AECO 24A00 - Trade and International Finance

Most economists agree that trade among nations makes the world better off. Yet international trade can be one of the most contentious of political issues, both domestically and between governments. The objective of the course is to offer students an introduction to two key dimensions of globalization: international trade and international finance. The course will cover both theoretical and empirical contributions and will often refer to current policy issues in both international trade and macroeconomics. We will consider a wide range of questions such as: How does market power of firms affect international trade? What are the consequences of trade policies? How to understand international financial flows? What is the relation between exchange rates and monetary policy? How does globalization affect the conduct of macroeconomic policies? Is the euro an optimal currency area? Why so many international financial crises?

The prerequisite for this course is the core economics course in the first year.