ECO 358 International Economics Professor Malamud BEH – 3294 Fax: 895 – Website:
International Economics: The Way the World Works Objectives: Facts: the world’s economies and relations between them Principles: Trade flows Capital flows Currency exchange rates Advantages and disadvantages of fixed and floating rates Issues: Globalization: The World is Flat !?! Protection Rebalancing
International Interdependencies Trade : goods, services, raw materials, energy Finance : exchange rates, foreign debt, foreign investment (fdi and portfolio investment) Business : multinational enterprises, global production Migration : flows of skilled workers, unskilled workers, family members
Trade in goods and services (percent of gdp) Country % of GDP, 2002 % of GDP, 2006 Exports Imports Exports Imports Netherlands Canada Germany South Korea Norway France United Kingdom United States Japan
Global Growth and Well-being
Trade Issues If one country gains, must the other lose? Think comparative advantage. Do imports reduce employment? Do tariffs/quotas/restrictions save jobs? When might they? Should weak domestic industries be subsidized? Is a trade deficit “bad”? Is a surplus “good”? Does “fair trade” mean that our exports to a country will equal our imports from it?