ECO 3703 INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
WINTER 2014 (20142) , Session 2
Reference Number 477104
BLENDED CLASS
The first class on Tuesday, January 7 includes an orientation to the course web site.
Your Professor
My name is Greg Lindeblom. I have been a professor at Broward College since January 2003. I have a Honours B.A. from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) and a M.A. in Economics from New School University in New York City. My academic specialties are: Macroeconomics, International Economics and Finance, Money and Banking, Microeconomics, and the History of Economic Thought.
Prior to coming to BC, I worked in banking and finance for 23 years. Throughout my career, I have had some fascinating jobs in banking. I was on the trade floor in New York for 12 years -- six years in the foreign exchange markets and six years in charge of the techology on the trade floor. Later in my career, I was responsible for web development for all my bank's trading and brokerage departments. That was at the very inception of web application development -- so I'm either a pioneer or a dinosaur depending on your perspective.
During my years in banking, I lived in Toronto; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and New York City, prior to moving to Florida in 2001. Believe it or not, I moved into my house on 9/11/01! Since moving to Florida, I have done bank consulting work, in addition to my teaching. Some of my consulting assignments have been in Canada and Mexico.
During my tenure at BC, I have taught:
- Principles of Macroeconomics
- Principles of Microeconomics
- International Economics
- Money & Banking
- Introduction to Business
- Principles of Supervision
- Personal Finance
- Quantitative Methods for Business
I genuinely enjoy teaching here at BC. I find the students very personable and eager. I'm sure you'll find this course challenges you, but you'll also find it rewarding and relevant to your life.
Course Description
BC's course outline describes the course as: "An explanation of why nations trade, the effects of trade on the economy, international commercial policy, balance of payments, exchange rate determination, the eurocurrency markets, and international trade institutions."
International Economics is a junior-level course that blends theoretical work with practical applications from the world around us. In this era of increasing globalization, it is important that the international implications of all business decisions be understood. This course will provide a framework for making those assessments.
A full description of course outcomes may be downloaded from BC’s web site
Methods of Instruction
This is a blended class. Normally, for a three-credit class, we would meet twice a week for 3 hours each meeting during an eight week session.. This class is designed to meet once a week, on Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 9:15, with the remaining material being covered online. So this course is designed with 50% of our class work in a traditional face-to-face format and 50% is done through online discussions, readings, quizzes, and assignments.
There will be four tests in the course, two taken in-class and two taken online. The remainder of our in-class time will be spent covering the most challenging parts of the material in the course. The rest of the course material is your responsibility.
During the periods where you will be engaging in online learning, there will be two discussion topics that will require you to read the relevant chapter(s) of the text, watch some videos, and apply the principles to the topic at hand. Further, there is an assigned group project. The final components of your grade will be comprised of assigned homework or an individual paper.
Learning Outcomes
BC's course outline for ECO 3703 indicates the following general course outcomes:
Unit 1: The student shall evaluate the costs and benefits of trade to a national economy and recognize the importance of international trade to the global economy.
Unit 2: The student shall explain and evaluate various theories of international trade, such as but not limited to Ricardian comparative advantage, the Hecksher-Olin model of factor endowments, and Krugman's intraindustry trade theory.
Unit 3: The student shall identify non-trade international flows, such as labor and capital, and examine the role of the multinational corporation.
Unit 4: The student shall recognize the ways in which a government can promote or impede trade through its international trade policy.
Unit 5: The student shall identify the types of free trade agreements and unions that exist and evaluate the arguments for and against them.
Unit 6: The student shall explain the elements of the balance of payments on the current account and capital and financial accounts of a nation.
Unit 7: The student shall describe the global foreign exchange market, determine how foreign exchange rates are computed, and compare the different types of foreign exchange instruments.
Unit 8: The student shall identify key components and issues in international monetary economics.
You can find the general course outcomes from the BC Course Outlines.
The general outcomes from this course are also available from the BC website (BC course outlines).
Course Requirements
The course prerequisites are ECO 2013, Principles of Macroeconomics, and ECO 2023 Principles of Microeconomics. There are no exceptions to these prerequisites. This is a third-year level course and we make reference back to the principles courses throughout our study.
The student must have regular access to a computer and be comfortable working online.
All email in this course must be sent within our online learning system, BCOnline. Students must be able to open/save files, surf the internet, send and receive email, and post to discussion topics.
Course Technology Requirements
The only unique software you require for this course is a PowerPoint viewer, which can be uploaded at no cost. Refer to the Blackboard Plug-ins document to get find the link for the viewer.
Some discussions require you to watch and make a report on videos. Your PC must have speakers or headphones that allow you to hear the videos.
Course Materials
The text for this course is OPTIONAL.
It is Krugman, Obstfeld & Melitz, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: THEORY
AND POLICY, 9th edition, Boston: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2012.
While optional, this is the best book in the field and
Paul Krugman is the dean of economists studying international economics.
The reason I've made it optional is two-fold: 1) the cost is very high;
2) there are many online tools that we can utilize.
Many of those online tools are available
in our course web site. In addition, you will have access to the
professor's notes there.
I am confident
you will have the tools you need to succeed in this course. Of course, resources
are only valuable when they are utilized. One of the key premises of economics
is that resources must be allocated (used) efficiently to maximize satisfaction
(your grade).
How to Register for this Course
To enroll for the course, please refer to BC's Student Online System. Students must be paid before they will be able to log into the course. If you register late, it may take 36 hours for you to gain access to the course after paying.
Information Contact
Students can reach me at glindebl@broward.edu to obtain more information about this course. If you wish to meet with me prior to enrolling in the course, please send an email to make an appointment with me.
How to Access the Course once you are Enrolled in this Course
Once you are enrolled and have paid, access to the course will begin on the first class on Tuesday, January 7, 2014. During the orientation, we will review login and access procedures, requirements for the course, and begin our study of economic principles.
In the meantime, refer to the BC Flexible Learning page for email lookup and login instructions.
All students must obtain and use a BC email address for this course, so please obtain a user ID and PIN code before attempting to login to BCOnline.
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