Modulbeschreibungen

Economics

The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of basics, specific features, characteristics and functioning of the international economy, international relations and the corresponding supranational and international organisations. Students will get to know the differences between a closed and an open economy and will be sensitised for risks and spill-overs due to international linkages and repercussions from the global economy on the domestic economy. Students will examine vulnerabilities and resilience of countries to international linkages and spill-over thereby differentiating between advanced countries and on the other hand developing countries and emerging markets. Moreover, students will become familiar with monetary and trade policy options from a unilateral, regional and global perspective and will assess these critically.

Seminar

1. Empirical evolution
Major forms as well as advantages and disadvantages of international flows (capital, trade, migration and remittances) and their evolution after WWII.
2. Methods and instruments
Structure and proposition of the balance of payments within the overall system of national accounting; relevance of the current account for domestic production and employment as well as international investment position; national money, international functions of money and evolution of world currencies.
3. International monetary relations
Exchange rates (real /nominal, bilateral / effective, undervalued / overvalued); explanations of exchange rate fluctuations; adjustment processes of exchange rates in fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes; currency manipulation; trade-offs (internal / external stability, competitiveness / external stability); selected examples of global and regional exchange rate regimes (e.g. the Bretton Woods System, EMS I, the European Monetary Union) and unilateral flexible exchange rates (e.g. US dollar after Bretton Woods; euro since its invention).
4. International trade relations
Theoretical basis of free trade and welfare effects (absolute and comparative advantages); unilateral protectionist measures (tariffs and non-tariff barriers); mercantilist strategy and beggar-my-neighbour policy; causes and forms of regional integration (free trade agreements, customs unions, common market, economic and monetary union); trade-offs (liberalising / competitiveness);
Selected examples of multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements (e.g. Uruguay trade round / Doha development round; TPP / TTIP; ASEAN / EU / EPAs / NAFTA).
5. Supranational and international institutions
Tasks and functions of institutions responsible for supervising and monitoring regional and international monetary and trade relations (ECB, IMF or World Bank; GATT / WTO).
6. Cross-cutting issues
Developing countries and emerging market; development perspectives of the current monetary and trade architecture
7. Lecturer-specific issues
For instance informal exchange rate co-ordination and swaps; debt crises and international insolvency proceedings; currency crises; capital controls; international tax competition and tax evasion; static trade advantages (Heckscher Ohlin model, Leontief paradox), dynamic trade advantages ( product life-cycle theory), fair trade; international production and supply chains; BIS, G20, BRICS.

Compulsory readings:

Feenstra, R.C., Taylor, A.M., International Economics, New York: Worth Macmillan (current edition).
Krugman, O.R., Obstfeld, M., International Economics: Theory and Policy, Boston et.al: Addison-Wesley (current edition).
Reinert, K.A., An Introduction to International Economics: New Perspectives on the World Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (current edition)

Further readings:
Baldwin, R. (2004), Stepping Stones or Building Blocs? Regional and Multilateral Integration. Paper prepared for the for the G-20 Workshop on “Regional economic integration in a global framework”, organised by the European Central Bank and the People’s Bank of China in Beijing, 22-23 September 2004.
Baylis, J., Smith, S. and P. Owens (eds.) (2017), The Globalization of World Politics, 7thed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Emminger, O. (1977), The D-Mark in the Conflict between Internal and External Equilibrium, 1948-75, in: Essays in International Finance no. 122 (June), Princeton University.
Herr, H. (1988), World Money, the Monetary System, and the Instability of Economic Development of the 1970s and 19080s, WZB Discussion Paper FS I 88-4.
McKinnon, R.I. (1993), The Rules of the Game: International Money in Historical Perspective. In: Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XXXI (March).
Meléndez-Ortiz, R. Bellmann, C., Rodríguez-Mendoza, M. (eds.) (2012), The Future and the WTO: Confronting the Challenges. A Collection of Short Essays. ICTSD Programme on Global Economic Policy and Institutions, Geneva, Switzerland.
Metzger, M. (2015), Regional Integration and Co-operation, in: Niikondo, A., Development Management and Administration in the Southern African Development (SADC) Region, Cape Town: Publishing World SA, pp. 38-72.
Stiglitz, J. (2006) Making Globalization Work: The Next Steps to Global Justice, New York City: W.W. Norton & Company.

Required are the following modules: "Microeconomics: Allocation and Distribution " and "Macroeconomics I: The Economic Cycle and Employment“

Seminar (4 SWS, contact time 60 hrs, face-to-face (day and evening courses))

Content-oriented learning outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this module students will be able:
ILO1: to describe basic terms, methods and instruments of international economics and relate these to the subject of economics.
ILO2: to understand transmission channels and impacts of international monetary and trade relations and are able to explain the basic theoretical approaches.
ILO3: to identify major risks of the world economy as well as risks arising from international relations and interdependencies for individual countries and critically assess these risks.
ILO4: to apply what they have learnt to a case study and evaluate this case study.
Skill oriented learning outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this module students will be able:
ILO5: to co-operate in international teams in order to make themselves familiar with a selected subject, prepare a presentation and give a talk on that subject and discuss their remarks with fellow students.
ILO6: to respond in international teams to questions and resolve problems in a consensus-seeking teamwork, present and explain their results to the audience.

International Economics is a prerequisite for advanced courses within the Bachelor programmes for Economics (1st stage of studies) and Business Administration;
The course prepares for study programmes and internships abroad; it also prepares for writing the bachelor thesis. This module is open to Economics, Business Administration, IBAEX.

Verification of competence acquisition:

The combined examination consists of an oral (25%) and a written part in form of an exam (135 minutes, 75%).
The oral part is typically a group presentation, which focuses on a selected topic. Students will undertake an in-depth analysis of this topic and convey it to a greater audience (ILO 2, ILO 4, ILO 5, ILO 6).
The exam covers several and selected topics with the following competencies to be shown:
#Tasks which check general knowledge (ILO1)
#Tasks which review understanding (ILO 2, ILO 3)

#Tasks which require a transfer of knowledge on other case studies and further problems (ILO 4)
There will be only one final grade for both parts together.

Additional information:
An international student body is expected.