Economics 433:
Advanced International Trade

Fall, 2006

 

Professor:                    James Tybout
E-mail:                        jtybout@psu.edu
Office:                         517 Kern Building
Phone:                         865-4259
Office hours:               Tuesday 4-5 PM,

                                   Wednesday 1:30-2:30 PM

Or by appointment

 

Teaching Assistant:     Veronica Frisancho Robles      

Office:                         409 Kern Building
Office hours:                Mondays, 3-5 PM        

E-mail:                         vcf104@psu.edu         

 

Grader:                       Mark Gough     

Office hours:                Mondays, 1-3 PM, 403 Kern Building    

E-mail:                         mdg228@psu.edu       

 

 

Scope of the Course

This course develops basic theories of international trade and multinational behavior, and uses them to address policy issues. Applied topics include the effects of international trade and outsourcing on wages, the causes and consequences of multinational investments abroad, and the political forces that shape trade policies. Students are presumed to have taken Economics 302 (Intermediate Micro Theory) and/or Economics 333 (International Economics) prior to enrollment.

 

Grades

Grades will be based on 4 problem sets (each worth 5 percent), 2 midterm exams (each worth 25 percent) and a comprehensive final exam (worth 30 percent). The midterm exam schedule is:

 

            First Midterm Exam:                  Thursday, October 5                  

            Second Midterm Exam:              Tuesday, November 14

Final                                         Tuesday, December 19, 2:30-4:20 PM, 358 Willard

 

Readings

The textbooks for this course is:

 

Richard Caves, Jeffrey Frankel and Ronald Jones, World Trade and Payments: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2006.

 

Additional readings will be taken from various sources; most are available on line and have been linked to the reading list below.

 

Academic Integrity

The ability of the University to achieve its purposes depends upon the quality and integrity of the academic work that its faculty, staff and students perform. Academic freedom can flourish only in a community of scholars which recognizes that intellectual integrity, with its accompanying rights and responsibilities, lies at the heart of its mission. Observing basic honesty in one's work, words, ideas, and actions is a principle to which all members of the community are required to subscribe.

 

All course work by students is to be done on an individual basis unless an instructor clearly states that an alternative is acceptable. Any reference materials used in the preparation of any assignment must be explicitly cited. In an examination setting, unless the instructor gives explicit prior instructions to the contrary, whether the examination is in-class or take-home, violations of academic integrity shall consist of any attempt to receive assistance from written or printed aids, or from any person or papers or electronic devices, or of any attempt to give assistance, whether the one so doing has completed his or her own work or not. Other violations include, but are not limited to, any attempt to gain an unfair advantage in regard to an examination, such as tampering with a graded exam or claiming another's work to be one's own.

 

Violations shall also consist of obtaining or attempting to obtain, previous to any examinations, copies of the examination papers or the questions to appear thereon, or to obtain any illegal knowledge of these questions. Lying to the instructor or purposely misleading any Penn State administrator shall also constitute a violation of academic integrity.

 

In cases of a violation of academic integrity it is the policy of the Department of Economics to impose the most severe penalties that are consistent with University guidelines.

 

For further details on Penn State policies concerning academic integrity, please refer to: University policies on academic integrity.

 

Missed Exams

There will be no make-up exams. Those who miss a midterm exam without a valid excuse will receive a zero for that exam. Those who miss an exam but document a valid excuse for their absence will receive a course grade based on their remaining course work. The Economics Department defines valid excuses as follows:

 

Valid Excuses: During the course many possible situations may arise that would result in your inability to attend class, attend exams, or perform at a minimally acceptable level during an examination. Illness or injury, family emergencies, certain University-approved curricular and extra-curricular activities, and religious holidays can be legitimate reasons to miss class or to be excused from a scheduled examination. 

 

In the case of your own illness or injury, confirmation from a physician, physician’s assistant, a nurse-practitioner, or a nurse is required. Be advised that University Health Services cannot provide such verification unless they have provided treatment and the student authorizes release of information to the instructor. Further, barring extraordinary circumstances, the confirmation must be available to the instructor prior to the missed course event. 

 

With regard to family emergencies, you must provide verifiable documentation of the emergency. Given the vast array of family emergencies the instructor will provide precise guidance as to what constitutes adequate documentation. Unless the emergency is critical you should notify the instructor in advance of your absence from the scheduled course event. In cases of critical emergencies, you must notify the instructor within one week of your absence.

