Undergraduate - UnitECS3121 - Economics of international trade

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Business and Economics
Organisational Unit	Department of Economics
Offered	South Africa Second semester 2015 (Day)

Synopsis

The pure theory of international trade. Trade and income distribution, economic growth and changes in trade, bases for trade and gains from trade. Trade policy. Tariffs, quotas, subsidies, import discrimination and other national policies affecting trade. The foreign exchange market. Determination of exchange rates, the balance of payments, modern foreign exchange policies and the threat of unstable exchange rates. Regional trade agreements.

Outcomes

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

draw upon skills developed in micro and macroeconomics to enable students to understand and critically evaluate contemporary policy debates in international trade and finance
develop the ability to use powerful analytical tools to predict the impact of global economic, political and social policies on South Africa as a small open economy, as well as the broader African continent
recognise the positive welfare effects of worldwide unrestricted trade.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 40%
Examination: 60%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Kwame Osei-Assibey

Prerequisites

Students must have passed ECB2331 or ECG2730 or ECF2731 or ECW2730 or ECS2730 AND ECB2731 or ECG2731 or ECW2731 or ECS2731 or ECF2731 or ECF2931 before undertaking this unit.

Prohibitions

ECB3121, ECC3690, ECF3121, ECG9121, ECW3121