ECON 329 
old news
Old announcements
  • I will adopt the following convention for referring to chapters in the textbook.  
    Chapter X/Y means Chapter X from the split (the 11-chapter softcover book International Macroeconomics) and Chapter Y from the combined edition (the 22-chapter hardcover book called International Economics). 
  • I have posted a detailed answer key to Exam 1 below.  Please review it carefully.  After doing so, if you have any remaining questions about the exam, or any concerns, I will be happy to meet with you outside of class to discuss them.  
  • Carthage has CANCELED ALL CLASSES ON WEDNESDAY APRIL 1 so that students and faculty will have time to participate in assessment activities.  Assessment means finding out what works well and what needs to be improved.  The faculty of Carthage want to determine what kinds of changes will benefit future Carthage students, and your input is extremely important and valuable in this process.  If your department or division asks you to participate in an assessment activity on April 1, PLEASE DO SO!  The quality of the education you're getting now is greater because students in previous years took this time to give their input.  Now, it is your turn to "pay it forward" and help Carthage improve their programs for future students.  Chances are these activities will not consume a very big portion of your day, and the faculty and future students truly appreciate your time and input.  Thank you!
  • Click here for Exam 1 grades.  You will need a code I have emailed to your Carthage email account.  
General information about homework assignments
    • All homework unless otherwise specified is to be emailed to me from your carthage.edu email account.  
    • In the subject line of your email, please put "ECON 329  HWx from Whoopi Goldberg" except instead of "x" put the number of the homework assignment, and put your name instead of "Whoopi Goldberg" (unless of course your name really is Whoopi Goldberg).  
    • If I receive your homework more than 5 minutes past the deadline, it is considered late. 
    • Late homeworks are not accepted.  However, each student receives two "free passes" - you can miss up to two homeworks without penalty.  If you miss fewer than two homeworks, your two lowest HW scores will be dropped from your grade.  
    • You may work on the homework assignment with other students provided you collaborate or help each other with each problem rather than dividing up the problems and exchanging answers.  Each student is required to write (type) his or her own answers in his or her own words.  
    • Grading:  Each homework is worth 10 possible points.  I will randomly select a subset of the problems/questions to grade carefully, and will look over the rest a bit less carefully.  For most assignments, I will post an answer key when I return them to you.  Part of your homework responsibility is carefully reading through these answer keys to evaluate your work and learn how to obtain the correct answer to any problem/question you didn't answer correctly.  After you work through the answer key, I will be happy to answer any remaining questions.  
    • I will try to grade all HW and get your scores to you within 5 days of the due date.  If I ever take more than 7 days, then you will get full credit for the homework assignment (with point deductions only if your HW submission was incomplete).  
    • Typing equations and special characters:  
      You may of course use Microsoft Word's equation editor to type special symbols and equations exactly as they should appear, then attach the Word file containing your HW to your email.  However, it's perfectly acceptable to simply type your answers directly in the email.  You can use the following ways of representing things:     
      • E($/yen) = U.S. exchange rate with Japan (dollars per yen).  E($/EUR) = U.S. exchange rate with the Eurozone (dollars per euro).  E($/pound) = dollars per british pound.  Etc.  
      • For fractions, type     2/3  or  X/(Y+1)  or  [E(t+1) - E(t)]/[E(t)]   
      • To represent the change in a variable, you may use "d" instead of the Greek letter Delta:   
        i.e.,    d E(t)  =  E(t+1) - E(t)
      • For superscripts, use "^".  For example, the expected future exchange rate is E^e.
Description of this course from the upcoming course catalog
  • This course examines the monetary side of international economics and globalization, including the current and historical structure of international financial institutions.  Topics include exchange rate theories, monetary regimes, interest rates, asset pricing and risk diversification, the balance of payments, currency crises, and open-economy aspects of fiscal and monetary policies.  Emphasis is given to the use of theories in understanding current events and policy issues.  Prerequisite:  ECON 101 and 102, or ECON 103. 
Textbook
  • International Macroeconomics or International Economics, by Robert Feenstra and Alan Taylor
    We are using one textbook, but it comes in two versions.  
