Economics in Action:
Topics in Globalization (Economics 4999-001)
Fall 2006
Instructor: Professor
Wolfgang Keller
Time & place : MWF
Office : Economics 222
Office hours : Wed
Email : Wolfgang.Keller@colorado.edu
Course web page: http://spot.colorado.edu/~kellerw/courses/4999f06/
Class Content and
Goal:
This class discusses major topics in the area of globalization, where the latter is defined as a major increase in economic integration in the world economy. The goal for this class is that you develop the ability to judge arguments in this debate based upon their economic merits.
To achieve this goal, the course consists of lectures, two presentations by each student leading to a paper, as well as classroom discussion.
There is no required text for this course. There are a number of relevant books:
Each book provides good introductory reading on individual topics in the area of globalization, and would be a good purchase for this class.
Course Structure:
This may be changed as appropriate during the term
|
Aug 28 to Oct 11: |
Background lectures introducing analytical tools for studying globalization |
|
Oct 13 to Oct 25: |
Student Presentation 1 (fifteen minutes, including questions & classroom discussion) |
|
Oct 27 to Nov 8: |
Background lectures, continued |
|
Nov 10 to Dec 15: |
Student Presentation 2, based on the student’s paper (twenty-five minutes, including questions & classroom discussion) |
|
Dec 8 : |
Paper due date |
|
Dec 18 : |
Final exam, |
Grading:
|
Presentation 1, Presentation 2 each 33% |
66% |
|
Final Exam |
34% (required to pass the class) |
|
Class attendance |
≥ 75% required to pass the class |
All presentations must be made using a laptop and Powerpoint etc, or using transparencies and an overhead projector. I will provide my laptop if you request that, and send the presentation file at least 24 hours before your presentation. I will randomly allocate students to specific time slots for Presentations 1 and 2. You can only do your Presentations in that specific time slot. Your paper should not have more than 15 pages, including references and supporting material (references, tables, figures, etc). It will be placed on the course web page on December 8.
The final exam covers (1) lecture material as well as (2) the student papers and class discussions of the presentations. The lectures are mostly given at the level of the textbook by Paul Krugman and Maurice Obstfeld, International Economics: Theory and Policy, 6th edition, 2003, Addison & Wesley (or 7th edition, 2006). Even though my lectures are self-contained, if you have not taken a course in International Trade, I recommend that you buy this book as background reading. In the lectures, I will emphasize analytical models of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as empirical evidence.
How to do well in
this class:
1) You actively participate in class discussion, as well as the discussion of the presentations.
2) Your research topic is in the area of the economics of globalization; see the topics below and the four books on globalization above.
3) Your presentations and paper have a specific research question that is being addressed. Simply writing a narrative of a particular country’s stance towards trade over a particular time horizon, for example, does not do that.
4) You cite trustworthy, quality references on factual issues.
5) You use analytical tools (models, equations, graphs) together with data that you have collected to make your points.
Some examples of good presentation and paper topics:
1) The main causes and effects of child labor practices in [country]
2) What
drives the rise of
3) The
effects of
4) Causes behind the shift in US outward FDI from [country x or sector y] to [country w or sector z]
5) A comparison of the attitudes towards globalization in [country] during the Interwar period and the 1990s
6) The
effects of the Free Trade Area of the
Good starting points for your research are the four books
mentioned above (including the references given therein). You should also consult
the analyses of the major international economic agencies: The World Bank, The
International Monetary Fund, The
World Trade Organization, the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the OECD. These organizations
are also good sources for economic data.
There are also important regional international agencies, such as the Inter-American Development Bank, and the
European Union with their statistical
agency, Eurostat.
More detailed country-specific information is often provided by the national
statistical agencies of the respective countries. For example, the
Topics Outline
K. O’Rourke, “The European Grain
Invasion, 1870-1913”, Journal of Economic
History, Dec 1997, 775-801; available at www.jstor.org
D. Rodrik,
“Symposium on Globalization in Perspective: An Introduction”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1998: 3-8; available at www.jstor.org
J. Williamson, “Globalization, Labor
Markets and Policy Backlash in the Past”, Journal
of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1998: 51-72; available at www.jstor.org
R. Feenstra, “Integration of Trade and
Disintegration of Production in the Global Economy”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall
1998: 31-50; available at
Krugman & Obstfeld,
6th edition, Chapter 3.
Krugman & Obstfeld,
chapter 4.
Wood,
Freeman, Richard, “Are your wages set
in
Rodrik, Dani, Has Globalization
Gone Too Far?, chapter 2.
Eli Berman, John Bound, and Stephen Machin, “Implications of Skill-Biased Technological Change: International Evidence,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 113(4),
November, 1998; available
at www.jstor.org
Eli Berman, John Bound, and Zvi Griliches, “Changes in the Demand for Skilled Labor within
Manufactures,”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, May
1994; available at www.jstor.org
Krugman & Obstfeld,
chapter 7
Markusen, James, “The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1995, pp.169-189;
available at www.jstor.org
Brainard,
available at www.nber.org
Hanson, Gordon, Ray Mataloni, and Matt Slaugher, “Expansion Strategies of US Multinational Firms”, NBER Working Paper No. 8433, August 2001; available at
Feenstra, Robert C. and Gordon H. Hanson, 1996, “Foreign
Investment, Outsourcing and Relative Wages,” in R.C. Feenstra,
G.M. Grossman and D.A. Irwin, eds., The
Political Economy of Trade Policy:
Papers in Honor of Jagdish Bhagwati,
MIT Press, 89-127; also NBER Working Paper No. 5121; available at www.nber.org
Keller, Wolfgang, and Stephen Yeaple,
“Multinational Firms, International Trade, and Productivity Growth: Firm-Level
Evidence from the
At http://spot.colorado.edu/~kellerw/Research.htm
Krugman & Obstfeld,
Chapters 8, 9
Oxfam, “Stop the Dumping!”, Policy
Briefing Paper, http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/trade/bp31_dumping.htm
Panagariya, Arvind,
“Agricultural Subsidies and the Least Developed Countries: Six Fallacies”, 2005;
available at http://www.columbia.edu/~ap2231/
Feenstra, Robert C. and Gordon H. Hanson, 1999, “The Impact
of Outsourcing and High-Technology Capital on Wages: Estimates for the
Mary Amiti & Shang-Jin
Wei, 2006. "Service Offshoring and
Productivity: Evidence from the United States," NBER Working Papers 11926;
available at www.nber.org
Kletzer, Lori, and J. Bradford Jensen, “Tradable Services: Understanding the Scope and Impact of Services Offshoring” , in Brookings Trade Forum 2005, available
at http://econ.ucsc.edu/~lkletzer/
Rodrik, Dani,
Has Globalization Gone Too Far?, Chapter 3.
Students with Special Needs: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services (DS) in a timely manner so that your needs
may be addressed. DS determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322 and www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices
Sexual Harassment Policy: The
Religious Observances: Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, please let me know in a timely manner if one of the exam dates falls on a religious holiday you intend to observe and I will arrange for you to take a make-up. See policy details at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
Classroom Behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences in race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code
Academic Integrity: All students of the
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/