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Grand Valley State UniversitySeidman College of BusinessDepartment of Economics

Winter 2013

The Seidman College of Business provides a rigorous learning environment,with a student focus, a regional commitment, and a global perspective.

Course Number: ECO369Section Number: 01Course Title: International Economic IssuesInstructor: Wei SunClass Hours & Location: MWF 11:00-11:50am, 121E DEV

Office Hours: MW 10:00-10:45am, 12:30-1:15pm, or by appointmentInstructors Office: 482C DEVPhone: 331-7424Email: sunw@gvsu.edu

Course DescriptionThis course looks at selected topics in both international trade and international finance. Topicswill include: trade models which help you understand why countries trade and the pattern oftrade; barriers to trade and arguments for and against protectionism; preferential tradearrangements such as NAFTA and European Union; US trade policy; the balance of payments;

the foreign exchange market; international monetary systems; and Open-Economymacroeconomics. This course is part of the General Education Theme 15 Global Change:Integration and Fragmentation.

The peoples and societies of the world are constantly changing, and often these changes areinfluenced by what is happening in other countries and in other cultures. In the past we may havedismissed as unimportant the fact that as a nation we influence others, and that others influenceus. But, as these connections become an increasingly important aspect of our lives, we cannotafford to ignore them any longer. In Global Change: Integration and Fragmentation we look atsome of the different links among nations and peoples around the world. We investigate howsome influences tie societies more closely together, while others push them further apart. We

explore how these relationships affect us.

The objectives of Theme 15 Global Change: Integration and Fragmentation include thefollowing: 1) To understand how different influences and trends shape countries and peoplesaround the world; 2) To analyze the dynamic tension between integration and fragmentation; 3)To engage in articulate expression through effective speaking; 4) To engage in articulateexpression through effective writing; 5) To think critically and creatively; 6) To locate, evaluate,and use information effectively; and 7) To integrate different areas of knowledge and view ideasfrom multiple perspectives.

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This course is designed closely around the objectives of Theme 15 by exposing students to abroad spectrum of issues faced by todays emerging markets and using multiple methods ofassessments, such as presentations, research paper, essay questions in exams and homeworkassignments, and etc.

One additional course from a different discipline within the theme is required to complete thetheme. See a list of courses atwww.gvsu.edu/gened.

PrerequisitesECO 200 or ECO 210 or permission from the Undergraduate Student Services at 331-7500

Required TextInternational Economics, 9e, by Steven Husted and Michael Melvin

EvaluationThe following grade distribution will be guaranteed. Rounding applies.

94 100% A 80 82% B- 63 69% D+90 93% A- 76 79% C+ 60 62% D86 89% B+ 73 75% C 0 59% F83 85% B 70 72% C-

Grading will be based on the following tasks:

Tasks Task WeightUS Trade Policy Group Presentation 15%Current Issues Research project

The Trade Report and Finance Report

10%

Homework 9%Practice Exam 1 1%Mid-Term Exam 1 21%Practice Exam 2 1%Mid-Term Exam 2 21%Practice Final Exam 1%Final Exam 21%Total 100%

Homework: There will be a homework assignment for each chapter covered. Homework will be

made available in advance and due at the beginning of class. You are encouraged to work ingroup to solve the problems to enhance learning, but your final work must be your own. Thehomework questions are not always replications of problems/examples already explained inlectures, but a lot of times extensions and applications of the concepts/theory discussed in class.We will go over selected questions in class to supplement our lectures for the topics. Answerkeys will NOT be provided. You are expected to be prepared beforehand and are heldcompletely accountable for participating in the session(s) when we discuss the solutions to theproblems. You can miss one assignment for free. Y ou will be given a check for your effort.Homework accounts for 9% of your grade.

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Exams:There are three non-cumulative exams. The exams consist of multiple choice, shortanswer, and problem solving questions. The short answer and problem solving questions aresimilar to the homework questions. Before each exam, a practice exam will be provided to helpyou become familiar with the learning objectives and the format. Each practice exam willaccount for 1% of your grade and you will be given a check for your effort. Each actual exam

will account for 21% of your grade. Jointly, the exam category accounts for 66% of your grade.

Trade Policy Group Presentation: The group presentation series are designed to enrichclassroom lectures and expose students to more practical policy issues related to the US in bothtrade and finance which is outside of traditional textbook material. In this semester, we willjourney through the trade policy of the United States in the past four decades. The book entitledUnited States Trade Policy: A Work in Progress will be used to guide through yourpresentations. Detailed instructions will be provided separately. The group presentations will beconducted during the second one-third of the semester, when we will focus on commercial policyissues in trade. The presentation accounts for 15% of your grade.

