This text on global political economy provides a broad-ranging but concise historical account of the emergence of a worldwide economy since the 15th century combined with a systematic analysis of international political economy at the beginning of the 21st century. The book is theoretically informed but it introduces a broad range of approaches and shows how these can be applied and how useful they are in tackling key issues - from trade, production and finance to social divisions, development and the environment. It concludes by considering global governance and most centrally how markets can be regulated to meet human purposes in an increasingly global economy.