Current course number: Economics 383.  Previous course number: Economics 163. 
My last offering of this course was Winter 2005.  This course is most often offered by Prof. Dvorak of the Economics Department.

Course summary from my last offering: In this seminar we study the multi-faceted connections among the balance of international payments, developments in foreign exchange markets, and the general levels of domestic prices, employment, interest rates, and other important measures of economic activity within nation states.  A student mastering the material in this course will understand in some detail issues connected with the balance of payments, the functioning of foreign exchange markets, adjustment mechanisms in international payments, macroeconomic policies for internal and external balance, and international monetary systems.
        In focusing on open economy macroeconomics, we cannot study only the actions of governments.  Because of the independent power, importance, and success of multinational firms, we must consider the effects of their key financial decisions.  Moreover, the perspectives of the decision makers in these firms on economic policies are widely shared by many other economic and political actors.  Open economies can also be heavily influenced by the policies and actions of international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.  This view has influenced the choice of texts.  The primary course text is Multinational Financial Management, 7th edition, by Alan Shapiro.  We will broaden the analysis by using two other monographs--The Return of Depression Economics, by Paul Krugman, and Reforming the International Monetary System; From Roosevelt to Reagan, by Robert D. Hormats.
        Students will take one midterm examination; write two short essays; and write and present to the class a significant paper on an individual topic in international finance--e.g., analysis of a crisis, an empirical study of macroeconomic variables, or an evaluation of a specific type of policy.

The "free market" in Guangzhou, China, photographed during a 1989
trip to China, was an early experiment in economic liberalization.

Top Banner: Varied flags are flown at the Canadian/American border on the narrow-gauge rail line built from Skagway, Alaska to provide access to the Yukon gold fields.

This course carries a WAC designation in the general education program.

Economics 241 and 242 (formerly Economics 41 and 42) are the only prerequisites.

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