Course Description：

    As a branch of economics, international economics has experienced nearly two hundred years of development, and its research scope has expanded from the early international trade to international finance, international policy, international economic coordination, international economic order and many other fields. Its main research object is the economic interdependence between countries. It also analyzes the flow of goods, services and capital between one country and the rest of the world. Besides, it introduces the policies that directly restrict those flow, as well as the impact of these policies on national welfare.

    According to this, the course team has carefully designed the course teaching, reasonably organized the course content, and optimized the presentation form of the course. Throughout this course, five hot topics in international economics are discussed, namely, the origin and rule of trade activities, the dispute between free trade and protective trade, the trade conflict between developing countries and developed countries, the balance and regulation of international finance, and the economic globalization. Therefore, this course designed a total of 28 lectures in 4 chapters, mainly involving international trade theory, international trade policy, international finance, economic globalization and macroeconomic policy, etc. Moreover, we pay special attention to the hot topics in international economics such as the trade war between China and the United States, which highlights the timeliness and characteristics of this course. In addition, this course is taught in English with subtitle and many after-class thinking assignments and tests, which is not only an important means to understand a considerable amount of professional vocabulary, but also an effective training for learners' thinking mode. At last, this course aims at training international economic professionals with an international perspective, who are familiar with international rules, affairs and can participate in international competition. It is conducive to the study of cross-cultural theoretical ideas and methods, so that one day you can truly have an international strategic mind.

Course Objective and Learning Outcomes:

    Upon successful completion of this course, it is expected that you will have acquired the following course specific learning outcomes.

- Understand why countries trade;

- Understand representative trade theory such as absolute advantage theory, comparative advantage principle, factor endowment theory, intra-industry trade theory, etc.;

- Understand the series of theorems derived from the theory above and can use them to analyze economic problems in real world;

- Compare the economic effects of tariff barrier and non-tariff barrier, and analyze the impact when a country uses a specific international trade policy;

- Know the meaning of balance of payments, and understand its imbalance adjustment methods;

- Understand foreign exchange and exchange rate;

- In economic globalization, how should countries better implement macroeconomic policies and carry out international and regional economic and trade cooperation;

- Be able to comprehensively and systematically understand the international economic phenomena, use knowledge to analyze and explain economic problems in real world.

Required Knowledge:

    This course requires students to have basic knowledge of "microeconomics", "macroeconomics", "Principles of economics" and other courses, pay attention to international economic news, track economic hot spots, and maintain a strong thirst for knowledge and persistent learning spirit.

References:

1. Paul R. Krugman. International Economics: Theory and Policy, Global. 11 edition. P&C Business, 2017

2. Thomas Pugel. International Economics. 17 edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2019

3. Dominick Salvatore. International Economics. 9 edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2010

Q&A:

Q: How many hours per week do I need to study?

A: We design our courses to be about 1 to 1.5 or 1 to 2 hours after class, which includes time for preview, assignments, practice, and review, so it takes about 3 to 4 hours per week.

Q: Can I retake exams and assignments I missed?

A: There's an old saying that “Take time while time is, for lost no longer”. Please be sure to note the deadline for submission.

Q: Why did I finish my MOOCs assignments and test scores are still low?

A: Please read the grading criteria carefully and don't forget to participate in the discussion. Careful Posting and replies on the discussion board will count into your score.