Programme

This course will provide students with an analytical framework for the study of international trade. It is divided into two main parts. The first considers both the predictions of the Neoclassical trade theory (i.e., the Ricardian Model and the Heckscher-Ohlin Model) and the new trade models with imperfect competition, including the most recent developments related to firm-level evidence. The second one discusses the effects and the political economy determinants of trade policy. International agreements multilateral trade liberalization and on regional trade liberalization will also be discussed. The course considers both the theories and recent empirical works, as well as a discussion of the relevant methodological issues in measurement and estimation.

Outline:

Section 1: International trade: stylized facts
- Facts, changes and history of globalization
- International migration flows

Section 2: Trade theories
- The Ricardian Model
- The Specific-Factors Model
- Factor endowments and the Heckscher-Ohlin Model
- Movement of labor and Capital
- The New Trade Theories
- Offshoring and Global Value Chain
- Firm Heterogeneity

Section 3: Trade policy
- Import Tariffs and Quotas
- Export subsidies and taxes
- Measuring trade protection
- Non-tariff barriers
- Multilateral trade integration: the World Trade Organization
- Trade policy and the environment

Section 4: Empirical lab sessions
- Trade and trade policies data sources
- Working with trade and trade policies data: the gravity model

Core Documentation

R. C. Feenstra and A.M Taylor (2017), International Trade, Forth Edition, Worth Publishers.

Lecture slides and other teaching material will be downloadable from the Moodle page of the course

Type of delivery of the course

Frontal lessons.

Attendance

Class attendance is not mandatory but is strongly recommended.

Type of evaluation

Oral exam