ECON 462/662 is intended as an overview of the theory of international trade. It is essential that you have passed your principles courses, and have a working knowledge of algebra and geometry, for we will learn many of the tools of the economist.  Topics covered will include the pure theories of trade (Ricardian, Heckscher-Ohlin, and others), the basis and effects of barriers to trade, industrial policy, U.S. trade policy, free trade zones such as NAFTA or the EU, and the role of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.  We will consider the effects of international trade on economic growth and income distribution as well as the ongoing debate over free trade.

This course is an international business major course, and the first part of a two-course sequence which used to be taught as the single course (ECON 458).  The second part, ECON 463 (International Monetary Relations), is usually taught in Spring, but I think it will not be offered this year.

	Paul R. Krugman & Maurice Obstfeld (2005), International Economics:  Theory and Policy, Seventh Edition.  Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0321293835, Required.  This is probably the best-selling and most-respected undergraduate textbook in the field, though it can be dense reading at times.  Professor Krugman is now at Princeton (formerly at MIT), and is the author or co-author of hundreds of published economic research papers, dozens of books, and many provocative opinions in his regular column in the New York Times.  Check out the Unofficial Krugman Website, and click on "International Trade" on the left bar to get some of his relevant columns.  Professor Maurice Obstfeld also has a very impressive record of academic publications, but is not so much in the limelight.
This book is available at the ASUN Bookstore in Jot Travis Student Union (JTSU), or you can order it online through companies like Amazon.com, Varsitybooks.com, or ecampus.com.  Bigwords.com provides price comparisons.  Ordering online sometimes avoids sales tax, but you usually pay shipping & handling costs, delivery times are not always prompt, and returns may be problematic.

• Group homework (totaling 30%), with peer evaluations.
• Quizzes (totaling 20%)
• Midterm examination (25%) - tentatively scheduled for October 24.
• Final examination (25%) - Thursday, December 14, from 12:00-2:00 PM.

Homework will be assigned weekly, and be done in groups (you will grade the contribution of your classmates to the group). Quizzes will be announced in advance, and are intended to check your understanding of the basic models. Exams will be generally problem-oriented, as based on the textbook and the lectures.  The exams will be long, difficult, and in class, with no books, notes, headphones, or cell phones allowed.  The final examination will be given at the time listed in the Fall Schedule, and university policy forbids early exams.  It is not comprehensive.  Makeup exams will be given only under very unusual circumstances.

Good participation and attendance will help your grade if you are on the margin; I expect that you will not arrive late or leave early without explanation, and I expect you to keep up with the assigned readings and contribute to class discussion.

Exams from prior semesters are available for study and practice:
 

ECON 462 (Fall 2005): Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Midterm, Midterm Key, Quiz 3, Quiz 4, Quiz 5, Final, and Final Key.
ECON 462 (Fall 2004): Quizzes, Midterm, and Final.

ECON 458 also included material now taught in ECON 463, but some relevant material can be found in the following exams:

Midterm 1 (Fall 2003), Midterm 1 (Fall 2002) (See the key!),Midterm 1 (Fall 2001) and Midterm 1 (Fall 2000);
Midterm 2 (Fall 2002) (See the key!), and Midterm 2 (Fall 2001).

Except for the two exams from Fall 2002, keys are not available.

What is the Difference between A and C students?

To receive graduate credit for this course, significant additional work is required. In general, graduate students must take the exams, do the homework, and write a research paper. However, this may vary according to the background of the student, and must be negotiated with the professor by the beginning of the second week.  For graduate students with an adequate background in economics, for example, exams and homework can be more quantitative so that the student can demonstrate mastery of the models and theory of international trade and finance, and this may affect the size expectation and the weight given to the research paper.

See the graduate student requirements, with details on research paper requirements.
 

Group Homework Schedule Homework Set Assignment Due Date 1 Chapter 2, Problems 1-4. Thursday, Sep. 7  2 Chapter 3, Problems 1-6, 10. Thursday, Sep. 14 3 Chapter 4, Problems 1-7. Thursday, Sep. 28 4 Chapter 5, Problems 1-5, 7-9. Thursday, Oct. 5 5 Maple Trade Model #1 Thursday, Oct. 12 6 Chapter 6, Problems 1-5, 8-10. Thursday, Oct. 19   Midterm Exam Thursday, Oct. 26 7 Maple Trade Model #2 Tuesday, Oct. 31 8 Chapter 7, Problems 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9. Chapter 12, Problems 2, 6, 8, 9. Chapter 13, Problems 1, 2, 16. Tuesday, Nov. 7 9 Chapter 8,  Problems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9. Tuesday, Nov. 14 10 Chapter 10, Problems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.  Maple Trade Model #3 Tuesday, Nov. 28 11 Maple Trade Model #4 (short). Thursday, Nov. 30 12 Chapter 9, Problems 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8. Thursday, Dec. 7 13 Chapter 11, Problems 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11. Tuesday, Dec. 12

Homework is done in groups of 3-4 students, and each group turns in one complete set.  Though work may be divided up, your group is expected to discuss the entire homework together, and you are all responsible for your joint answers.  It is unacceptable to not meet once per homework assignment, or to assemble the homework in a mad scramble at the start of class.  It is also foolish, because if you don't understand the homework you will find the exams to be impossible.

Your group's homework is due at the start of the class period on the due date, and late homework will be penalized.  Each chapter will receive a separate grade, but it can be turned in together.  The homework assignment is expected to be in order, complete, and legible, otherwise your grade will be marked down.  It will usually take me a week to return the graded homework.