For University-approved curricular and extra-curricular activities, verifiable documentation is also required. The student should obtain from the unit or department sponsoring the activity a letter (or class absence form) indicating the anticipated absence(s). The letter must be presented to the instructor at least one week prior to the first absence. 

 

In the case of religious holidays, the student should notify the instructor by the third week of the course of any potential conflicts.

 

Disabilities

The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified people with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities and is committed to the policy that all people shall have equal access to programs, facility, and admissions without regards to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. If you anticipate needing any kind of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible.

 

 

Announcements

 

Review session Monday, Oct. 2, 5 PM in Chambers 111

Professor Tybout will be out of town Oct. 3 (afternoon) through Oct. 4. Class will end early on Oct. 3

Veronica Frisancho will hold extra office hours on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 3-5 PM in her office (409 Kern)

Beginning Monday, Oct. 30, Mark Gough (grader) will hold weekly office hours 1-3 PM in Kern 413

Review session Monday, November 13, 4:40-5:55 PM, 073 Willard Building

Review session Monday, December 18, 4:30-5:30 PM, 160 Willard Building

 

Assignments

 

problem set 1  (Due September 21, 2006)  problem set 1 suggested answers  

answers to first midterm exam

problem set 2  (Due October 24, 2006)  problem set 2 suggested answers 

answers to second midterm exam

problem set 3  (Due December 12, 2006)  problem set 3 suggested answers  

answers to final exam

 

Practice problems and old exams

 

practice problems 1    practice problems 1, suggested answers

previous midterm exam 1   answers to previous midterm exam 1

practice problems 2   practice problems 2, suggested answers

previous midterm exam 2  answers to previous midterm exam 2

previous final exam  answers to previous final exam

 

Course Reading List

 

(Required readings are marked with asterisks)

I.          The Big Picture

 

A.        Global Trade and Investment: Some Stylized Facts  (lecture 1 )

 

            *CFJ, Chapter 1 

 

World Trade Organization, International Trade Statistics 2003, Ch.I: "World Trade in 2002 - Overview" and Ch. II: "Selected Long Term Trends," downloaded August 11, 2004. Online Chapter I, Online Chapter II

Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Survey of Current Business, "International Data, Transaction Tables" June, 2004. Online

Barba Navaretti, Giorgio and Anthony Venables, Multinational Firms in the World Economy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton U. Press, 2005, pp 1-15.

 

Hummels, David, Dana Rapoport, and Kei-Mu Yi. “Vertical Specialization and the Changing Nature of International Trade,” Economic Policy Review June 1998, 4(2). Online

 

B.        An Overview of Issues

 

 

 

II:        Trade in General Equilibrium:  Competitive Models

 

A.        Sources of Gains from Trade  ( lecture 2 , lecture 3 , lecture 4 )

 

            *CFJ, Chapters 2 and 3

 

B.        The Workhorse Models:  Ricardian, Specific Factors, and Heckscher-Ohlin  ( lecture 5 ,  lecture 6 , lecture 7 , lecture 8 , lecture 9 , lecture 11,

                                                                                                                                           lecture 12 , lecture 13 , lecture 14 , lecture 15 )

            *CFJ, Chapters 4, 5, 6 (including appendices)

 

Ricardian simulation model  (courtesy of Prof. Steve Matusz, Michigan State U.)

 

            The Heckscher-Ohlin Game

 

 

III.       The Effects of Policy in Competitive Models

A.        Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers   ( lecture 16 , lecture 17, lecture 18 )

*CFJ, Chapters 10, 13

 

B.        Costs of Openness; Costs of Protection  ( lecture 19 )

 

*Kletzer, Lori, Job Loss from Imports: Measuring the Costs, Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 2001. Chapter 3.

*Kheir-el-Din, Hanaa, "Implementing the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing," in P. English, B. Hoekman and A. Matto, eds., Development, Trade and the WTO  (2002)  Geneva: WTO.

