ECON 462/662 (International Trade)

Grading:

Weekly group homework (totaling 30%), with peer evaluations.

Quizzes (best four out of five, totaling 20%).

Midterm examination (20%) - tentatively scheduled for Monday, October 22.

Final examination (20%) - Monday, December 17, from 2:45-4:45 PM.

Participation and Attendance (10%) -- including any announced events.

Homework will be assigned weekly (here are the evaluation forms), and be done in groups (you will grade the contribution of your classmates to the group). Quizzes will be announced in advance, and are intended to check your understanding of the basic models. Exams will be generally problem-oriented, as based on the textbook and the lectures. The exams will be long, difficult, and in class, with no books, notes, headphones, or cell phones allowed. Makeup exams will be given only under very unusual circumstances.

The final examination will be given at the time listed in the Fall Schedule, and university policy forbids early exams. Note that this rule applies to your other instructors too: they are not allowed to give their finals early, nor schedule their finals for times other than those given in the schedule. They are required to hold class at the finals time. My final is not intentionally comprehensive, though material in the last half of the class obviously builds on material in the first half.
Good participation and attendance will help your grade if you are on the margin; I expect that you will not arrive late or leave early without explanation, and I expect you to keep up with the assigned readings and contribute to class discussion.

Exams from prior semesters are available for study and practice:
Fall 2010: Quiz 1 (with key), Quiz 2 (with key), Midterm (Key), Quiz 3 (with key), Quiz 4 (with key), and Final Exam (Key).
Fall 2009: Quiz 1 (with key), Quiz 2 (with key), Midterm Exam (Key), Quiz 3 (with key), Quiz 4 (with key), and Final Exam (Key).
Fall 2008: Quiz 1 (w/key), Quiz 2 (key), Quiz 3 (key), Quiz 4 (key), Quiz 5 (key) , Midterm (key), and Final Exam (Key).

What is the Difference between A and C students?

Cheating:

Any cheating will be severely punished, ranging from failing the exam or assignment at a minimum to failing the course and even expulsion from the university, in egregious cases or in cases where there is evidence of any prior offenses. Students who are caught cheating also lose their chance at college scholarships. Cheating includes both copying someone else's work as well as letting your work be copied, bringing in notes, text messaging or taking pictures of the exam, plagiarizing other people's words or ideas and passing them off as your own, et cetera. I am serious as a heart attack about this.

Academic Success Services:

Your student fees cover usage of the Math Center (784-4433), Tutoring Center (784-6801), and University Writing Center (784-6030). These centers support your classroom learning; it is your responsibility to take advantage of their services. Keep in mind that seeking help outside of class is the sign of a responsible and successful student.

Audio and Video Recording:

Surreptitious or covert video-taping of class or unauthorized audio recording of class is prohibited by law and by Board of Regents policy. This class may be videotaped or audio recorded only with the written permission of the instructor. In order to accommodate students with disabilities, some students may be given permission to record class lectures and discussions. Therefore, students should understand that their comments during class may be recorded.

School and Work:

Economics is essentially about making decisions when resources are scarce, and time is often our most scarce resource. Many of you work, but working too much while going to school makes it hard to focus on your studies and succeed in school. The College of Business recommends the following maximum relationship between work and school:

Work Hours Per Week	Credits Taken per Semester
10	15
20	12
30	9
40	6

These maximum recommendations work both ways. For example, a student working 10 hours per week should not take more than 15 credits and conversely, a student who is taking 15 credits should not work more than 10 hours per week. Of course, many of you will choose to exceed these maxima, but you should know that unless you have superpowers or take extremely easy courses, you are setting yourself up for lower grades, inadequate sleep, or other trouble. If you do not have scholarships or other means of support, then you might consider taking fewer credits per semester and an extra year or two to graduate.

Students with Disabilities:

Any student who qualifies with a disability is to provide his or her instructor with a letter from the Disability Resource Center stating the appropriate accommodations for this course. If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss how these academic accommodations will be implemented for this course, please contact the instructor during the first two weeks of class.

Final Exam Policy:

It is university policy that all classes are required to meet during the final week at the appropriate times and dates indicated in the Final Week Class Schedule http://www.unr.edu/academic-central/academic-resources/finals-schedule. This is in keeping with accreditation requirements for the appropriate number of hours for classes. Also, deviating from the final week schedule can cause undue hardship on students’ overall final schedules.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012, is this semester’s designated prep day. The intent of prep day is to allow students a day of preparation for final exams, so faculty may not schedule exams or any required classes or activities on that day. It is allowed to schedule optional activities like review sessions, or to specify prep day as a due date for papers and projects.

Graduate Student Requirements:

To receive graduate credit for this course, significant additional work is required. Graduate students must do additional problems on the exams, do the homework, and also write a research paper. The group homework will count for 25% of the grade, the midterm will count for 25% of the grade, the final will count for 25%, and the research paper will count for 25%. Quizzes will not be graded, though graduate students may take them for feedback. Any deviation to these weights must be negotiated with the professor by the beginning of the second week.

See the graduate student requirements, with details on research paper requirements.

Lecture Schedule:

Lectures will generally follow the order of the chapters in the Feenstra and Taylor (F&T) textbook. The topics are arranged as follows:

I. Introduction to International Trade - 1 week
The Patterns and Effects of Trade: Read F&T, chapter 1; and Krugman, The Accidental Theorist, a book criticism that originally appeared in Slate.

