Objectives

Course content and objectives:

Why do countries trade? Who are the winners and losers of globalization? What is the role of the WTO? Do special interests shape trade policies? Does trade with China destroy manufacturing jobs? Can we economists make sense of the recent public backlash against trade liberalization?

The course covers a broad range of topics related to international trade: the nature of specialization and trade patterns, the impact of openness on welfare and labor markets, the impact of trade policies, trade and inequality, the location decisions of firms and the dynamics of spatial agglomeration.

Emphasis is placed on the importance of taking into account the different market structures to describe the pattern of trade and the consequences of globalization.

Contents

1- Introduction and historical background

2- Ricardo's idea of comparative advantage

3- Ricardo-Viner: specific factors and income distribution

4- Heckscher-Ohlin's idea of comparative advantage

5- Trade policy and lobbying

6- The WTO

7- Intra-industry trade

8- Gravity and trade

9- Economic geography

10- Firms and trade

11- Trade and jobs

References

The course is mostly based on academic articles. Useful textbooks include:

Feenstra R., Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence, Princeton University Press

Pre-requisites

Basic knowledge in microeconomics and econometrics

Some knowledge in international trade (e.g. 5 first chapters of Krugman, Obstbefld and Melitz textbook "international economics").

Evaluation

First attempt

Exam:

Written 2h00 hours

Documentation:

Not allowed

Calculator:

Not allowed

Evaluation:

Written exam (75%). During the semester: writing and presenting term paper (25%).

Retake

Exam:

Written 2h00 hours

Documentation:

Not allowed

Calculator:

Not allowed

Evaluation:

Written exam, 2hours, closed-book