| Responsible Department | Institute of Food and Resource Economics | ||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year | ||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||
| Level of Course | MSc | ||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination written examination and oral examination Portfolio Examination All aids allowed Description of Examination: The exam consist of: 1) assessment of paper, 2) a presentation of own paper, 3) performance as a discussant for another student's pape, 4) active participation in the common discussion. Weight: Overall assessment of the four elements is 100 % 7-point scale, internal examiner | ||||||||||||
| Requirement for Attending Exam | The students shall submit a short (½ page) reflection note before each lecture. The note may summarise thoughts, ideas, questions, difficulties, etc. the students encountered while studying the articles. No more than 2 omitted or late submitted notes are allowed. | ||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | The first part of the course involves lectures and discussions. The second part of the course is devoted to the students' own project work. | ||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 4 Week Structure: A | ||||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | English | ||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | LOJK10240 Students should have an understanding of basic calculus, matrix mathematics, and statistical analysis. To benefit from this course the student needs an undergraduate understanding of micro, public, development, and international economics. | ||||||||||||
| Restrictions | None | ||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||
| We study some of the literature on the frontier of economic research on selected advanced topics in the economics of globalization. The specific topics to be discussed in class will be determined at the beginning of the course and may include (but not necessarily be limited to) . Heterogeneous firms trade theory: expanding the body of trade theory based on Heckscher-Ohlin and New Trade Theory to include models analysing trade at the individual firm level . Oligopoly trade theory: considering cases where firms are large and imperfectly competitive, implying strategic interaction among firms . The political economy of trade policy . The role of a large and growing China in the globalized economy . The causes and consequences of Foreign Direct Investment Many of the papers are theoretical, but the curriculum also contains survey, applied and empirical papers. Additional topics are investigated by the students themselves guided by their own interests. An important objective of the course is to train the students in techniques for carrying out independent study of scientific journal articles. Studying journal articles is very different from reading textbooks. Articles are not specifically written for teaching purposes, and authors often sacrifice careful explanation for brevity and precision. Articles can therefore be very challenging and time consuming to study. We discuss how to overcome these challenges and how to get the most out of the articles (in terms of the elements detailed under the Learning Outcomes below). | |||||||||||||
| Teaching and learning Methods | |||||||||||||
| Students are expected to display a high level of self-study and independent organisation of their own learning. There are no exercise classes and lectures are designed to support learning rather than set out to cover a specific curriculum. The course is split into three parts. In the first part (roughly half the course), we will study a collection of scientific journal articles on the selected topics in a number of lectures. Students are required to submit a short (½ page) reflection note on the articles studied before each lecture. In the second part (roughly the second half of the course), there are no lectures and the time will be spent by the students preparing a literature survey paper leading to a proposal for a research question, which could potentially form the basis for the students' future Master's thesis. The third part of the course is a student seminar, which replaces a formal examination. During the seminar, all students present and discuss their papers in a common session. | |||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||
| Upon completing this course, the students should be able to Knowledge: . summarise the main contributions of the articles discussed in class Skills: . study scientific journal articles with theoretical, empirical and/or applied content within the area of globalization, and - identify the central contributions of the article - explain the main results in terms of assumptions, methodology, and economic intuition - relate the article to other relevant research within the area - identify potential questions for further analysis as well as possible strategies for addressing those questions Competences: . formulate a structured and coherent paper in English on a topic within the area of globalization . make a short and structured presentation of scholarly work (own contributions as well as published work) . engage in group discussions in English . critically and constructively reflect on the work of other scholars (fellow students as well as published work) | |||||||||||||
| Course Literature | |||||||||||||
| Required journal article readings list provided on syllabus. | |||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||
| Kenneth Thomas Baltzer, kb@foi.dk, Institute of Food and Resource Economics/International Economics and Policy Unit, Phone: 353-36852 | |||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||
| Work Load | |||||||||||||
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