Assignments Page for International Economics

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Course Assignments:

Week 16

May 17, 2007:  1:00 pm - FINAL EXAM - ALL CHAPTERS COVERED!

Week 15

May 8, 2007: Chapters 15: Exchange Rate Systems and Currency Crises

• Chatper 15: Exchange Rate Systems and Currency Crises
• Choosing an Exchange Rate System
• Fixed Exchange Rates
  • Par Value and Official Exchange Rate
  • Exchange-Rate Stabilization
  • Revaluation and Devaluation
  • Bretton Woods System of Fixed Exchange Rates
• Floating Exchange Rates
  • Achieving Market Equilibrium
  • Trading Restrictions, Jobs and Floating Exchange Rates
  • Arguments For and Against Floating Rates

May 10, 2007:  Chapters 15: Exchange Rate Systems and Currency Crises

• Finish what was not covered on Tuesday.
• Free Quiz
• Student Evaluations
• Review the Final

Week 14

May 1, 2007:   COUNTRY PAPER IS DUE TODAY!!!

• Chapter 12: Short run factors that affect the exchange rate
• Asset Market Approach
  • Relative levels of interest rates
  • Real interest rate (expected inflation effects)
  • Expected Change in the Exchange Rate
  • Diversification
• Exchange Rate Overshooting
• Forecasting Exchange Rates

May 3, 2007:   Chapters 13: Balance of Payments Adjustments

• Make Corrections to the test
• Discuss Employment Opportunities

Week 13

April 24, 2007:   Chapter 12: Exchange Rate Determination

• Freedom House.org
• World Rank - Living Standard
• World in Trouble
• Chapter 12: Introduction to Exchange Rate Determination

April 26, 2007:   Chapters 12: Exchange Rate Determination - Long-Run

• COUNTRY PAPER IS DUE ON TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2007
• Relative Price Levels
• Relative Productivity Levels
• Preferences for Domestic or Foreign Goods
• Trade Barriers
• The Law of One Price
• The "Big Mac" Index
• Purchasing Power Parity

Week 12

April 17, 2007:   Chapter 11: Foreign Exchange continued

• Chapter 11:  Foreign Exchange
• Exchange Rate Determination
  • Demand for Foreign Exchange
  • Supply of Foreign Exchange
  • Equilibrium
  • Strong versus Weak Dollar
• Indexes of Foreign-Exchange Value of the Dollar: Real versus Nominal
• Arbitrage - two and three point

April 19, 2007:   Test III: Chapters 9 - 11 (as we cover) - Due April 24, 2007 at the beginning of class.

• The Forward Market
• Does Hedging pay off?
• Interest Arbitrage
• Uncovered Interest Arbitrage 
• Covered Interest Arbitrage
• Foreign Exchange Market Speculation

Week 11

April 10, 2007:   Chapter 10: Balance of Payments continued and Chapter 11: Foreign Exchange

• Another website you may find helpful with your research on your country:  Council on Foreign Relations
• Also try Fitch Ratings for country risk ratings
• Also note Moody's and Standard and Poor's sovereign ratings and Country Risk.com for "stuff."
• Due today: Find the "spot" exchange rate for your country in US dollars, the "forward" rates if your country has them, 5 pts.  see p. 365
• What does a Current Account (Deficit) Surplus mean?
• Net Foreign Investment and the Current Account Balance
• Is there a global savings glut? - Answer in two paragraphs for ten points, due April 17
• Balance of International Indebtedness - The US as a debtor nation.
• Chapter 11:  Foreign Exchange - an introduction
• Spot versus Forward rates

April 12, 2007:   Chapter 11: Foreign Exchange continued

• Political Risk portion of the paper is due today!
• Chapter 11:  Foreign Exchange - an introduction
• Spot versus Forward rates
• Interbank trading - bid, offer, spread
• Depreciation/Appreciation
• The Cross exchange rate
• Forward and Futures Markets
• Foreign Currency Options
• Strike price, call option, put option

Week 10

April 3, 2007:   Chapter 9: International Factor Movements and MNEs

• Economics and Jobs - Metro State College website
• International Joint Ventures
• MNEs as a source of Conflict
• International Labor Mobility: Migration
• For Today, find five Multinational Enterprises involved in the country that you are studying.  Make sure to explain how one of the companies is involved and why they are operating in the country.  10 pts.
• You may also find the World Bank to be of help in your country analysis
• Make sure to check out this list for your top five companies
• Effects of Migration
• The Issue - immigration
  • The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Geary Act extended the act for another ten years in 1892, and by the Extension Act of1904, the act was made permanent.
  • Brain Drain
  • Guest Workers

• Do imigrants really hurt American Workers' Wages?

April 5, 2007:   Chapter 10: Balance of Payments

• Current Account
  • Trade Balance
  • Unilateral Transfers
• Capital Account
  • Direct Investment
  • Stocks and Bonds
• Statistical Discrepancy
• US Balance of Payments
• What does a Current Account (Deficit) Surplus mean?

