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This course cannot be combined with 'Introduction to the Economics of European Integration' (EC2IEEI).
Globalisation refers to the growing interdependency between nations and firms through international trade and factor mobility. Understanding the process of globalisation requires the perspectives of many different disciplines, of which International Economics (international trade) and International Business (international investment and multinational enterprises) are two of the most relevant. The course International Economics, Spatial Interactions combines insights of these two complementary fields and offers an integrated perspective on the (changing) role of nations and firms in the global economy, with a clear focus on the spatial implications.
The course covers the theory and practice of globalisation, including international trade, the multinational enterprise and foreign direct investment (fragmentation, outsourcing). The main theories with respect to international trade will be analysed at length. Special attention will be given to the implications of trade for the distribution of income.
Trade policies are used to stimulate as well as to frustrate the international exchange of goods and services, both at the national and the supranational level (WTO; regional trade blocs). The focus in the second part of the course will be on the theory and practice of trade policies and the main institutions and players in the field of international trade.
Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student is able to:
- Use the main theories to explain the nature of international economic relations;
- Identify the potential costs and benefits of international trade and international labor mobility;
- Analyse government policies with respect to trade and to discuss the effects of various trade policies;
- Give a presentation, in collaboration with a fellow student, on a relevant topic.
Academic skills
This course focuses on the following academic skills:
- Communication skills
- Being able to present the content of an article or the results of an (instructed) research.
- Being able to provide useful and correct feedback on a presentation or small paper.
- Being able to accept and process feedback from others on a presentation or small assignment.
- Academic reasoning
- Thinking conceptually, thinking in terms of theory.
- Asking critical questions, having a curiosity-driven and critical attitude.
- Analysing questions from different perspectives.
- Identifying links between problems.
- Social responsibility
- Being able to work effectively in teams for a specific project with limited intervention or instruction.
Format
Lectures and tutorials.
Assessment method
- Two exams (midterm and endterm). Each exam consists of a combination of MC questions (70%) and open questions (30%). Each exam has a weight of 40% in the final grade;
- Presentation (20% of the final grade).
Effort requirements
Attendance (80%) and active preparation of assignments for tutorials are required.
Course repeaters
Students, who signed up for the course in previous years, did not drop the course in time and failed the course, will participate in the course repeaters programme.
With respect to the teaching format, this implies that course repeaters:
- Can follow the regular lectures;
- Cannot follow the regular tutorials;
- Don't have effort requirements;
- Will have the possibility to follow a special tutorial before each exam.
With respect to the assessment method, this implies that course repeaters:
- Have an interim exam (50%) and a final exam (50%). The average of these two is the end result of the course;
- Have a possibility for a supplementary or replacement exam if the unrounded final grade is higher than or equal to 4.0.
Language of instruction
English
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