ECON30001: International Trade Policy

2 × 50 minute within semester tests (At the approx 1/3 and 2/3 mark of the semester), 15% each
1 × 1000 word essay, 20%
2 hour end of semester exam, 50% (Hurdle)

Even though I'm writing this after finding out I somewhat bombed the exam (Got a H1 grade in both tests and the essay), I found taking this subject to be a really positive experience and have no regrets ,although I've already got the WAM needed for entry into the masters I want to do so long as I pass everything, so I'm probably currently a lot less stressed about marks than others... - Really well organised and interesting subject. Also, keep in mind that despite this being a "policy" subject, most the content was maths based, with not as much discussion on real world events as you might expect. That being said, you still get a great opportunity to apply the theory to the real world in the essay.

The first part (a bit over half) of the subject was pretty much all about the 3 major models covered, Ricardian, Specific Factors and Heckscher-Ohlin, with a few other concepts like terms of trades introduced. The second half of the subject involved smaller concepts/models covered at a quicker pace, such as Offshoring, the Increasing Returns to Scale model, Economic Geography, Import Tariffs, Politics and Trade and the Environment. Your knowledge of the prerequisite subject Inter Micro/ECON20002 is also very important so be sure to revise the major concepts like utility, comparative advantage, MRS, MRTS, PPF ect. if it's been a while.

Ultimately, if you enjoyed Inter Micro, was comfortable with the maths in it, and also have some interest in trade (even if it's just for a specific issue), I would highly recommend this subject.

As mentioned above, this is the main opportunity to apply the content in this subject to the "real world". Although I'm not super political and mainly did this subject because I got the impression it'd be "mathsy", you can pick pretty much any trade topic of interest, so I was able to find something I was interested in and able to engage with. You're also able to complete this essay individually or in pairs.

You're asked to email your/your group's topic and what you intent to discuss to Reshad by the start of 6 week, and after that date he will begin to email replies assessing the suitability of the topic and making suggestions. I found his reply really helpful, and appreciate that he obviously put thought/research into his response. You're also provided with a rough template, example and detailed guide including a criteria, so there's plenty of great resources even if you're not entirely sure how to approach it. Research and referencing are required too, but most ITP students would have most likely already done OB, so the referencing wasn't too much of a learning curve.

Definitely a lot tougher than the overall standard of the tests, especially the extension type questions. There were still enough of the basics so that you'd comfortably pass the hurdle if could do the tutes (plus a 50% weighted exam is relatively low), but expect a fair amount of new/challenge questions to pop up. There were also some worded questions (mainly based on the models), as well as references to theorems from lectures you needed to know.

Yes, with screen capture, but did not capture extra writing on the white/blackboards

Reshad Ahsan

Pretty standard experience. Lecture slides contained the theory, explanations and examples/discussions. Reshad explained things well, and generally wrote a few things on the boards to help illustrate the content better. This was not captured, so in person attendance was required for the full experience, however you could get by without it.

A sample exam with the same format as the final was provided with solutions. I was also able to get the 2017 and 2015 exams from the library website without solutions.

4.5 Out of 5

The assessable content for each test would be narrowed down to a set number of lectures/tutorials about a week before (basically just a range based on where we were at in the subject), and a practice test with solutions was also provided for the second test. This assessment was honestly very helpful for me personally, because when I was falling behind at the end of the semester the second test pretty much forced me to finally understand the Specific Factors and Heckscher-Ohlin model. Overall I found the tests to be very fair (Pretty much 70% or so on the basics, then the rest on harder extension type questions). Full questions/solutions were provided after each test was marked, as well as an extensive feedback report was outlining the mark distribution and common mistakes. Marks were also scaled if overall results were below the usual average (Everyone got +2/30 for the first test). The distributions for both were somewhat unusual, and had a peaks of around 25-30% of people getting H1s and another 25-30% of people getting Ps.

Formal recommendation is International Trade, 2nd Edition by Robert C. Feenstra and Alan M. Taylor. Not at all compulsory and only recommended if you're really struggling with the maths/derivations in the lecture slides.

While there were no participation marks and full solutions were released, I definitely got benefit from attending and found my tutor explained things really well. You get the tute questions beforehand, and will probably get the most out of the session trying them beforehand, but it's not the end of the world if you don't. The tute questions were not too difficult once you were on top of the content.

2 × 1 hour lecture per week, 1 × 1 hour tutorial per week

Semester 1, 2019

H2B (71)