This module introduces a key concept in international trade economics: comparative advantage. At the same time, we will also study absolute advantage and look at the difference between the two. We will then move on to the ways in which a country can gain from trade, and the trade-offs for firms that are looking at trading and investing internationally. Lastly, you will explore some of the controversies surrounding the impact of international trade on jobs and wages, both overseas and in New Zealand.

This module will demonstrate that a large share of international trade is intra-industry trade, and it will describe why this trade occurs. Later, you will consider industrial clusters, whereby traded goods and services (essential to a country’s exports) are produced in regional clusters.

This module introduces the two most commonly applied trade barriers: tariffs, and quotas. We first learn the two key terms for welfare effects – consumer surplus and producer surplus. Then we try to use the supply-demand curve to analyse the welfare effects of trade in both scenarios with and without trade barriers. Finally, we will learn about non-trade barriers with examples.

In this module, we will learn how a country’s wealth that is created by trade is calculated, and how exchange rates between currencies are determined. This module extends on our understanding of crucial concepts related to the supply and demand framework, and trade liberalisation.

In this module, you will begin with a review of open economy macroeconomics at the principles level, exploring the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model. This review will foster your understanding of the role of fiscal and monetary policies and the impact those policies have on interest rates, exchange rates, current accounts and business and consumer decision making.

You will then progress to exploring how the expansionary and contractionary macroeconomic policies influence gross domestic product (GDP) and price levels. You will also learn more about the short-run and long-run effects of fiscal and monetary policies on the current account and exchange rate.

In the previous modules, you explored concepts and theories about the economics of international trade. In this and the following modules, you will apply what you have learned in order to analyse some of New Zealand’s major trading partners.

In this module you will first look at one of our top trading partners, the United States, followed by another top trading partner, Australia. You will learn how to evaluate key free trade agreements, NAFTA and CER, and their economic implications for New Zealand.

In this module, you will explore the success factors of the high-growth economies of East Asia. Generally speaking, these economies have avoided populist policies, have shared the benefits of growth and had relatively open economies. This module also aims to provide background information about the institutional and policy environments of the high-growth East Asian economies.

This module focuses on the two most populous nations of the world, China and India. In addition to exploring each country’s economic and demographic characteristics, in this module, you will delve deeper into China’s and India’s trade patterns. We will also discuss the policy changes that led these two countries to turn from isolation and inward-oriented policies to outward-looking integration with the world economy.

This is the last module you will study in this course, and you will delve into the EU’s significance for New Zealand’s international trade. The EU is one of the world’s largest trading entities and it is New Zealand’s third-largest trading partner, followed by China and Australia. New Zealand is also looking for a free trade agreement with the EU. This module focuses on the EU’s institutional structure and the history of its widening and deepening. You will then look at the obstacles to regional integration agreements.