 

IV.        GLOBAL FRAGMENTATION OF PRODUCTION

 

A.        Models of Fragmentation  ( lecture 20 )

 

             *CFJ, Chapter 8

 

*Bhagwati, Jagdish, Arvind Panagariya, and T.N. Srinivasan, "The Muddles over Outsourcing," Journal of Economic Perspectives, fall 2004. Online

 

Barba Navaretti, Giorgio and Anthony Venables, Multinational Firms in the World Economy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton U. Press, 2005, pp. 79-88.

 

B.        Assessing the Effects of Fragmentation

 

Freeman, Richard B., "Are Your Wages Set in Beijing?" Journal of Economic Perspectives 9, Summer, 1995, pp. 15-32. Online-JSTOR

 

Elliott, Kimberly Ann, "Fin(d)ing Our Way on Trade and Labor Standards," Policy Brief No. 01-5, Institute for International Economics, April 2001. Online

 

Krugman, Paul. “Does Third World Growth Hurt First World Prosperity?” Harvard Business Review, July-August, 1994. Online

Economic Policy Institute, "Offshoring," EPI Issue Guide, June 2004. Online

*Brainard, Lael and Robert E. Litan, "'Offshoring' Service Jobs: Bane or Boon and What to Do?" Policy Brief #132, Brookings Institution, April 2004. Online

Web site of Academic Consortium on International Trade: Online

 

 

V.       Generalizing the Basic Models:  Imperfect Competition

 

A.        Trade Theory with Imperfect competition   

 

            CFJ, Chapter 7 (we’ll skip this reading)

 

Markusen, J., J. Melvin, W. Kaempfer and K. Maskus. International Trade: Theory and Evidence, McGraw-Hill, 1995, pp. 292-300.

 

B.        Does Strategic Trade Policy Work?  ( lecture 21 )

 

            *CFJ, Chapter 12 (including appendix)

 

            *Pavcnik, Nina.  "Trade Disputes in the Commercial Aircraft Industry," The World Economy, May 2002, pp. 733-751 Online

 

 

 

VI.       MULTINATIONALS

   

A.        When do Multinationals Emerge? ( lecture 22 )

 

*CFJ, Chapter 9

 

*Markusen, James. “The Boundaries of the International Enterprise and the Theory of International Trade,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1995.  (note: only pp. 169-175 are required reading) Online

 

B.        Host Country Effects of Multinationals ( lecture 23 )


*Deardorff, Alan, Drucilla Brown and Robert Stern. 2004 "The Effects of Multinational Production on Wages and Working Conditions in Developing Countries," in Robert Baldwin and Alan Winters, eds., Challenges to Globalization Chicago: U. Chicago Press. (note: only pp. 41-51 are required reading)  Online (working paper version)

 

Barba Navaretti, Giorgio and Anthony Venables Multinational Firms in the World Economy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton U. Press, 2005, Chapters 2, 7

 

 

VII.       GLOBALIZATION: TAKING STock  ( lecture 24 )

 

A.        What we have learned from static analysis

 

B.        Globalization and Growth

 

 

VIII.      Trade and Politics 

 

A.        Trade “Remedies” in the United States  ( lecture 25 )

*Verrill, Charles Owen, Jr., "An Introduction To Trade Remedies Available Under U.S. Law," unpublished "Memorandum to Clients and Friends," April 1, 1999. Online

*Lukas, Aaron. "Anti-Dumping Law Doesn't Compute", Cato Center for Trade Policy Studies article, May 13, 1999; originally appeared in Investor's Business Daily. Online

 

U.S. International Trade Commission web site: Online

 

B.        The Political Economy of Protection  ( lecture 26 )

*CFJ, Chapter 11

Baldwin, Robert E. and Christopher S. Magee, "Is Trade Policy for Sale? Congressional Voting on Recent Trade Bills," Public Choice 105, 2000, pp. 79-101. Online-Kluwer

 

C.        The WTO   ( lecture 27 )

Deardorff, Alan V., "An Economist's Overview of the World Trade Organization," in Korea Economic Institute, The Emerging WTO System and Perspectives from East Asia, Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies Vol 7, 1997. Online (Working paper version)

*Deardorff, Alan V. and Robert M. Stern, "What You Should Know about Globalization and the World Trade Organization," Review of International Economics 10, August 2002. Online

WTO web site: Online

Fake WTO web site: Online

Harvard Center for International Development, Global Trade Negotiations Home Page Online

D.        Preferential Trading Arrangements

*CFJ, Chapter 14