Insegnamento a.a. 2014-2015

30057 - INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS


CLEAM - BIEMF

Department of Economics

Course taught in English

Go to class group/s: 31 - 32 - 33
CLEAM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - BIEMF (6 credits - II sem. - OBCUR  |  SECS-P/01)
Course Director:
DONATO MASCIANDARO

Classes: 31 (II sem.) - 32 (II sem.) - 33 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 31: DONATO MASCIANDARO, Class 32: DONATO MASCIANDARO, Class 33: DONATO MASCIANDARO


Course Objectives

The course is divided into two sections. The first section analyses the Global Crisis and its drivers, with specific attention to the US, Europe and Asia, in order to explain the Great Recession and highlight which are the present macroeconomic problems to be addressed and fixed.

The second section provides the tools to analyse these problems. The section is divided into two parts. The first part deals with international trade. The second part analyses monetary and exchange rate policies.


Course Content Summary

Economics in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis

  • Introduction: International Economics for Business.
  • The Global Financial Crisis: discovering its Drivers.
  • The Great Moderation: Efficient Markets, National Policies and International Harmonization.
  • The Great Deviation: Monetary Policy, Financial Deregulation and External Unbalances.
  • The Great Recession: how to deal with?

Trade

  • Labor productivity and comparative advantage: the Ricardian model.
  • Resources and trade: the Heckscher-Ohlin model.
  • Economies of scale, imperfect competition and international trade.
  • Firms in the global economy: multinationals and outsourcing.
  • International trade policy.

Monetary Economics

  • The balance of payments and the foreign exchange market.
  • Monetary Policy in Open Economy.
  • Fixed vs floating exchange rates.
  • Macroeconomic policies and exchange rates.

Optimum currency areas and the European single currencies.


Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Written General Exam.

The exam texts are the same for all the students, including those attending the course in the previous years. The questions of the exam are five and compulsory (time=120 minutes). The grade of each question is 6/30; to pass the exam the overall grade has to be at least 18/30. Mock exam questions are discussed during the course.


Textbooks

Slides and readings (i.e. selected chapters of the textbook) represent the teaching material. The class slides are posted week by week on the website of the course. All the class slides and readings are compulsory exam material and have to be carefully prepared for the exam independently from the time allocated to them in class.
Regular attendance is crucial for not falling behind. If the students miss the class, it is their responsibility to make up for the lecture notes and announcements made in class.

Textbook to be announced.
Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Prerequisites

Previous exposure to first-year undergraduate macroeconomic and microeconomic courses is necessary and compulsory. For example:

  • Microeconomics: B.D. BERNHEIM, M.D. WHINSTON, Microeconomics, McGraw-Hill;
  • Macroeconomics: O. BLANCHARD, Macroeconomics, Pearson. 
Last change 03/07/2014 10:47