Department of Economics

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Harris Dellas


International Trade - Spring Semester 2017


Time: Monday and Wednesday, 14:15-16:00
Room: HS 220 (University main building)

Teaching Assistant: Armando Näf (armando.naef@vwi.unibe.ch)

The recent rise of economic populism in Europe and the US has brought trade policy to
center stage. This course will attempt to provide much needed economic sense/literacy to this subject. It
consists of two parts. In the first part (theory) we develop a general framework for understanding why
countries trade, what goods they import and export, how trade affects the allocation of resources and the
distribution of income, the benefits from international trade, and the implications of trade -commercialpolicy.
The second part (applications) covers topics that are the focus of current policy and political debates,
such as the effects of international trade on unemployment in the industrial countries (''saving jobs''), the
relationship between trade and economic growth, the effects of globalization on the environment, and so on.
The course is to a large degree self -contained. The only requirement is knowledge of basic micro and
macro.

Detailed Syllabus

 Exam Results
Lecture Notes
  • Lecture 1:   
    • Introduction
  • Lecture 2:
    • Gains from Trade
  • Lecture 3:
    • Ricardian Model
  • Lecture 4:
    • Heckscher-Ohlin Model
  • Lecture 5
    • Specific Factors Model
  • Lecture 6
    • Footloose Factors of Production
  • Lecture 7
    • Commercial and Industrial Policy
  • Lecture 8
    • Economies of Scale
  • Lecture 9
    • Firms in the Global Economy
  • Lecture 10
    • The Political Economy of Trade Policy
  • Lecture 11
    • Gains From Trade
  • Lecture 12
    • Controversies in Trade Policy
  • Lecture 13
    • Trade and Growth
  • Lecture 14
    • Trade, Unemployment and Income
  • Lecture 15
    • Long Term Growth
  • Lecture 16
    • Environment

Problem Sets

  • Problem Set 1:   
    • Questions
    • Solutions
  • Problem Set 2:
    • Questions
    • Solutions
  • Problem Set 3:
    • Questions
    • Solutions
  • Problem Set 4:
    • Questions
    • Solutions
  • Problem Set 5:
    • Questions
    • Solutions
  • Problem Set 6:
    • Questions
    • Solutions
  • Problem Set 7:
    • Questions
    • Solutions
  • Sample Exam
    • Questions (will be covered on May 23)