Lecture for Section I.
II. International Trade Theory - 7 weeks
A. The Ricardian Model: Read F&T, ch. 2, and Krugman's column, Ricardo's Difficult Idea (1996).
B. The Neoclassical Models: Read F&T, ch. 3-4.

1.The Specific Factors Model
2. The Heckscher-Ohlin Model
3. The Leontief Paradox, and Other Trade Theories
C. The Effects of Growth on Trade Patterns: Read F&T, ch. 5.
The Midterm Exam is scheduled for Monday, October 22

D. Imperfect Competition Models: Read F&T, ch. 6, lecture notes on Krugman-Obstfeld Model (PDF)
III. Trade and International Investment - 2 weeks
A. Outsourcing: Read F&T, ch. 7.
B. International Investment: Review F&T, ch. 5, and my notes on intertemporal trade definitions.
IV. Commercial Policy, and the Political Economy of Trade Policy - 5 weeks
Read F&T, ch. 8-11.

A. Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers
B. Protectionism with Imperfect Competition
C. Subsidies and Competition
D. Reviewing the Case for Protectionism
E. U.S. Trade Policy and International Institutions (See Lecture Notes)
F. Trade Policy in Developing Economies: also read Krugman's column, In Praise of Cheap Labor (1997).

The Final Exam is scheduled for MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2:45 - 4:45 PM.

Assignment Schedule: Homework will usually be due after lectures on the material, but not always.

Homework Set	Assignment	Due Date
1	Feenstra & Taylor (F&T), chapter 1: problem #2; other problems.	Wednesday, Sep. 5
2	F&T, chapter 2: problems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10; other problems.	Wednesday, Sep. 19
	Quiz 1 (key)	Monday, Sep. 24
3	F&T, chapter 3: problems 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 11; other problems.	Wednesday, Oct. 3
	Quiz 2 (key)	Monday, Oct. 8
4	F&T, chapter 4: problems 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12; other problems.	Wednesday, Oct. 10
5	F&T, chapter 5: problems 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8; other problems.	Wednesday, Oct. 17
	Midterm Exam (Key)	Monday, Oct. 22
6	F&T, chapter 6: 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9; other problems.	Wednesday, Oct. 31
7	F&T, chapter 7; 1, 2, 3, 8, 11. No other problems.	Wednesday, Nov. 7
	Quiz 3 (key)	Wednesday, Nov. 7
8	F&T (2nd ed), chapter 8: 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 14, and 15; other problems. (see key for #2)	Monday, Nov. 19
	Quiz 4 (key)	Wednesday, Nov. 21
9	F&T (2nd ed), chapter 9; problems 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 , and 10. No other problems.	Monday, Nov. 26
10	F&T (2nd ed), chapter 10; problems 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11; other problems (key).	Monday, Dec. 3
	Quiz 5	Wednesday, Dec. 5
11	F&T (2nd ed), chapter 11: 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8. No other problems.	Monday, Dec. 10
	Final Exam	Monday, Dec. 17 (2:45 - 4:45 PM)

Homework is done in groups of 3-4 students, and each group turns in one complete set at the start of class on the due date. Though work may be divided up, your group is expected to discuss the entire homework together, and you are all responsible for your joint answers. It is unacceptable to not meet once per homework assignment, or to assemble the homework in a mad scramble at the start of class. It is also foolish, because if you don't understand the homework you will find the exams to be impossible.

Your group's homework is due at the start of the class period on the due date, and late homework will be penalized. The homework assignment should have a cover page with the group number and member names on it. It is expected to be stapled together, in order, complete, and legible, otherwise your grade will be marked down. It will usually take me a week to return the graded homework.

On the day your homework set is turned in, you must turn in a confidential evaluation (here are the evaluation forms) of your group members rating them for their contribution to all chapters assigned in the set. "Confidential" means that you can't show it to your group members and you can't discuss it with them. On a piece of paper or an e-mail, put your name first, then list the other members of your group.

You will not evaluate your own contribution, and must instead count on your fellow group members for this evaluation. The evaluation you get from your fellows will be used to calculate your individual grade. Each week, you will need to grade your fellows using one of five grades:

You should aim for an average evaluation of 3, so if you give one member a 4, you need to give another member a 2, and so on. If the average evaluation of your group members is above 3, I will make an adjustment to correct this. If you fail to turn in your evaluation, this will reduce the evaluation you receive from your fellows.

Any member who receives zero points from a majority of fellow group members will be given a warning, and if it happens again you will be dismissed from your group (aka, fired, or voted off the island). At that point, you may either do the homework on your own, or you can join another group -- but you are responsible for finding a group that is willing to accept you as a member, and they must all e-mail me individually to tell me that they accept you. Perhaps you may even be able to convince your former group to give you another chance, and I may assist you with finding a new group if you can explain the problem to my satisfaction.

If a student drops the course, this will not be used to improve the grades of other members except for perhaps the initial homework set for which they were depending on him or her. Then I will reduce the group size and/or readjust the groups.

If your group is not satisfied with the results of an evaluation (perhaps because some evaluations were not turned in), then you may ask to be re-evaluated. In order to ensure that such a re-evaluation is a Pareto Improvement, all members of your group must re-submit their evaluations to me in individual e-mails. Once I receive e-mails from all members, I will then notify your group by e-mail if the evaluation has changed.