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International Economy and Trade

Code: 101086 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Political Science and Public Management OT 3
Political Science and Public Management OT 4
International Relations FB 2

Contact

Name:
Riccardo Turati
Email:
riccardo.turati@uab.cat

Teachers

Riccardo Turati

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

This course relies on the basic knowledge a student can get when completing the basic course "Political Economy," that is, an understanding of the principles of economics and a knowledge of the basic features of the evolution of international relations.


Objectives and Contextualisation

This course aims to provide an overview of modern theories of international economics from both empirical and theoretical perspectives. It also introduces the most appropriate analytical tools, offering insights into the economic benefits of international trade as well as its potential unintended consequences.

The first part of the course focuses on international trade theory. The material covers the development of trade theory from its origins (beginning with Ricardo's theory) to the current state of the art. Students will also be introduced to contemporary issues in trade theory and gain an understanding of the impact of international trade on economic development.

The second part of the course examines trade policy and its implications for the overall economy as well as for different economic agents.

The third part addresses the main challenges associated with international monetary relations and exchange rates.

 

Competences

    Political Science and Public Management
  • Applying the discipline's main theories and different fields to real practical and professional problems.
  • Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
  • Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  • Distinguishing the discipline's main theories and different fields: conceptual developments, theoretical frameworks and theoretical approaches underlying the discipline's knowledge and different areas and sub-areas, as well as their value for the professional practice through concrete cases.
  • Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  • Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
  • Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  • Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  • Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  • Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  • Working autonomously.
  • Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.
    International Relations
  • Analyse international society and its structure and understand its importance for real-life problems and professional practice.
  • Analyse the structure and operation of international institutions and organisations (political, economic, military and security, environmental, development and emergency aid) both in the universal and regional spheres, with particular emphasis on the European Union, from either real or simulated cases.
  • Apply knowledge of the structure and operation of international institutions to problems and/or practical cases, either real or simulated.
  • Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  • Identify the main theories of international relations and their different fields (international theory, conflicts and security, international politics, etc.) to apply them in professional practice.
  • Produce and prepare the presentation of intervention reports and/or proposals.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse and explain the functioning of the economy and international trade in the contemporary system.
  2. Analyse the operation of the main universal and regional institutions that intervene in international finance and trade.
  3. Analysing and explaining the economic dimensions behind public policies.
  4. Analysing the impact of structuring factors of the economy and international trade (institutions, policies, and actors).
  5. Arguing about the impact of international organizations on trade and international economy.
  6. Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
  7. Assessing the role of the public sector as an economic agent.
  8. Critically arguing the operations of the institutions and economic actors.
  9. Critically evaluate the dynamics created in the interaction between the state and the market.
  10. Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  11. Describe the dynamics of economic systems, their limits and potential and their political consequences.
  12. Describing the Spanish foreign sector: the dynamics of import/export, foreign investments in Spain and Spanish investments abroad.
  13. Diagnosing specific situations and economic problems.
  14. Efficiently describing forms of public intervention concerning the economic system.
  15. Explain the theoretical models of economics taking into account different historical studies.
  16. Explaining the consequences of a fiscal reform and changes on the government's tax issues.
  17. Explaining the main characteristics of the economic policies of western governments.
  18. Identify and analyse the roles of different actors, within and outside the state, in the operation of international economics and trade.
  19. Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  20. Identify the problems faced by economic agents when making decisions in conditions of uncertainty, using different historical experiences.
  21. Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  22. Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
  23. Make a historical analysis of current economic problems to better assess the evolutionary possibilities of economic systems.
  24. Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  25. Produce and prepare the presentation of intervention reports and/or proposals.
  26. Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  27. Reflecting on the proposals of current economic policies, in several fields (financial, fiscal, incomes policy, etc.) and several territories (World, Europe, Spain).
  28. Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  29. Specifying the roles, dimensions and structure of the public sector in the economy.
  30. Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  31. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  32. Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  33. Use analytical tools for economics and international trade and apply them to different processes and case studies.
  34. Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.
  35. Working autonomously.
  36. Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.

