ECON 376 - Dominican University

ECON 376: International Economics

Dominican University

Spring 2009

Instructor: Dr. Carol Tallarico

Office: Fine Arts 326

Office Phone: 708-524-6478

Cell Phone: 708-351-8961 (leave a voicemail)

Email: ctalla@dom.edu

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays by Appointment

Course Description: The course examines why nations trade, what determines the basis and direction of trade, who gains or loses from trade and the dynamic nature of comparative advantage. It analyzes how countries try to change their comparative advantage in trade through subsidies, industrial and regulatory policies and tariff and non-tariff barriers. Study of the strengths and weaknesses of fixed and floating rate systems and the factors that affect exchange rates are explored.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to understand why countries trade by using different models such as absolute advantage, comparative advantage, and the Heckscher-Ohlin model.
Students will understand the effects of protectionist policies such as tariffs, quotas, and non-tariff barriers.
Students will be able to perform balance of payments accounting and be able to explain the effects of current and capital account deficits.
Students will be able to explain how fiscal and monetary policies impact the markets for foreign exchange.
Students will be able to explain the differences between fixed rate and floating rate systems.

Pre-requisites: ECON 190 (Microeconomics) and ECON 191 (Macroeconomics)

Meeting Times: 1-2:15pm Tuesday/Thursday

Instructional Method: This course will be taught though lectures, class discussions, and some in-class problem solving.

Required Texts:

Gerber, James. International Economics 4^th edition: Addison-Wesley, 2008.

ISBN-10: 0321415558
ISBN-13: 9780321415554

Required Materials:

Calculator that adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides (not a cell phone)

3 different colored pens, pencils, or markers

Assessment of Student Learning:

Grading Policy: (minuses and pluses are given at the instructor’s discretion)

90-100 A

80-89 B

70-79 C

60-69 D

0-59 F

Assignment	Weight
Homework (7 at 2% each)	14%
Quizzes (6 at 10% each)	60%
Final	26%

Homework Assignments: (14%)

Homework Assignments will be posted on Blackboard. You are to download them, print them, complete them, and submit them. Each homework assignment is worth 2 percent. Only hand written hard copies will be accepted and they will only be accepted in-class. I will not accept them late for any reason. If you will not be in class, give them to someone else to submit for you. These will be graded for completeness. If you do not understand how to do the homework problems it will be almost impossible for you to perform well on the quizzes and tests. The quizzes will be very similar to the homework. It is absolutely essential that you know how to do them. If you have any additional questions when doing them please email me so I can assist you.

Quizzes: (60%)

Any other missed quizzes will be recorded as zeroes unless you receive prior approval from me. You contacting me to inform me you will be absent does not mean I approve the absence. Please note there are very few excuses I will consider acceptable. I completely understand that there will be conflicts, and choices will need to be made. However, all choices have consequences and receiving a zero on a quiz may be the consequence you face.

Final Exam (26%)

The final is comprehensive. Only under exceptional circumstances will I allow a make-up of the final.

Course Calendar: (Subject to change at Instructor’s Discretion)

Date	What’s Happening in Class	Assignment
Thursday, January 15, 2009	Review Syllabus / Lecture Ch 1, 2	Read Ch 3
Tuesday, January 20, 2009	Lecture Ch 3
Thursday, January 22, 2009	Lecture Ch 3	Ch 3 HW
Tuesday, January 27, 2009	Finish Ch 3 / Review Ch 3 HW
Thursday, January 29, 2009, Last Day to Drop/Add	Quiz Ch 3	Read Ch 4
Tuesday, February 03, 2009	Lecture Ch 4
Thursday, February 05, 2009	Lecture Ch 4	Ch 4 HW
Tuesday, February 10, 2009	Finish Ch 4 / Review Ch 4 HW	Read Ch 5
Thursday, February 12, 2009	Lecture Ch 5	Ch 5 HW
Tuesday, February 17, 2009	Finish Ch 5 / Review Ch 5 HW
Thursday, February 19, 2009	Quiz Ch 4, 5	Read Ch 6, 7
Tuesday, February 24, 2009	Lecture Ch 6, 7
Thursday, February 26, 2009	Lecture Ch 6, 7	Ch 6, 7 HW
Tuesday, March 03, 2009	Finish Ch 6, 7 / Review HW Ch 6, 7
Thursday, March 05, 2009	Quiz Ch 6, 7	Read Ch 9
Tuesday, March 17, 2009	Lecture Ch 9	HW Ch 9
Thursday, March 19, 2009	Finish Ch 9 / Review HW Ch 9
Tuesday, March 24, 2009	Quiz Ch 9	Read Ch 10
Thursday, March 26, 2009, Last Day to Withdraw	Lecture Ch 10
Tuesday, March 31, 2009	Lecture Ch 10	Ch 10 HW
Thursday, April 02, 2009	Finish Ch 10 / Review Ch 10 HW
Tuesday, April 07, 2009	Quiz Ch 10	Read Ch 11
Tuesday, April 14, 2009	Lecture Ch 11
Thursday, April 16, 2009	Lecture Ch 11	Ch 11 HW
Tuesday, April 21, 2009	Finish Ch 11 / Review Ch 11 HW
Thursday, April 23, 2009	Quiz Ch 11
Thursday, April 30, 2009 1-3pm	Final Exam