    International Economics is a big hardcover textbook which contains 22 chapters:  11 chapters on international trade (covered in ECON 328) and 11 chapters on international finance (covered in ECON 329).  Students taking both courses can save a few dollars by purchasing the big hardcover book with all 22 chapters.  Students taking only ECON 329 can save a few dollars by purchasing International Macroeconomics, which contains the 11 chapters from the big book that we will cover in ECON 329.  The bookstore has copies of both available.
  • The new copies that the bookstore is selling are bundled with a card giving you a free subscription to The Economist, a weekly news magazine.  This is something the publisher throws in for free.  You are not paying extra for it.  
  • The bookstore's markup on these texts is impressive.  The price they charge students for a new copy of the International Economics (the 22-chapter book) is $171.45.  Their cost (the price they paid the publisher) on this book is just $115.70.  Thus, their markup equals $55.75, which is 48% over their cost.  Their markup on the smaller version of the book, International Macroeconomics, is just as big:  they charge students $111.45, their cost was $75.20, so their markup is $36.25, or 48% over their cost.  
  • In contrast, Amazon.com's markups (as of January 31) are much smaller:  For the 11-chapter macro book, they charge $90.67 (so their markup equals $15, less than half of the campus bookstore's markup).  For the 22-chapter combined book, Amazon's price is $121.36, so their markup is only $6!!!   
Homework assignments
  • Homework #1:  Problems 1 through 6 at the end of Chapter 2/13.  
    Revised due date:  11:00pm Saturday Feb 14.  
  • General information about homework assignments:
    • All homework unless otherwise specified is to be emailed to me from your carthage.edu email account.  
    • In the subject line of your email, please put "ECON 329  HWx from Whoopi Goldberg" except instead of "x" put the number of the homework assignment, and put your name instead of "Whoopi Goldberg" (unless of course your name really is Whoopi Goldberg).  
    • If I receive your homework more than 5 minutes past the deadline, it is considered late. 
    • Late homeworks are not accepted.  However, each student receives two "free passes" - you can miss up to two homeworks without penalty.  If you miss fewer than two homeworks, your two lowest HW scores will be dropped from your grade.  
    • You may work on the homework assignment with other students provided you collaborate or help each other with each problem rather than dividing up the problems and exchanging answers.  Each student is required to write (type) his or her own answers in his or her own words.  
    • Grading:  Each homework is worth 10 possible points.  I will randomly select a subset of the problems/questions to grade carefully, and will look over the rest a bit less carefully.  For most assignments, I will post an answer key when I return them to you.  Part of your homework responsibility is carefully reading through these answer keys to evaluate your work and learn how to obtain the correct answer to any problem/question you didn't answer correctly.  After you work through the answer key, I will be happy to answer any remaining questions.  
    • Typing equations and special characters:  
      You may of course use Microsoft Word's equation editor to type special symbols and equations exactly as they should appear, then attach the Word file containing your HW to your email.  However, it's perfectly acceptable to simply type your answers directly in the email.  You can use the following ways of representing things:     E($/yen) = U.S. exchange rate with Japan (dollars per yen).  E($/EUR) = U.S. exchange rate with the Eurozone (dollars per euro).  E($/pound) = dollars per british pound.  Etc.  
      For fractions, type        [E(t+1) - E(t)]/[E(t)]  
      You can use "d" in place of the greek letter Delta to represent the change in a variable.  
      i.e.,    d E(t)  =  E(t+1) -  E(t)
Project instructions
  • These instructions describe four options for your project.  Choose whichever option will best meet your needs.  
  • You will need to email some information to be by 5:00pm Monday March 2.  
    • If you select Option 1 (individual paper), you must submit your topic proposal to me by 5:00pm Monday March 2.  A successful proposal will be based on preliminary reading, and will include a paragraph or two describing what you propose to write about and an annotated bibliography with three or more sources. Email your final (or near-final) annotated  bibliography to me by 5:00pm Wed April 22.  
    • If you select Option 2 (group project), send me a single email by 5:00pm March 2 that lists the names of the three students in the team and the country or region that your team has chosen.  
    • If you select Option 3 (regression analysis), let me know whether you are working individually or with another student, and the name of that student.  You must also submit a topic proposal to me by 5:00pm March 2 that explains the relationship you wish to estimate and the source from which you will acquire your data.  
    • If you selection Option 4 (critical book review), simply let me know via email by 5:00pm March 2 which book you have chosen.  See the links below if you wish to order the book from Amazon (which as of February 5 is selling each book for $15-16; the list price of each is $25).