25751 - International Economics (2016/2017) - CLABE
NEWS:
- Office hour of 21st of June is CANCELLED
- (!!!!!!) Final marks of midterms and first final exam of 12th of June (including extrapoints from essays and teamwork) are available on almaesami and have been officially recorded
- Grading of essays and teamworks. Final marks in almaesami will include these points.
- Presentations of teamworks: 23rd of May groups A and E, 24th of May groups B, C and D.
- The composition of the teams for the teamwork will be closed the 10th of May: after that moment nobody can enter teams. There can be adjustments to the compositions of the group ex-post, on voluntary basis and arranged with the instructor
- New deadline for essay delivery: 13th May
- Team Leaders and article to present (please contact them to join the group, if not yet done):
A (0-1), art. 3: amia.santini@studio.unibo.it,
B (2-3), art. 1: gabriele.conti7@studio.unibo.it,
C (4-5), art. 4: alexa.gruss@studio.unibo.it,
D (6-7), art. 2: giulia.faccioli3@studio.unibo.it,
E (8-9), art. 5: gaston.vandermeulen@studio.unibo.it
- DSE-Nomisma lecture on the European Economy, by Paul de Grauwe, 10th May (info here)
- Names of group leaders for the teamwork will appear here the 2nd of May, during class. Please contact them to join your group!
- Startup Day (video & video): info and sign up as Player here
- Rules for the essay delivery here
- Rules for the teamwork here
Credits: 9
Textbook: Paul R. Krugman, Maurice Obstfeld, Marc Melitz, International Economics: Theory & Policy, 9th Edition, Pearson, 2011
Programme:
The first part of the course focuses on international trade theory and policy. It addresses some of the classic questions of international trade theory such as: who trades what with whom? What are the effects of trade on welfare and the income distribution? How micro-aspects enter the picture of international trade? The course presents the answers of classical and new trade theory to these questions. The first part ends with an overview of recent theoretical and empirical research on the role of heterogeneous firms in international trade and with an application to a current research topic.
The second half of the course covers topics in the fields of trade policy and international macroeconomic. Questions which will be takled during this second part of the course will be: What are the effects of barriers to trade and economic integration? How are nominal exchange rates determined? What does it mean for a currency to be overvalued or undervalued? Why do countries run large current account surpluses or deficits? Are such external imbalances sustainable? Why do some fixed exchange rate regimes fail and end in a currency crisis? What are the benefits and costs of a common currency?
Weekly class schedule:
Grades:
You will be graded on exam and essay(s)/further activities. Final mark will be equal to (0.5*M1+0.5*M2)+E+P, where Mi is grade obtained in midterm i, E is the grade obtained in the essay(s) and P is the one of presentations during the course. If the full exam (F) is taken, the formula becomes F+E+P.
Positive grades will be automatically recorded.
Exam:
Written. It can be taken in the form of two midterms or as a full one. (Note: the 2nd midterm can be taken EITHER in June OR in July)
- 1st midterm on International trade theory: 6th April
- 1st Full Exam + 2nd midterm on the rest: 12th June
- 2nd Full Exam + 2nd midterm on the rest: 10th July
- 3rd Full Exam: 13th September
Registration to the exam and grade recording:
Registration in AlmaEsami (https://almaesami.unibo.it) is required to attend the exam. Grades will be available in AlmaEsami.
Office hour:
Wednesday 12-13. Piazza Scaravilli 2, third floor, office 335.
Material covered:
- Course introduction and overview of Int'l Economics (ch 1, ch 2)
- Ricardian model (ch 3)
- Specific factors model (ch 4)
- Exercises on Ricardo and specific factors models (Ex 1)
- Heckscher-Ohlin model (ch 5). Trade and inequality: last findings, for curious only...
- Standard trade model (ch 6). No "International Borrowing and Lending"
- External economies of scale (ch 7)
- Internal economies of scale, FDI and multinational enterprises (ch 8)
- Exercises, pt.2 (Ex 2)
- Topics in trade policy (ch 9, ch 10, ch 11)
- National income accounts (ch 13)
- Exchange rates and the foreign exchange market (ch 14)
- Optimum currency areas and the European experience (ch 20)
- Article on Brexit costs to be read BEFORE the class (here)
- Exercises, pt.3 (Ex 3)