This document provides information about an undergraduate course titled "Econ 408b. International Trade Policy" to be taught in the spring 2017 semester at Yale University. The course will be taught by Giovanni Maggi and will focus on three main topics: the welfare and distributional implications of trade policy; the political economy of trade policy; and international trade agreements. It will emphasize both theoretical and empirical approaches. Prerequisites for the course are intermediate microeconomics and Yale's Econ 184 course on international trade.
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Course Outline
This document provides information about an undergraduate course titled "Econ 408b. International Trade Policy" to be taught in the spring 2017 semester at Yale University. The course will be taught by Giovanni Maggi and will focus on three main topics: the welfare and distributional implications of trade policy; the political economy of trade policy; and international trade agreements. It will emphasize both theoretical and empirical approaches. Prerequisites for the course are intermediate microeconomics and Yale's Econ 184 course on international trade.
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Econ 408b.
International Trade Policy
Published on Department of Economics (http://economics.yale.edu)
Econ 408b. International Trade Policy
Day / time: T/Th 2:30 - 3:45pm Course Type: Undergraduate Course term: Spring Year: 2017 Instructor(s): Giovanni Maggi Permission of instructor required The objective of the course is to provide students with the tools to think rigorously and critically about questions concerning international trade policy and trade agreements, and expose them to the best of recent academic research in this area. The course will emphasize both theoretical methods and empirical research. More specifically, the course will focus on three topics. First, we will focus on the welfare and distributional implications of trade policy: Who gains and who loses from international trade? Is it possible for gainers to compensate losers, so that everyone gains from freer trade? Can trade adjustment assistance policies solve the problem, and how should they be designed? Is there a welfare rationale for imposing trade barriers, for example in the case of strategic industries for developed countries, or infant industries in developing countries? Second, we will focus on the political economy of trade policy. What determines a countrys trade policy? Why are seemingly inefficient trade barriers so widespread ? We will examine the incentives of a country to pursue beggar-thy-neighbor policies at the expense of trading partners, and the resulting Prisoners Dilemma situations at the international level. We will then examine the role of domestic political-economy forces for the shaping of trade policies, focusing in particular on lobbying by special-interest groups and individual voters preferences. Third, and finally, we will focus on international trade agreements. Why do countries sign trade agreements? We will examine the possible role of a trade agreement as escape from an international Prisoners Dilemma, and as a way for governments to tie their own hands vis--vis domestic actors. We will then focus on the question of how a trade agreement should be designed. For example, should trade rules be inflexible, or should they allow for escape clauses? And how should an international trade court system (such as the WTOs Dispute Settlement Mechanism) be designed? We will put it all in context by studying the experience of the WTO. Prerequisites: (1) Econ 184 (International Trade), currently taught by Peter Schott. (2) Intermediate microeconomics. NOTE: both prerequisites are strict and will be enforced. [Also GLBL 238a] Semester offered: Spring