84562 - Globalization: Trade, Migrations And Multinationals

Learning outcomes

The students learn to interpret and understand the process of globalization from the viewpoint of international trade in goods and services and factor movements. They learn the causes and consequences of international trade, the effects of trade policies, the causes of international factor movement and multinational operations, and the role of the World Trade Organization. Upon completing the course students will have acquired an empirical and theoretical understanding of the complex issues raised by the economic interdependence of nations and to analyze them in a systematic way.

Course contents

The course is organized in two blocks. The first block (lectures 1–10) develops international trade theory from classical models (endowment economy, Ricardo, Heckscher-Ohlin) to New Trade Theory (Krugman, monopolistic competition) and the analysis of trade policy. The questions addressed include: who trades what with whom? What are the effects of trade on welfare and income distribution? Why do similar countries exchange similar goods? What are the effects of tariffs, quotas and alternative trade policy instruments?

The second block (lectures 11–20) applies and extends these tools to analyze contemporary phenomena of globalization: international factor movements (migration and foreign direct investment), firm heterogeneity and firms' decisions to export or produce abroad, the role of multinational enterprises in developed and developing countries, and the institutional architecture of the European Economic and Monetary Union (from the Maastricht criteria to the Stability and Growth Pact, from responses to the sovereign debt crisis to Next Generation EU). The block concludes with lectures on recent research on multinational enterprises and student group presentations on research articles.

Readings/Bibliography

Krugman, P., M. Obstfeld, and M. Melitz: "International Economics: Theory and Policy", 11th edition (any previous edition is equally suitable). The course material is largely covered by the lecture slides, complemented by additional readings and research papers distributed in class.

Teaching methods

The course includes lectures and exercises led by the instructor, along with discussions of real-life cases involving trade, migration, and multinational enterprises. Periodic problem sets are provided to support preparation. In the final lectures, students work in groups to produce presentations based on recent research articles.

Assessment methods

Assessment is based on a written exam, with an optional group project. For the written exam, students may choose between two options: (1) taking two partial exams (Midterm 1 on the first block, Midterm 2 on the second block), or (2) taking a single Full exam on the entire syllabus. Each exam consists of exercises and true/false questions on the material taught in class. Students may also choose to take part in an optional group project, consisting of a presentation based on a recent research article, delivered in class in the final lectures.

The grading scale is as follows:
<18: Insufficient
18-23: Sufficient
24-27: Average/Good
28-29: Very Good
30: Excellent
30 cum laude: Outstanding

Teaching tools

Course slides and problem sets, based on the textbook and research articles, will be made available on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Tommaso Sonno