AEF318: Globalisation, International Trade & Marketing


AIMS:  To provide students with an understanding of globalisation, international trading issues, barriers to trade, international institutions and contemporary developments affecting world trading patterns and international markets.

OBJECTIVES: By the end of this module, students should be able to:

INITIAL CRITICAL QUESTIONS:

  1. WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO DO THIS COURSE

  2. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO GET FROM IT?

  3. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OPINION OF "GLOBALISATION"?

The New Nirvana
An (Inevitable) Fact of Life
A figment of the chattering class' imagination
An Unmitigated Disaster
A Necessary Evil
A Curate's Egg
Never thought about it









Modus Operandi:
As a final year (Stage 3) module, the expectation is that students will spend an appropriate amount of time (minimum 6 hours per week, in addition to the formal class time) reading and thinking about the subject matter.  Your lecturer will provide lecture notes on this site, which you are expected to have read through before each class, and which will also contain additional material,  either as links, references or additional material. Even though the class is a large one (80+ students), it is intended that the second (Friday) class of each week will be run more as a question/discussion class than as a lecture - you are expected to contribute to these discussions on the basis of critical throught and reading. What you get out of this course depends on what you put in.


Assessment& Appraisal
The current module outline says that this will consist of one assignment (30%) and a final 2 hour exam paper (70%).   I need to know what you think, since my resources are very limited!

Preferred Option: A final two hour closed book exam paper, consisting of single 'seen' question, for 100% of the  final marks for the course.  You can prepare trial answers to this quesrion before the exam, and submit them to me (in word processed form, by e-mail) for comment and appraisal prior to the final exam.  These trials will not carry any assessment marks.
Suggested Question:
Suppose that you are employed by a commercial company, or an NGO, or a Development Agency, of your choice. You are asked to prepare a brief for your CEO on the meaning and implications of Globalisation for your organisation, and to outline the steps your organisation should take to deal with the phenomenon. Outline the brief you would prepare, indicating the important issues which need more research.

Syllabus and Timetable.

Wednesdays, 9.00 - 10.00am, Herschel Building, Lecture Theatre 3
Fridays, 11.00 - 12.00am, Agric. Building, Clement Stephenson Lecture Theatre.

Note: there will be a "Reading and Consolidation Week" for this course during the week of the 25th October (after Session 3 below)

Syllabus (subject to discussion, refinement and revision):
Synopsis
1
Globalisationthe concept: definitions, debates, dimensions and data
2
Economics of Globalisation (1): theory of trade, specialisation & competition; gains from trade; the case for free trade
3
Economics of Globalisation (2): The Macroeconomic context & exchange rates
4
International Organisations & Governance: The post war concensus: IMF, IBRD, GATT (WTO)
5
What goes wrong? - Market Failures & barriers to trade; Institutional (Political) Failures; Organisational failures. (incomplete)
6
Growth & Development: Poverty reduction, development paradigms.
7
Competition & Competitiveness: What do they mean? Policy (and strategy) trilemmas - can we do everything at once?
8
Culture Matters?  Do national differences exist and do they matter?
9
Synopsis & Synthesis? Review and discussion.

Some References and links:
There is no single textbook available for this course.  This site will provide more or less extensive notes, and links to important relevant sites (the most general are listed below)
World Trade Organisation: 
what is it?  FAQs and misconceptions.
The World Bank:  why trade matters:  See, especially, the Bank's series of (currently 4) Issue Briefs on Globalisation. [see here for an interesting commentary on some popular perceptions of the Bank]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF): The International  Bank for member states Central Banks: see, especially, its Students Page
United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD):  Trade and Development: Facts and Figures
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO):  "Fighting poverty & marginalisation through sustainable industrial development"
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): which has recently produced a strong case in favour of trade and liberalisation (a major aspect of Globalisation)
For a more "anti"globalisation stance, see, for instance, the Trade Observatory site, run by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

In addition, there are several recent books about Globalisation, including:
Note: a quick search on BIDS for 'globalisation' between 2001 and 2004 produces 1137 records, while a Google search produces "about 1,600,000 sites, the top one of which is Globalisation Guide, which seems a very useful site.  It will not surprise you that I have not read all these references, nor visited all these sites!


Comments, Questions or Suggestions

A current view of the globalisation debate? (29.09.04)