Sections
- 20355, M/W 10:30-11:15, DMH 166
- 25148, M/W 1:30-2:15, DMH 166
Contact info
- Instructor: Warren C. Gibson
- Ph D. Engineering; M.A. Economics
- email: warren(at)gibson2.com
- Office DMH 144, no phone.
- Held at Cafe Pomegranate, across the street from DMH, times TBA.
Syllabus and text
The syllabus is
here.
Your text is Sawyer and Sprinkle, “ International Economics,” 3rd ed., Prentice Hall 2006, ISBN 013-1704168. The publisher provides a student
web site
which you may find useful.
Quizzes
There will be a 5-question quiz most Wednesdays.
Midterm exams
(Apr. 8)
The second midterm exam will take place in clas on Wed. Apr. 25.
Scantron will not be used.
(Feb. 26)
The first midterm exam will take place in class on Wed. Mar. 7. You will
need a Scantron 882-E and a couple of pencils. An outline of the exam is
available
here.
The second midterm exam will take place on Apr. 25.
Class participation
I encourage all students to participate in class with questions,
comments, arguments, etc. If your course score is a borderline
between letter grades I may, at my discretion, bump your grade up
based on your class participation.
Extra Credit
The Economics Department sonsors the Provocative Lecture series. Three
lectures are given each semester, and you can obtain extra credit by attending.
Those whose schedules preclude this will be given an alternative opportunity.
Final exam
There will be a comprehensive final exam.
Three takeaways from the class
Long after you have forgotten graphs, formulas, and even some of
the concepts, I hope you will remember three things from this class:
- Free trade, whether domestic or international, benefits everyone
in the long run.
- Free trade and international peace go hand in hand.
- Our current system of floating exchange rates is wasteful and
destructive relative to the gold standard.
Announcements and downloads:
- (May 10) Final exam study guide available
here. Bring a copy to class on Monday.
- (May 9) Answers to Quiz #11
here.
- (May 5)Download this short writeup on the
gold standard.
- (Apr. 29)Excel
spreadsheet on
interest rates and forward exchange rates
for
class discussion.
- (Apr. 28)An
extra credit opportunity
is available in the form of a written paper. It is worth up to 1.5% of your
class grade. Total extra credit cannot exceed 1.5%.
- (Apr. 17) Download this
replacement for
Chapter 15.
- (Apr. 17) Download this
practice sheet
for exchange rate shifts that we went through in class.
- (Apr. 8) Files shown in class this week:
Table12.4.xls and
the
balance of
payments diagram.
- (Feb. 28) Two downloads to help you prepare for the Mar. 7 midterm exam: an
outline
of exam topics and a
sample question
involving a graph with numbers.
- (Feb. 15)
Notes
shown in class on problems in shifting production when K and L are
both mobile domestically. For homework, repeat this analysis yourself from
the point of view of India.
- (Feb. 7) Video shown in class,
Global Exchange: Free Trade & Protection
- (Feb. 5)
Spreadsheet
version of Table 6.2
- (Jan. 31)
Micro boot camp
powerpoint slides.
- (Jan. 31) Substitute for
question 16, p. 39.
- (Jan. 29) Provocative Lectures:
- Thurs. Feb. 23, 5:15-6:45 PM, Prof. Hummel, “A US Government Default;
Inevitable and Desirable”
- Mon. Mar. 19, 5:15-6:45 PM, Terry Anderson, “The Poorest One Percent”
- Thu. Apr. 12, 5:15-6:45 PM, Michael Boskin, “The Uncertain Economy: the Great REcession, the Anemic Recovery and Our Policy Alternatives”
- (Jan. 2) Download this
spreadsheet
to use for tracking your grade in this class. The spreadsheet is pre-loaded with
placeholder grades that add up to a B. Substitute your own grades as the class proceeds
to see where you stand. Insert zero for any missed quiz.
- First homework assignment:
gains from trade.
For discussion in class on Feb. 8.
Additional reading assignments
Watch this space for reading assignments or recommended but non-required
reading.
