Historically, international trade has played a critical role in enabling countries to grow, develop, and become economically powerful. Through international trade in goods and services, the economies of different countries are more closely linked to one another now than ever before. At the same time, the world economy is more turbulent now than it has been in decades. Keeping up with the shifting international environment has become a central concern in business strategy and national economic policy. This course uses the same fundamental methods of analysis deployed in other branches of economics, as the motives and behavior of individuals and firms remain the same whether they are in the context of international trade or domestic transactions. The student will learn, however, that international trade introduces an entirely new and different set of concerns as well. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Have a good understanding of the fundamentals of global economics; Have a rounded overview of the modern international trade theory; Understand the current world trading system and the basic rules underlying this system; Study and discuss historic, current, and emerging economic models in the United States and around the world; Understand recent developments in the field of international macroeconomics and perform an independent study in this field; Acquire and demonstrate analytical and problem solving skills to discuss and analyze the global economic environment within which business operate; Acquire an analytical framework to examine contemporary international economic issues; Acquire a general overview of international trade, the foreign exchange markets, and the issues arising from the globalization of markets; Understand the concepts of foreign exchange, its importance to individuals, businesses, and the performance of national economies, and how foreign exchange markets work; Analyze policy issues related to international trade; Understand the legal system governing international economic transactions and international economic relations; Assess actual dispute settlement proceeding and discuss several dispute settlement cases that address a wide variety of issues such as antidumping, subsidy, safeguard, and environment; Answer the four trade questions: 'Why do countries trade?,' 'How does trade affect production and consumption in each country?,' 'Which country gains from trade?,' and 'Within each country, who are the gainers and losers from opening trade?' (Economics 307)