Current Issues Research Project:The purpose of this assignment is to help you keep up withcurrent issues in international trade and finance in the global economy. You are expected todevelop the skills of sourcing information, processing information, and communicatinginformation and your thoughts in writing. Both your analytical skills and your critical thinkingcapability will be developed and enhanced. Detailed instructions will be provided separately.This assignment accounts for 10% of your grade.

Provisions for Possible Syllabus Addenda or RevisionStudents are responsible for learning of any changes in the syllabus that are announced in class.There may be changes in the assignments and dates which will also be announced in class.

Class Policies

9 Blackboard: This course is on the Grand Valley State University Blackboard System.Students are responsible for checking for announcements, assignments, and coursedocuments. Grades are NOT posted consistently. However, all graded work will bedistributed back to students for perusal at least once. Students are responsible for keepingtrack of all their grades.

9 Students are expected to take full responsibility for his/her academic work and academicprogress. Students are expected to attend class regularly, for consistent attendance is thekey to your success in this class. However, attendance in class, in and of itself, is not acriterion for evaluation of the student's degree of success or failure. Furthermore,absences do not alter what is expected of the student qualitatively and quantitatively.Absences will not be used in the computation of grades.

9 Make-up exams will be given only when the absence of the student results from one ofthe following causes: illness (where the student is too ill to attend class), religiousobservance (where the nature of the observance prevents the student from being presentduring the class period), participation in university activities at the request of university

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authorities, and compelling circumstances beyond the students control.These absencesmust beapproved by me ahead of time and written evidence may be requested.

9 Students should minimize all behaviors that distract others during the class. Talking toother students apart from class discussions and communicating by text messaging are

inappropriate. Students who carry a cell phone or beeper should mute it during classtime. Students who arrive late should seat themselves as quietly and as near to the door asthey can. Students who must leave before the class period ends should exit quietly andinform me in advance.

9 Class participation is highly encouraged. Participation implies more than mere presencein the classroom. It is an active, meaningful, thoughtful, and relevant contribution todiscussion and other activities.

9 Note-taking is important. Be prepared to take a lot of notes from this class. Whiteboardand Microsoft Powerpoint slides will be used interchangeably.

9 If you miss class, you should get the class notes from a classmate and any handouts froma classmate or me. Once you have reviewed the appropriate class notes, handouts, andreadings, I gladly will answer specific questions during office hours on the materialmissed in class. However, I will not give a make-up lecture on missed material duringoffice hours.

9 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If there is any student in this class who hasspecial needs because of a learning, physical, or other disability, please contact theprofessor and Disability Support Services (DSS) at (616) 331-2490. Furthermore, anystudent having a disability that requires assistance in evacuating this classroom and/or

building should notify the professor so an evacuation plan can be developed in case ofemergency.

9 WITHDRAWAL POLICY: A student may withdraw from a course and receive a gradeof W when the completed Registration and Drop-Add Form is presented to theRegistrar by the end of the ninth week. (After the first week of the current semester,students may not use the online system to withdraw). Students who do not withdrawbefore the deadline must accept a grade other than W depending on the instructorsjudgment of their performance in the course(s) and any mitigating circumstances.

9 INCOMPLETE POLICY : An "I" can be given only under extenuating circumstancessuch as serious illness. If the student is not earning at least a C in the class, anincomplete grade isnt appropriate. Also, an incomplete isnt appropriate unless thestudent has completed most of the course. Unless changed by the instructor, each Igrade will be changed to an F according to this schedule: fall semester incompletes,end of the following winter semester; winter and spring/summer incompletes, end of thefollowing fall semester.

9 STUDENT CODE OF HONOR: The principles of truth and honesty are recognized asfundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. As such, the Seidman College of

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Business expects both faculty and students to honor these principles and, in so doing, toforge a lifelong commitment to ethical behavior.

9 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: The Student Code Section 223.00 (P.19) with respect toacademic dishonesty will be strictly enforced up to and including failure for the course

and judicial action for dismissal from the University.

