Int'l Finance

International Trade

UGBA 118: International Trade

Summer Session

Course Description:

The last 25 years have witnessed a large increase in the volume of international trade and investment, significant treaties reducing barriers to trade and capital movements, and the development of regional trading blocs. Recently, however, we have witnessed a rise in sentiment against international trade and globalization.

We will examine these events and policies in a solid analytical context. We construct simple models to analyze international trade and shed light on the underlying economic, social, and political factors that affect trade patterns. A significant part of the course is devoted to evaluating the theoretical models in light of empirical research. The goal is to enable you to understand current political debates on trade and protection in a structured manner and to express your analysis in a coherent way.

Class meetings are informal lectures. The material we cover is often difficult, and we cover it fairly quickly, so it is advisable that you come to each class prepared. This will not only help you to follow the lectures more easily, but will be appreciated by both the instructor and your fellow students. The material covered assumes that you are comfortable with microeconomics at the level of an introductory course. The techniques we will use are primarily geometric, although some algebra and calculus will appear at points in the course.