Content

Ricardo's trade theory
The Heckscher-Ohlin theory of trade and its evolution
New trade theory, intra-industry trade, and global value chains
Migration and the movement of production factors
The gender dimension and the role of institutions
The political consequences of trade
Trade policy and economic integration
The economics of sanctions
Exchange rates and international monetary relations
International monetary crises
Case studies based on current empirical evidence

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Autonomous 88 3.52 2, 4, 23, 1, 3, 18, 8, 6, 34, 5, 7, 10, 14, 12, 11, 13, 25, 15, 29, 16, 17, 26, 24, 20, 21, 19, 22, 28, 31, 30, 27, 32, 35, 36, 33, 9
Evaluation 8 0.32 37, 2, 4, 23, 1, 3, 18, 8, 6, 34, 7, 12, 11, 13, 15, 29, 16, 17, 20, 21, 19, 22, 28, 31, 30, 27, 32, 35, 36, 33, 9
Guided 15 0.6 8, 17, 24
Guided 35 1.4 4, 3, 8, 6, 5, 7, 10, 14, 12, 13, 29, 16, 17, 26, 24, 21, 22, 28, 27, 32, 35, 36

Recitation classes

Tutorials and seminars

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final exam 50% 2 0.08 4, 3, 8, 6, 5, 7, 10, 14, 12, 13, 29, 16, 17, 26, 21, 22, 28, 27, 32, 36
Midterm evalution 30% 1 0.04 37, 2, 4, 23, 1, 3, 18, 8, 6, 34, 5, 7, 10, 14, 12, 11, 13, 25, 15, 29, 16, 17, 26, 24, 20, 21, 19, 22, 28, 31, 30, 27, 32, 35, 36, 33, 9
Other activites (Trade Report) 20% 1 0.04 6, 10, 26, 21, 22, 28, 32, 36

 The final learning assessment is the weighted average of the following activities:

- 50% Final exam covering the material of the course that the professor will communicate in class (which will be the official day scheduled for the Faculty),
- 30% Midterm evaluation as the professor will explain in class,
- 20% Other assessment activities (Trade Report and its Presentation)
 
Grade
The final minimum grade to pass the course is 5. The final grade is the weighted average of the scores of all the activities proposed during the course.

If the final overall grade is lower than 3.5, the student must repeat the course next year.

Students with a final grade between 3.5 and less than 5 may take a retake exam. This assessment is organized by the Faculty during the session of exams. The retake exam is a pass or fail exam: if a student passes the retake exam, the final grade will be 5.
 
Single Assesment

Students who wish to opt for a single assessment will have to apply for it by addressing at the Academic Management Office of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology within the terms and modalities established by the Faculty Regulation.

The single assessment will be exclusively in presence.

In the case of choosing the single assessment option, the student must submit all the documents referring to all the course evaluation activities to the professor the day of the final exam (as scheduled in the academic calendar of the Faculty). Additionally, in the same day, the student must take the final exam which will cover all the topics discussed in the course and perform a(n) (oral) presentation of a report or research work as part of the evaluation activities (as for the continuous assessment option).

The total duration of the single evaluation will be around four hours.

In the case of the single assessment, the grade of the final course will be the result of the assessment of all the material submitted by the student by applying the same weight criteria established for the evaluation of the learning activities in the continuous assessment option.

Students who apply for the single evaluation assessment will be eligible for the retake exam under the same conditions as those opting for the continuous assessment.

Not Evaluable Students

A student that does not perform any of the three learning assesment is considered "not evaluable". 
 
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
 
For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in support tasks, such as data analysis or information, text correction, in the Trade Report production. The student will have to clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The non-transparency of the use of AI in this evaluable activity will be considered lack of academic honesty and may entail a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater penalties of seriousness.s seriousness cases.
 
Plagiarism and other irregularities
 
In accordance with academic regulations, any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of a acted'evaluation, this act of evaluation must be graded with 0. In the event of severalirregularities in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject is 0.

Bibliography

Basic reference:

Pugel, Th. (2023): "International Economics", McGraw-Hill, 18th Edition (available online vía the UAB Library)

 

Additional references:

Krugman, P., Obsfeld, M. and Melitz M. (2022): " International Economics: theory and policy", 12th Edition,Pearson Global Edition (available online viathe UAB Library)

 

Further readings will be provided during the course.


Software

Basic software for editing documents (example Microsoft Word) or worksheet  (example Microsoft Excel).


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 51 English second semester afternoon
(TE) Theory 51 English second semester afternoon