9 Finally, please feel free to come see me for any questions or concerns. Have a greatsemester!

Winter 2013 Academic Calendar

Registration March 19, 2012 - J anuary 11, 2013

Payment Deadline - All registrations throughDecember

December 14 at 5:00 PM

Classes Begin January 7

Last day to Add, Register or Pay January 11 at 5:00 PM

100% Tuition Refund Deadline* January 11**

MLK Holiday-no classes January 21

75% Tuition Refund Deadline* February 1**

Mid-term Evaluations February 18-23

Mid-term Grades from Faculty February 26

Drop Deadline - grade W March 8

Spring Break March 3-10

Classes end April 20

Examinations April 22-27

Semester Ends April 27

Commencement April 27 (Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids)

Grades due from Faculty April 30 by 12:00 PM

Grade Available to Students May 2

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Course OutlineThe following is a list of chapters from the International Economics textbook that will becovered. Given the breadth and depth of the material, we will not cover every chapter norselected chapters by their entirety. Naturally, any international economics class will consist oftwo parts: international trade and international finance. For this one-semester course, we will

cover the following topics from Husted and Melvin:

Part 1. International TradeA. Trade TheoryChapter 2. Tools of Analysis for International Trade ModelsChapter 3. The Classical Model of International Trade Ricardo ModelChapter 4. The Heckscher-Ohlin Model

B. Trade PolicyChapter 6. TariffsChapter 7. Nontariff Barriers and Arguments for Protection

Chapter 8. U.S. Commercial PolicyUS Trade Policy Presentations

Part 2. International FinanceChapter 12. The Balance of PaymentsChapter 13. The Foreign-Exchange MarketChapter 19. Alternative International Monetary Standards

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Tentative Class Schedule

Week Dates Assignments

1 (J an)7 M9 W

11 F

First Day of Class

2 (J an)14 M16 W18 F

3 (J an)21 M23 W25 F

MLK Holiday, No Class

4 (J an/Feb)28 M30 W1 F

5 (Feb)4 M6 W8 F Mid-Term Exam 1

6 (Feb)11 M13 W15 F

7 (Feb)18 M20 W22 F

8 (Feb/Mar)25 M27 W1 F

Trade Mini-Research Paper Due

9 (Mar)4 M6 W8 F

Spring Break, no class.

10 (Mar)11 M13 W15 F

US Trade Policy presentationsUS Trade Policy presentations

11 (Mar)18 M20 W22 F

US Trade Policy presentationsUS Trade Policy presentationsUS Trade Policy presentations

12 (Mar)25 M27 W29 F

Mid-Term Exam 2

13 (Apr)1 M3 W5 F

14 (Apr)

8 M

10 W12 F

15 (Apr)15 M17 W19 F Finance Mini-Research Paper due

Final Exam: 10:00-11:50am, Wednesday, April 24, 2013 in 121E DEV

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This course is part of GVSUs General Education Program.

The goal of the program is to prepare you for intelligent participation in public dialogues thatconsider the issues of humane living and responsible action in local, national, and globalcommunities.

The program is designed to increase your knowledge and skills in the following areas:

Knowledge Goals1. The major areas of human investigation and accomplishment - the arts, the

humanities, the mathematical sciences, the natural sciences, the social sciences, andwriting.

2. An understanding of one's own culture and the cultures of others.Skills goals1. To engage in articulate expression through effective writing2. To engage in articulate expression through effective speaking.3. To think critically and creatively.4. To locate, evaluate, and use information effectively.5. To integrate different areas of knowledge and view ideas from multiple perspectives.

Ensuring that undergraduate students receive a broad general education has been a primary goal ofcolleges and universities since their inception. In this era of increasing specialization and growing

demand for professional expertise, it is vital that we continue to emphasize the value of general learning

GVSU maintains that a complete education involves more than preparation for a particular career. Acareer occurs in the context of a life, and a sound general education helps one make a life as well asmake a living. The university is committed to assuring that all undergraduate students, regardless ofacademic major, receive a broad education rooted in the arts and sciences.

Teaching in the liberal tradition is at the heart of Grand Valley's identity, and this focus is criticalin our General Education Program. Liberal education transcends the acquisition of information;it goes beyond the factual to ask important evaluative and philosophical questions. Liberallearning holds the fundamental principles and suppositions of a body of knowledge up to

inquiry, question, and discussion. It helps a person recognize the assumptions under which he orshe operates and encourages the examination and questioning of those assumptions. Liberallearning begins in the General Education Program and continues through the more specializedstudies comprising each student's major and minor areas of study.

Grand Valley State University educates students to shape their lives, their professions, and theirsocieties.