On the day your homework set is turned in, you must turn in a confidential evaluation of your group members rating them for their contribution to all chapters assigned in the set.  "Confidential" means that you can't show it to your group members and you can't discuss it with them.  On a piece of paper or an e-mail, put your name first so I know whose evaluation it is, then list the other members of your group.  For a three-person group, give yourself no more than 34% (you may give yourself less), and then divide the other 66% between the other two members.  For a four-person group, give yourself no more than 25% (you may give yourself less), and then divide the other 75% between the other three members. Round to the nearest percentage (no fractions, please), and make sure that the total adds up to 100%, or I may send it back to you and treat it as a missing evaluation.  For example:
 

Turn your evaluation in on an evaluation form (you can print it off here) or on simple piece of paper, folded over.  Or you can just send me an email at elliottp@unr.edu.  (Be sure not to send it to the class email list!)  I will then sum up the scores to determine your overall evaluation, and your individual grade is the group's grade for each chapter times your overall evaluation for the set.  I will report your group grade and each student's overall evaluation score when I return your homework, but not how each student evaluated you.  It is not acceptable for students to discuss evaluations in advance, or to try to uncover the evalution given by any individual group member.

It is important that you turn this in, and you need to identify yourself on it.  If I cannot determine who turned in the evaluation, I will treat it like a missing evaluation.  If your evaluation for your group is not turned in to me before I grade the homework, I will assign you 10% and divide the other 90% equally among your partners, and you will be unpleasantly surprised when you get your grades back.  For example:
 

There are two exceptions:  1) if all but one member of a group turn in evaluations, and they are all consistent, then I will approximate the missing evaluation; 2) if a student drops the course, then I will divide his or her points among the other group members only for homework in which they were depending on him or her.  Then I will reduce the group size and/or readjust the groups.

If your group is not satisfied with the results of an evaluation (perhaps because some evaluations were not turned in), then you may be re-evaluated.  In order to ensure that such a re-evaluation is a Pareto Improvement, all members of your group must re-submit their evaluations to me in individual e-mails.  Once I receive e-mails from all members, I will then notify your group by e-mail if the evaluation has changed.

I reserve the right to adjust groups and their evaluations as I see fit.  If I can correct small errors, I will.

The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) has a lot of country information on their website, along with a new site for finding jobs in international business.

Want to know exchange rates?  Check out this currency converter by OANDA, Inc.

International agencies you might check out include the World Trade Organization Homepage, the United Nations (see the United Nations Trade Information site), the Bank for International Settlements, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Bank.  There is also a site with links to foreign embassies.

United States government agencies with good international data include US Customs, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce (Bureau of the Census, the International Trade Administration, and the Bureau of Export Administration), the International Trade Commission., and the Central Intelligence Agency.  See also the FedWorld Federal Internet Resource Locator and Carnet Information from the US Council for International Business.

Information on international treaties and regulations and be found at:

• US Customs - Proposed Harbor Maintenance Fee Claims Resolution Plan
• NAFTAnet
• Tufts University's Reference Material on Trade and Commercial Relations: Treaties and Conventions
• Carnet Information from the US Council for International Business
• Code of Federal Regulations

Good international information may be also found at the Financial Times website, the website for The Economist, the International Center for Economic Growth, et cetera.  See also the 1998 CIA Factbook and the Penn World Tables by Heston & Summers.

Search the UNR Library through Wolfpac for books or journals.  They also have a long list of business/economics databases for article citations, abstracts, and statistical information, including a good index of economic journals (Econlit) from the Journal of Economic Literature, and a lot of other good reference information.  Many economics journals now have websites (the library has a different list of online business/economic journals), and you can find an article, read its abstract, and order it if you want the whole thing through interlibrary loan.  For example, I manage the China Economic Review website.

Somebody named Mark Bernkopf maintains a Central Banking Resource Center which has a directory of central banks and finance ministries, along with information on currency boards.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies in London has an educational website on a Virtual Economy.  At the heart of this UK Virtual Economy are sophisticated computer models which are very similar to those the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer and his advisors use to prepare the budget and to keep the economy on track.

If you find any errors or know of any other good international websites, email me!

ECON 462 Listserver / Newsgroup

List Service

I have set up a "List Service" mailing list for the purpose of conducting group discussions via email, using the Majordomo software, and I want all my students to subscribe to it!  I will ask for your e-mail address during the first week of class, and sign you up myself.

To subscribe on your own, you should be signed in under your home e-mail account.  Then send a message to the majordomo automated list manager at majordomo@unr.edu.  The title of the message is not important, but the message text should say:

subscribe econ462    OR    subscribe econ462 firstname lastname <email@address>

You should get a quick response back.  For information on the available Majordomo commands, send email to majordomo@unr.edu with the single word:

help

in the body of the message.  For example, you can say who econ462 and get a list of everybody who is subscribed.

If you drop the class and want to unsubscribe, then send a message to majordomo that says:

unsubscribe econ462  OR  unsubscribe econ462 email@address

If you have trouble with any of these commands, it might be that you are sending it as html or mime-encoded.  Send it as a plain text message.  If you need help, let me know and I can do it for you.  I would appreciate seeing what you tried to send to majordomo, and what error message you received from it.

Only people actually subscribed to the list may send any email to the list.  To send an email to the everybody on the list, send an e-mail to econ462@unr.edu.  The message you send will go to everybody who has subscribed, including me.  Try to keep the spam down!  Be thoughtful of others, and do not carry on private, irrelevant conversations on the list.  If you wish to make a reply to an individual, be careful not to send a copy to the list.  Also, do not flame!  Give other students the respect you would demand of them; do not insult them explicitly or implicitly, and do not say anything vulgar or improper.  Remember that I will read your messages, and even if you send something to an individual it is easy for him or her to forward it on to me.

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