Economics 188 -
Management and the Global Economy
Professor Alan
Spearot
Overview and
Expectations
In
this course, we will study the behavior of firms in the international economy,
and the motivations for governments to regulate international commerce. To do so, we will incorporate the modern
theory of the firm within standard models of international trade. Doing so requires economic theory, so I will
expect that everybody give a honest effort in working
through the derivations that we cover in class.
Further, we will also cover various empirical studies. As such, I will expect that students read
through these studies in preparation for class.
Finally, we will cover a handful of business case studies to study how
individual firms made decisions related to participation in the global economy.
Coursework and
Grading
Grading
will be based on five components. There
will be three exams that follow critical sections of the course. Each will be worth 25% of your final grade. The rest of the grade will be based on a
presentation and attendance. The precise
grading breakdown is summarized in the following table:
|
5%
Attendance |
5% Paper Topic |
15%
Presentation |
|
25%
Exam 1 |
25%
Exam 2 |
25%
Exam 3 |
Cheating
will be dealt with harshly. You will
fail the course and be reported for academic misconduct.
Readings
Reading
and assignments are posted on the webpage.
Readings are linked for download.
Most readings must be downloaded from JSTOR, in which case you must
download them from a university computer or be logged into the library prior to
download. Please plan ahead. If you have a problem with downloading these
papers, please let me know.
Business
case studies (roughly $4 each) must be downloaded from Harvard Business
publishing. Please use the following
link to access the 188 course module:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/44233442
Presentation
The
assignment is to pick an industry that interests you, and to prepare a
presentation summarizing that industry and how it interacts in the global
economy. Who are the major players? What international expansion strategies did
these players choose? What are the major
global policies that affect this industry?
Presentations will be occur during the last
week of classes and sections.
Office Hours
My
office hours will be 2:30-4:30pm on Mondays.
My office is 459 Engineering 2.
My email is acspearot@gmail.com. The Course website is the following:
http://people.ucsc.edu/~aspearot/Econ188.htm
Office Hours
The
teaching assistant for the course will be Cheyney
O’Fallon. His email is cofallon@ucsc.edu. Office hours are Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:30
pm in E2, room 403F.
Exam Re-grades
Exam
re-grade requests must be submitted in writing, and only after looking at the
answer key. I reserve the right to
re-grade the entire exam during a re-grade.
Course Schedule
and readings:
|
Week |
Section |
Title |
Reading |
Notes |
Assignments |
|
Jan 4 – Jan 8 |
Intro |
Review and Intro |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Modeling Firm
Behavior |
|
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|
|
Exporting |
Firms and
Exporting |
Optional Reading: |
|
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|
Jan 11 – Jan 15 |
|
Firms and
Exporting |
|
Optional Reading: Helpman 2.1-2.3, 2.7 |
|
|
|
|
Transportation
Costs |
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Ben and Jerry's |
Harvard Case |
|
|
Jan 18 – Jan 22 |
|
Policies that
affect exporters |
Optional Reading: Helpman 2.1-2.3, 2.7 |
||
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|
|
|
Steel Wars |
Harvard Case |
|
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|
|
|
Optional Reading: Blonigen,
Broda and Weinstein |
|
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Jan 25 – Jan 29 |
Exam 1 |
|
EXAM 1 Jan 26th |
||
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|
FDI |
Which firms invest
and why? |
Feenstra |
Harvard Case Optional Reading: Helpman 2.4, 3 |
|
|
Feb 1 – Feb 5 |
FDI |
Policies that
affect foreign investment |
Ireland, FDI in China, 60 Minutes Video on Tax
Havens |
Harvard Case |
Presentation Topic Due: Feb 2nd |
|
|
|
FDI Case Studies |
Walmart
in Germany, |
Harvard Case |
|
|
Feb 8 – Feb 12 |
FDI |
Risk in
International Markets |
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|
Feb 15 – Feb 19 |
Exam 2 |
|
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EXAM 2 Feb 16th |
|
|
Management |
Management
Practices |
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Feb 22 – Feb 26 |
Management |
Transfer Pricing |
|
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|
Feb 29 – Mar 4 |
Management |
GATT/WTO and Trade
Agreements |
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|
Firms and Policy |
|
Harvard Cases |
|
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|
Mar 7 – Mar 11 |
Presentations
in lecture and section |
|
EXAM 3 Mar 17, 12-3PM |
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