International Economics

<Spring 2006>

Lecture notes (this web) and additional reading materials (provided later) will be used. For some students with a weak background in international economics, a supplementary textbook is also recommended (see below).

Syllabus March 27, 2006 version. Subject to revision.
Lecture notes Read the lecture notes of this web. They will serve as the main textbook for this course.
Additional readings Provided later in the course.
Supplementary textbook (optionally recommended)

Copies available at GRIPS library

Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz and Luis A. Rivera-Batiz, International Finance and Open Economy Macroeconomics, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, 1994.

This book covers basic theories and issues up to the 1980s. If you have never studied international economics before, this book may provide a good introduction for the first half of the course. Discussion in this book tends to be long rather than concise. Read quickly if you can, and skip over the sections that are too easy for you. If you already have basic knowledge of international economics, this book is not really necessary but quick skimming may still be useful. My lectures will not directly follow this book but relevant chapter(s) for each lecture is indicated in the syllabus and the lecture web.

Exam in 2005 Model answers are also attached.
Exam in 2004 Model answers are also attached.
Exam in 2003 Model answers are also attached.
Exam in 2002 Model answers are also attached.
Exam in 2001 Model answers are also attached.
Exam in 2000 Model answers are also attached.
Past exam results A (80-100), B (60-79), C (40-59), D (below 39)

Lecture notes

For your pre-class study and post-class review, key points of each lecture are summarized below. They will be subject to revision at any time. Related data and graphs will be provided in handouts during the class.

  0.    Introduction: managing the integration risk

  1. History of international monetary systems, part 1

  2. History of international monetary systems, part 2

  3. History of international monetary systems, part 3

  4. Covered and uncovered interest parities

  5. Purchasing power parity and Balassa-Samuelson effect

  6. FDI strategy in the age of globalization

  7. Current account models and saving-investment balance

  8. Mundell-Fleming model with a floating exchange rate

  9. Mundell-Fleming model with a fixed exchange rate

  10. Debt crisis of the 1980s

  11. The Asian Financial Crisis, 1997-98

  12. Currency crisis models and early warning system

  13. Exchange rate management in East Asia

  14. Exchange rate options for developing and transition economies

  15. Responding to currency crisis: the case of Kazakhstan