Peter Kenen received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1958. Four decades later, on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday, a group of his former students and collaborators present this collection of essays in his honor. Our intention is to offer a selection of contemporary work in international trade and finance that will not only salute a great teacher and scholar but also help in defining an agenda for research in the late 1990s and beyond. The title of our collection deliberately echoes a seminal volume of cutting-edge scholarship edited by Kenen – and also published by Cambridge University Press – in 1975 (Kenen 1975). As Kenen's first Ph.D. student, the privilege fell to me to edit and introduce this tribute to his many contributions to the field.

We begin with a brief essay by Paul Krugman highlighting some of Peter Kenen's more important achievements over a lifetime of outstanding research and writing. Although still as active and innovative as ever, Kenen has already distinguished himself as one of this century's most notable, not to say prolific, international economists. His influence has been felt in the development of both the trade and monetary sides of the field; and he has contributed work in applied policy analysis and political economy as well as pure theory. As Krugman's survey amply demonstrates, Kenen's many accomplishments demonstrate a span of vision that is as creative as it is unusual.