ITRN 504 Revised 10 July 2001

Microeconomics and Trade for International Commerce

Kenneth A. Reinert

Phone: 703-993-8212

Email: kreinert@gmu.edu

Office: 262

Office hours by appointment

Home page: http://www.mason.edu/~kreinert

Study Guide

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to microeconomics and international trade for the ICP student.

In the first part of the course, our main objective is to understand the basic principles of the market

system underlying local, national, and international economies. Here we will assess both the desirable

properties and the limitations of the market system, as well as the potential roles of government. In

the second part of the course, our main objective is to understand the forces behind international

trade. Here we will assess the main causes of international trade, their effects, the analysis of trade

policies, and the institutions of international trade.

Policies

Exams are not "open book" or "open notes."

There is no "extra work" that can be done for "extra credit."

Students are responsible for obtaining notes from other class members if they miss a class.

Course Materials

Mankiw, H.G., Principles of Economics, Harcourt, 2001.

Coursepack: Selected chapters from Reinert, K.A., Windows on the World Economy: An

Introduction to International Economics, Harcourt, 2003. Available at the Arlington campus

copy center in the Law School library.

Course Requirements and Grading

Midterm exam- 30 percent

Final exam- 30 percent

Problem Sets- 25 percent

Class participation- 15 percent

Course Outline and Readings

Week 1 (30 August): Introduction to Class

Reinert, Chapter 1

Mankiw, Chapter 1

Week 2 (6 September): Tools of Analysis

Mankiw, Chapters 2 and 3

Week 3 (13 September): The Supply and Demand Model

Mankiw, Chapter 4

Week 4 (20 September): Elasticities

Mankiw, Chapters 5 and 6

Week 5 (27 September): Allocative Efficiency, Taxes, and Absolute Advantage

Mankiw, Chapters 7 and 8

Reinert, Chapter 2

Week 6 (4 October): The Theory of the Firm

Mankiw, Chapter 13

Week 7 (18 October) The Theory of the Firm Continued

Mankiw, Chapters 14 and 15

Week 8 (25 October): Midterm Examination

Week 9 (1 November): Externalities and Public Goods

Resources for the Future Allen Kneese Tribute

Mankiw, Chapters 10 and 11

Kaul, Grunberg, and Stern, "Defining Global Public Goods," in Global Public Goods, Oxford

University Press, Oxford, 1999, 2-19, on reserve.

Barrett, "Montreal versus Kyoto: International Cooperation and the Global Environment," in

Global Public Goods, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999, 192-219, on reserve.

Week 10 (8 November): Comparative Advantage and Intra-Industry Trade

Reinert, Chapters 3 and 4

Week 11 (15 November): Trade Politics and Policy

Reinert, Chapters 5 and 6

Reinert and Roland-Holst, D.W.,

"The Industrial Pollution Impacts of NAFTA: Some Preliminary Results."

Week 12 (29 November): The WTO and Regional Trade Agreements

Reinert, Chapters 7 and 8

Week 13 (6 December): Review of Semester

Week 14 (13 December): Cumulative Final Exam