Students

ECON8047 – International Trade

2025 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer
Cong Wang
cong.wang@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
ACCG6003 or ECON6032 or ECON6033 or ECON6049 or ECON8091 or MGMT8009
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit examines international trade both in theory and practice. It aims to provide students with an understanding of major trade issues around the world and the effects of globalisation on international trade in general. The unit is taught in two parts. Firstly, it reviews theories related to inter- and intra-industry trade and the relevant empirical evidence. Secondly, the unit discusses trade policies, covering a wide range of topics, illustrated by theories as well as historical and contemporary data and cases.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Distinguish between major trade theories and policy measures.
  • ULO2: Apply trade concepts and theories to trade-related issues and evaluate their impact on stakeholders.
  • ULO3: Evaluate the impact of trade-related issues with a specific focus on the trade-offs between efficiency and equity.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments)

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Quiz 20% No Saturday, Week 7
Assignment 40% No Friday, Week 10
Presentation 40% No Friday, Week 13

Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Saturday, Week 7
Weighting: 20%

 

The quiz will take place in Week 7 based on lecture topics cover in Weeks 1 to 5.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Distinguish between major trade theories and policy measures.
  • Apply trade concepts and theories to trade-related issues and evaluate their impact on stakeholders.

Assignment

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Friday, Week 10
Weighting: 40%

 

The assignment will include application/discussion questions regarding a specific trade issue related to the trade-off between efficiency and equity.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Distinguish between major trade theories and policy measures.
  • Apply trade concepts and theories to trade-related issues and evaluate their impact on stakeholders.
  • Evaluate the impact of trade-related issues with a specific focus on the trade-offs between efficiency and equity.

Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Friday, Week 13
Weighting: 40%

 

Students are asked to give presentations on a particular problem/issue on international trade.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Distinguish between major trade theories and policy measures.
  • Apply trade concepts and theories to trade-related issues and evaluate their impact on stakeholders.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Each week, there will be a up to 2-hour long seminar covering weekly teaching materials held face to face. In preparation, students are required to read each week's reading material and watch the recorded lecture videos. There may be additional readings to support further learning.

Unit iLearn

Material for the unit, such as seminar zoom recordings and slides, will be available to students on the unit iLearn site at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au. Students are strongly encouraged to check the unit iLearn page weekly for announcements as well as the unit schedule, additional readings, and assessment information.

Prescribed Textbook:

• Feenstra, Robert C. and Taylor, Alan M. (2021), International Trade, 5e, Macmillan Learning. ISBN: 9781319382865 

Other Recommended Textbooks:

• Pugel, T. A. (2014), International Economics, 16th ed., McGraw-Hill

• Krugman, P., Obstfeld, M., and Melitz, M. (2017) International Economics: Theory & Policy, 11th ed., Pearson.

Useful Websites:

• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, www.dfat.gov.au

• Australian Bureau of Statistics, www.abs.gov.au

• International Monetary Fund, www.imf.org

• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, www.oecd.org

• The Economist, www.economist.com

• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), www.unctad.org

• World Trade Organisation, www.wto.org

• World Bank, www.worldbank.org

Unit Schedule

Week 1 | Trade in the Global Economy

Week 2 | Ricardian Model of Comparative Advantage

Week 3 | Gains and Losses from Trade in the Specific-Factors Model

Week 4 | Trade and Resources: The Heckscher-Ohlin Model

Week 5 | Movement of Labour and Capital between Countries

Week 6 | Increasing Return to Scale and Monopolistic Competition

Week 7 | Offshoring of Goods and Services

Week 8 | Import Tariff and Quota Under Perfect Competition

Week 9 | Import Tariffs and Quotas Under Imperfect Competition

Week 10 | Export Policies in Resource Based and High Technology Industries

Week 11 | International Agreements: Trade, Labour and the Environment

Week 13 | Presentations

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2025.03 of the Handbook