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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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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
52 views

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.

Uploaded by

anon_183413947
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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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

Source URL: http://economics.yale.edu/courses/econ-408b-international-trade-policy

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