Economics 333

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
Intersession 2016
 
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Assignments

 

(1)  Keep a journal about what you did on the trip to Macau and China.

(2)  Reflect on the China part of the trip, addressing the following items:

(a)  What things about the China trip were as you expected?

(b)  What things about the China trip were different than what you expected?  Of those things, what was better than you expected and what was worse?

(3)  Class issues

(a)  One non-economic element of globalization is the spread of culture, primarily Western culture and specifically that of the United States.  Those cultural elements could include consumption of U.S. products.  What were five U.S. products or companies that you saw during the trip?  Only include one company or product from a specific product type, e.g., if you saw GM and Ford cars, only mention one.  However, you can define a product very specifically, e.g., restaurants serving a particular type of food.  This can also be viewed in terms of trade and investment.

(b)  How did that visit to the factory illustrate some of the points for and against globalization?  Modify the arguments for and against to reflect the fact that it was German owned.

(c)  Buy a product in China with the Chinese currency, the renminbi.  Based on the exchange rates you  have received so far, calculate the cost in terms of U.S. dollars and compare it with U.S. prices if possible.

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- Choose a country whose currency floats against the U.S. dollar.  For that country:

(1) Discuss its balance-of-payments situation, including the balance on the current account.

(2)  Identify the country's main exports and imports.

(3) Include a time plot of the performance of the country's currency against the U.S. dollar for 2015.  Discuss the general trend as far as that country's currency vs. the U.S. dollar is concerned.