TecnoCampus Foundation
eCampus
University Business
eCampus

What are you looking for?

General information

Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Monica Juliana Oviedo León

Trimester: Third term

Credits: 4

Teaching staff: 

Monica Juliana Oviedo León
Eloi Serrano Robles 
Ismael Hernández Adell 
Judith Turrión Prats 

Teaching languages

  • Spanish
  • Catalan
  • English

Check the schedules of the different groups to know the language of teaching classes. Although the material can be in any of the three languages.

Skills

Basic skills

  • B3_Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of ​​study), to make judgments that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues

     

  • B5_That students have developed those learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy

     

Specific skills

  • E1_Interpret basic economic concepts and economic reasoning, as well as microeconomic and macroeconomic functioning

     

General competencies

  • G1_ Be able to work in a team, actively participating in tasks and negotiating dissenting opinions to reach consensus positions, thus acquiring the ability to learn together with other team members and create new knowledge

Transversal competences

  • Communicate properly orally and in writing in the two official languages ​​of Catalonia

  • T2_Show willingness to learn about new cultures, experiment with new methodologies and encourage international exchange

     

  • T5_Develop tasks applying, with flexibility and creativity, the knowledge acquired and adapting it to new contexts and situations

     

Description

The aim of the course is to provide an insight into the functioning of the open economy in international markets. The most relevant aspects associated with international trade and finance and economic integration processes are introduced in order for the student to acquire a rigorous and up-to-date view of the main problems and prospects of the world economy.

Contents

Part 1: Macroeconomics of an open economy and foreign exchange markets

  • National accounts and balance of payments.
  • Exchange rates and foreign exchange markets.
  • Domestic production and exchange rates.
  • Fixed exchange rates and intervention in the foreign exchange market.

Part 2: Theory of international trade

  • Ricardo's model.
  • Specific factors and income distribution.
  • Heckscher-Ohlin model.
  • The Standard Business Model.

Part 3: Multinational companies

  • External economies of scale and outsorcing.
  • Specialized markets.
  • Export decisions and external contracting - internationalization.
  • Non-competitive market structures and the phenomenon of internalization.

Part 4: International Trade Policy

  • The instruments of international trade policy.
  • The political economy of trade policy.
  • Controversies over trade policies.

 

 

Evaluation system

The assessment consists of two parts:

  • Continuous assessment (40%): activities proposed in the classroom
    • Four activities in pairs to do in class. To hand them in, attendance is mandatory and they cannot be recovered (10% each).
  • Examination (60%). The exam will be done in two parts.
    • The first part at the end of topic 2 (35%). It can be done at a different time than the classes.
    • The second part on the final exam date, only subjects 3 and 4 (25%) are included.

To pass, it is necessary to have an average of at least 5 out of 10 between the two exams.

Recoveries

Only students who have failed the exam will have the right to retake it. Continuous assessment is non-refundable. In the make-up exam, the entire subject is examined. A student who has not taken both parts of the exam may NOT take the retake.

REFERENCES

Basic

Krugman, Paul; OBSTFELD, Maurice; MELITZ, Marc (2016) “International Economics: Theory and Policy”, 10th Edition, Pearson Education.

Krugman, Paul; OBSTFELD, Maurice; MELITZ, Marc (2021). International Economics: Theory and Policy. 12th Edition (or Global Edition, 11th 2018), Ed. Pearson.

Complementary

CORE (2021) The Nation and the World Economy. Chapter 18 of the online book "The Economy"by the CORE Project (also available in Spanish).

WTO and UNCTAD (2012) "A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis". World Trade Organization and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Available on their website: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/practical_guide12_e.htm

PUGEL, Thomas (2020) "International Economics". McGraw-Hill Education; 17th Edition.

AUBOIN, Marc; RUTA, Michele (2013) The relationship between exchange rates and international trade: a literature review. World Trade Review, Vol. 12, no. 3, p. 577-605.