Why do countries trade with each other? How, why and by whom is international trade regulated? What are the welfare consequences of international trade? How does international trade affect individual firms, consumers, workers and industries? Why do some firms decide to export but not others? What is the impact of government policies on trade and welfare, and what are the best policies? Is a tariff war “easy to win”? What are the welfare effects of preferential trading arrangements between countries? What does the WTO do? What determines currency exchange rates and is a low or high dollar a good thing? Is monetary and fiscal policy more or less effective in an open economy than in a closed one? These are some of the questions we might consider in this class.
We will also examine the gains from trade, the determinants of patterns of international trade and the effects of trade on income distribution, all in low-dimensional models. We then turn to policy and analyse a number of arguments, both traditional and more recent, for active trade and industrial policies. We will also consider a selection of other topics in international trade.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- demonstrate an understanding of the basic models of international economics and the analytical tools that economists use to analyze international economic interactions;
- demonstrate an understanding of the tools taught in class and be able to recognise their application to the analysis of real world fact situations;
- construct theoretical models of international economics related phenomena and manipulate them
- read and understand the gist of professional articles in the field of international trade
Indicative Assessment
- Assessment will be based on a combination of Problem Sets, quizzes, a class presentation, a midterm exam, a final exam and participation in online and in-class exercises, where not all of these elements will necessarily receive a non-zero weight in any given semester. (100) [LO null]
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Workload
Students in this class will share two lectures and a tutorial per week with ECON3103 and a further lectorial per week. Students are expected to spend roughly 10 hours a week on this course, on average across the semester.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
see Class Summary and Wattle site
Assumed Knowledge
This course assumes a good knowledge of intermediate macroeconomics and more advanced microeconomics. It will also be assumed that students are reasonably familiar with mathematical tools and intermediate statistics. No other prior knowledge will be assumed.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
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