| Text | Grades | Exams | Contacts | Office Hours | Readings |
| PURPOSE: | This course deals with the theory of international trade. It explores the important theories that explain what countries trade and the extent to which they gain from trade. These theories include the theory of comparative advantage and the factor-proportions theory of trade, as well as more recent theoretical developments. The course also deals with the theory of trade policies, such as tariffs, quotas, and regional preferential trading arrangements.
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| Prerequisite: | Econ 401 - Intermediate Microeconomic Theory |
This book is out of print and may be hard to find. It is, however, available free for download from the author's website: http://spot.colorado.edu/~markusen/textbook.html. In addition, and for your convenience, it is available as an optional coursepack from Grade A Notes, sold through the Michigan Union Bookstore.
This course will concentrate on learning and using the economic models of international trade theory. Because of this there will be no assigned readings outside of the textbook, except possibly for an occasional handout. If you want to read more broadly on some of these topics, see the syllabus for my other course, Econ 340 International Economics, which you can find online at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/courses/340/340.html.
EXAMS AND GRADES
| Date | Time | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First midterm exam: | Monday, Oct 6 | in class | 30% |
| Second midterm exam: | Wednesday, Nov 5 | in class | 30% |
| Final exam: | Monday, Dec 8 | 7:00-9:00 PM (in class, but longer) | 40% |
WHERE TO FIND ME
| Office: | Weill Hall, Room 3314 |
| Phone: | 764-6817 |
| E-mail: | alandear@umich.edu |
| Course Home Page: | http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/courses/441/441.html
(Also accessible through UM CTools.) |
OFFICE HOURS (Subject to change; watch website.)
| Professor | Alan Deardorff | Mondays 2-3 PM | Wednesdays 10-11 AM | 3314 Weill Hall |
| GSI | Yun Jung Kim | Tuesdays 10-11 AM | Thursdays 10-11 AM | 104 Lorch |
| Date | Topic and Assigned Reading (Subject to revision as we go along.)
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|---|---|
| Sep 3 | Introduction
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| Sep 8 | Supply Markusen et al., Chs. 1-2.
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| Sep 10 | Demand and Equilibrium Markusen et al., Chs. 3-4.
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| Sep 15, 17 | Gains from Trade Markusen et al., Ch. 5.
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| Sep 22 | Comparative Advantage
Markusen et al., Ch. 6 plus Ch. 7 pp. 84-87.
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| Sep 24, 29 | The Ricardian Model
Markusen et al., Ch. 7 pp. 87-97.
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| Oct 1 | The Lerner Diagram Deardorff, "Introduction to the Lerner Diagram," handout
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| Oct 6 | *** FIRST MIDTERM EXAM *** Covers material through Sep 29 (Ricardian Model)
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| Oct 8 | The Heckscher-Ohlin Model Markusen et al., Ch. 8 plus Appendix 3.
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| Oct 13 | The Two-Cone Heckscher-Ohlin Model Deardorff, "Introduction to Two-Cone HO Equilibrium," handout
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| Oct 15 | Specific Factors Markusen et al., Ch. 9.
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| Oct 20 | *** NO CLASS (Fall Study Break) ***
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| Oct 22, 27 | Imperfect Competition Markusen et al., Ch. 11.
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| Oct 29 | Increasing Returns to Scale
Markusen et al., Ch. 12.
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| Nov 3 | Empirical Performance of the Models Markusen et al., Chs. 14.
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| Nov 5 | *** SECOND MIDTERM EXAM *** Covers material Oct 1 through Oct 29 (Increasing Returns)
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| Nov 10 | *** NO CLASS ***
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| Nov 12 | Tariffs Markusen et al., Ch. 15.
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| Nov 17 | Nontariff Barriers Markusen et al., Ch. 16.
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| Nov 19, 24 | Strategic Trade Policy Markusen et al., Ch. 17.
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| Nov 26 | *** NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Eve) ***
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| Dec 1 | Preferential Trading Arrangements Markusen et al., Ch. 18.
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| Dec 3 | Politics and Administered Protection Markusen et al., Ch. 19-20.
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| Dec 8 | *** FINAL EXAM *** (7-9 PM, Cumulative)
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| E-mail to: alandear@umich.edu | Return to: Econ 441 |
| Deardorff's Home Page |