|
California Economics 404: International Trade Theory, Winter
2009 |
|
|
Professor Eric Fisher |
Office: 03-444 |
|
Phone: 805-756-2964 Email: efisher@calpoly.edu |
Office Hours: Wednesday 08:00 to 12:00 |
|
|
|
|
Textbook: The textbook is Feenstra and Taylor’s International Economics, Worth Publishers, 2008. You must subscribe to Aplia. This online tool will keep track of your scores on homework assignments. I am going to cover the material in this course at a deeper level than the text. You should bookmark this web page and check for periodic class handouts that I will post in time. |
|
|
Objective: This course will provide you with an overview of the world economy. It will focus on the microeconomic aspects of international economics. Intermediate microeconomics is a pre-requisite, and I have designed this course for majors in economics. Business students who like to think logically and students in the hard or social sciences who want a rigorous course in undergraduate trade theory will enjoy this class. |
|
|
Examinations: There a midterm and a final. The final is scheduled by the University for Tuesday 17 March from 13:10 to 16:00. |
|
|
Grading: There will be weekly problem sets, and they will be worth 30 points in total. The midterm will be worth 27 points. The final exam will be worth 37 points. Attendance and class participation will be worth 6 points. Here is a summary of the grading scheme: problem sets (30 points); midterm (27 points); final exam (37 points); and class participation and attendance (6 points). The scores of all the students are available here. Here is a histogram with the scores of all the students in the course. |
|
|
Administrative Issues: The University Senate passed a resolution in 2008 that was designed to deal with the abuse of late course withdrawals at Cal Poly. The Student Advising Center of the OCOB now enforces this policy strictly. I will not sign drop forms for this course. I recognize that this course may be a little difficult for students with weak backgrounds in economics. Because I am strict about enforcing the rules, I really respect a student who works hard to learn the material. If you show me that you are trying in good faith to master this material, then you will have little need to worry about failing this class. There will be no makeup exams. If I catch you cheating, I will fail you for the course and then pursue the fullest sanctions that the University allows. I am much more concerned with your integrity than I am with your mastery of international economics. The most important thing that we professors can teach you is to live honestly, work hard, and treat others with respect and dignity. |
|
|
Date |
Lecture Topic |
|
|
You must purchase Aplia as soon as
possible. Click here to learn how to
buy this service. |
||
|
6 January |
World Trade: An Overview |
Chapter 1 |
|
8 January |
The Difference Between General Equilibrium and Partial
Equilibrium |
|
|
13 January |
The Model of Pure Exchange |
|
|
15 January |
The Difference Between Absolute Advantage and Comparative
Advantage |
Chapter 2.1 |
|
20 January |
Review of indifference curves and the technique of Lagrange |
Chapter 2.2 and 2.3 |
|
22 January |
Equilibrium in the International Economy |
Chapter 2.4, and 2.5 |
|
27 January |
The Specific Factors Model |
Chapter 3.1 and 3.2 |
|
29 January |
What are Economic Rents? |
Chapter 3.3 and 3.4 |
|
3 February |
The Heckscher-Ohlin Model |
Chapter 4.1 and 4.2 |
|
5 February |
More on the Heckscher-Ohlin Model |
Chapter 4.3 and 4.4 |
|
10 February |
Midterm
Examination |
|
|
12 February |
Working with Input-output Models |
|
|
17 February |
Understanding the Factor Content of Trade |
The Factor Content of Trade when Countries Have Different Technologies |
|
19 February |
Understanding the National Revenue Function |
|
|
24 February |
Deeper Insights into Rybczynski Matrices |
|
|
26 February |
Migration of Labor |
Chapter 5.1 and 5.2 |
|
3 March |
Direct Investment |
Chapter 5.3 and 5.4 |
|
5 March |
Increasing Returns to Scale and Imperfect Competition |
Chapter 6 |
|
10 March |
Tariffs and Quotas |
Chapter 8 |
|
12 March |
Tariffs and Quotas Under Imperfect Competition |
Chapter 9 |
|
17 March |
The
University has scheduled the Final
Exam from 13:10 to 16:00. |
|