Week 9

March 27, 2007:   Chapter 9: International Factor Movements and MNEs

• Read Chapter 9:
• Multinational Enterprise - definition and a few stats.
• Global 500
• Make sure to check out this list for your top five companies
• Example: Intel in China
• Motives for Foreign Direct Investment (often called Direct Foreign Investment)
  • Demand Factors
  • Cost Factors
• Supplying Products to foreign buyers
• Country Risk Analysis

March 29, 2007:   Chapter 9: International Factor Movements continued

• Tests returned
• Papers due today

Week 8

March 20, 2007:   Chapter 6: Trade Regulations and Industrial Policy

• Read Chapter 6:
• GATT
• WTO
• Doha to Hong Kong
• Fast-Track Authority
• NAFTA and APEC
• Finish problem #17 in class 10 pts.

March 22, 2007:   TEST II: Chapters 4 - 6

March 12-16, 2007:   SPRING BREAK - RELAX AND ENJOY!

Week 7

March 6, 2007:   Chapter 5: Nontariff Trade Barriers and Begin Chapters 6: Trade Regulations and Industrial Policy

• READ Chapter 5:  Import Quota - revisited
• Japanese Auto Restraints
• Domestic Content Requirements
• Subsidies - Domestic and Export
• Dumping
• International Price Discrimination
• Antidumping Policies
• Government Procurement Policies
• CAFE Standards
• Do problem #16 in class, to be finished on Thursday, 5 pts.

March 8, 2007:   Chapters 6: Trade Regulations and Industrial Policy

• Chapter 6: U.S. Tariff Policies Before 1930
• Smoot-Hawley Act
• Senate  House
• Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act
• Finish problem #16 in class, begin #17 to be finished on Tuesday, 5 pts for #16.

Week 6

February 27, 2007  Chapter 4: Tariffs 

• FOB versus CIF
• Effective Rate of Protection
• Review: Tariff Welfare Effects: Consumer Surplus and Producer Surplus
• Tariff Welfare Effects: A Small Nation Model
• QUIZ - Tariff
• Tariff Trade and Welfare Effects: Large Nation Model

March 1, 2007  Finish Chapter 4 and Begin Chapter 5: Nontariff Trade Barriers

• Review Chapter 4: Tariff Trade and Welfare Effects: Large Nation Model
• Optimum Tariff
• Beggar-they Neighbor Policy
• How a Tariff Burdens Exorters
• Bush's Steel Tariffs
• Arguments for Trade Restrictions
• Chapter 5:  Import Quota - revisited

Week 5

February 20, 2007  WINTER BREAK - Enjoy! 

February 22, 2007  Chapter 4: Tariffs

• Supply and Demand, Quotas and with Transportation costs - who gains and who loses
• Protective Tariff versus a Revenue Tariff
• Specific Tariff versus an Ad Valorem Tariff
• Tariff Welfare Effects: Consumer Surplus and Producer Surplus
• Tariff Welfare Effects: A Small Nation Model
• Graphing analysis of A Tariff

Week 4

February 13, 2007  TEST 1 - Due at the beginning of class 

• Other Theories and Thoughts
• Demand and Supply from the Heckscher-Ohlin Model
• Supply and Demand in Autarky and with Trade
• Go to Trade Stats-Express and find the exports, imports and trade balance with the USA for the country you have chosen.  List these statistics for 5 pts.  For another 5 points find the top ten products imported and exported with the USA.  Also see if there are any other statistics that you may wish to report, DUE Thursday, February 15.

February 15, 2007  Chapter 3: Tri-panel diagram - Who gains and who loses in a country from trade? 

• Supply and Demand in Autarky, with Trade and with Tariffs - who gains and who loses

Week 3

February 6, 2007  Ricardian Comaparative Advantage Continued

• Increasing Cost Trading Case
• Partial Specialization
• Impact of Trade on Jobs
• Comparative Advantage extended to many products and many countries
• Exit Barriers
• Empirical Evidence and Outsourcing
• For Thursday, two paragraphs about outsourcing - benefits and burdens in one paragraph and what you think in the second - 5 pts.

February 8, 2007  Chapter 3:  Sources of Comparative Advantage

• Problems 2.12 and 2.13 are Due
• Factor Endowments as a Source of Comparative Advantage
• Factor-Price Equalization
• Trade and the Distribution of Income
• Does Trade make the Poor even Poorer?
• TEST 1 - Take home test handed out.  Due at the beginning of class on February 13, 2007

Week 2

January 30, 2007  David Ricardo and Gains from Trade

• Due today: What is going on at the World Economic Forum?  What is going on at the World Social Forum? - Two paragraphs, word processed, double spaced for 5 points.
• Chapter 2:  Comparative Advantage: Why Nations Trade
  • Production Possibilities Schedules
  • Trading under Constant Cost Conditions, 
  • Production Gains from Specialization and
  • Consumption Gains from Trade

February 1, 2007  Ricardian Comaparative Advantage Continued

• Consumption Gains from Trade
• The Theory of Reciprocal Demand - Jon Stuart Mill
• The importance of being unimportant
• Terms of Trade Estimates - barter terms of trade
• Increasing Costs
• Do Problems 2.12 and 2.13 on page for Thursday, February 8.

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Last Update: May 10, 2007
By Andrew L. H. Parkes, Ph. D.