flows anywhere else: Investors are seeking the highest possible return" (245).
Wheelan emphasizes that just because we are separated by borders and use different currencies, international economics is  no different than economics within a single country because everyone has the same goal in economics: we want the "highest possible return". Wheelan goes on to describe the complexity of international transactions. Although it is no different than a transaction made within a single country, it is more complex because of the different currencies. Because of the lack of intrinsic value in both currencies, an American dollar doesn't have value in Japan, and yen doesn't have value in America. So Wheelan states, "If the American dollar is just a piece of paper, and the Japanese yen is just a piece of paper, then how much American paper should we swap for Japanese paper?" (246).