Concordia University

Department of Economics
ECON 319/B: International Economic Policy and Institutions
Winter 2015
Instructor: Yves Tehou
Office: H 1155-32
Email: yves.tehou@concordia.ca
Class Time: Tursday-Thursday: 16:15-17:30
Classroom: H 520 SGW
Office hours: Wednesday: 14:00-15:00
Also, by appointment through email
Prerequisite Note: The prerequisites for this course are Econ 201 and Econ 203. You are responsible for
ensuring that you have successfully completed all course prerequisites.
Course Description and Scope
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the theory and policy of international economics. The first
part of the course examines why nations trade and why countries limit trade by introducing trade barriers.
This part looks critically at the welfare and profit implications of trade policy deviations from free trade.
The second part of the course compares the trade policies. An attention will be paid also on the role of the
WTO and the issue of multilateralism and regionalism in world trade with particular emphasis on the
North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union.
TEXTBOOK WEBSITE
The electronic textbook package for this course is available online, supported by Kendall-Hunt Publishing
and Great Rivers Technologies. You can buy the access codes from https://www.grtep.com (around US$60)
or from the Concordia Bookstore (around C$90). Note that online purchases are non-refundable. All
textbook
royalties
are
used
to
support
micro-finance
projects
through
Kiva
http://www.kiva.org/lender/chuihacarol7266.
Grading Policy

Component

Expected date

Place

Coverage

Weight

Online Labs

Weekly

Online

Corresponding chapters

10%

Due midnight before the day of the Midterm

Online
and midnight before the day of the Final.

Corresponding chapters

15%

Material covered up to that time

(Including reading assignments)

25%

Cumulative

50%

Online Forums
Midterm Exam
Final

October 22, 2015

In class

To Be Scheduled by the Examinations Office

Midterm :
Some past midterms and answers will be posted on our course site for reference. If a student cannot write
the midterm due to medical reasons (supported with a valid doctors note) or for other reasons, the student
needs to contact the instructor before the midterm date or within one week after the midterm date. It is at
the instructors discretion whether to accept the reason for absence. If accepted, the weight of the missed
midterm will be added to the final exam.

Forum Threads

Discussion questions are created to accompany each chapter. Students are encouraged to actively
participate in the online discussion, given our limited lecture duration. Students must list their full name
when they post an entry. Instructions on how to post entries and samples of poor/good/excellent entries
will be posted on our course site.
Weekly Labs (OPEN BOOK Quizzes)
Students are required to submit one lab for each chapter. Each lab consists of randomly chosen true/false
and multiple-choice questions that are electronically graded. Each lab is also timed, similar to the traditional
in-class quizzes. These questions may appear in the exams.
Course Content
The text chapters, study problems, weekly labs and forum threads are available through the course website.
The content of the website will be updated throughout the semester. The midterm and final exam may cover
current events and topics that are not posted on this course website
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Part I: International Trade
Chapter 1: Why Do Countries Trade?
Chapter 2: How Do Countries Trade and How Does Trade Affect Income Distribution?
Part II: International trade policy
Chapter 3: Why and How do Countries Intervene in Trade? Tariff Barriers
Chapter 4: Why Do Countries Intervene in Trade? Non-Tariff Barriers
Chapter 5: Are Preferential Free Trade Agreements Preferable?
Chapter 6: When is Trade Protection Justified?
Chapter 7: The World Trade Organization and Selected Trade Issues
Note: Further concepts such as Other Important International Organisations, Foreign Aid, World Poverty
may also be discussed in class if time allows.
TIPS TO DO WELL IN THIS COURSE
Attend all the lectures and actively participate in class.
Read the textbook and other assigned readings between the lines and go through your lecture notes from the class.
Do all the online labs and participate to Online Forums.
Go through the solutions to all study questions and past midterms carefully.
Do not use phone, Laptop, Tablets, Etc., in classroom. New research shows that students who use electronic devices in
class perform markedly more poorly than others and unfairly diminish the performance of others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gsDKtZb8Yc
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131512002254