INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMMERCIAL POLICIES
Obiettivi formativi
The aim of the course is to provide students with the skills required to comprehend and analyze some of the contemporary international economic issues, and in particular to present them the modern theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE), its working and the consequences of multinational activities for trade, FDI, jobs and development.
Risultati di apprendimento attesi
Students will learn how MNEs are designed and take their investimenti and trade decisions. Moreover, they will learn the fondamentals of commercial policies both on the economic and the political side. Project work activities will be carried out in order to set a presentation on a case study of international investiment.
Contenuti Del Corso
The focus will be on the role of technology, factor endowments, economies of scale, demand and transport costs in explaining the patterns of trade and multinational activity. Another key issue will be that of the consequences of MNEs for wages, employment, and productivity. Some of the questions that will be addressed are:
- Why do countries trade? And why do MNEs arise?
- Who gains and who loses from MNEs and FDI?
- What determines the actual behavior of contemporary MNEs?
After sketching the main recent theories of the multinational firm, some empirical evidence and some case studies will be surveyed.
Students will actively participate in presenting and comparing specific experiences of multinational activity.
Testi Di Riferimento
Frederick Guy, The global environment of business, Oxford U.P (2009).
Giorgio Barba Navaretti and Anthony J. Venables, Multinational Firms in the World Economy, Princeton University Press (2004).
Metodologie Didattiche
Lectures, presentations by professionals, team work by the students
Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
Team presentations by students, written and/or oral exam
Criteri per l’assegnazione dell’elaborato finale
High grade, deep interest in the topic
Settimana 1
International Trade: a Review of stylised facts and recent trends.
Protectionism and commercial policies. A survey.
Settimana 2
Multinationals: What Are They and How Are They Measured? An Overview of Theory and Empirical Findings Multinational Firms in the World Economy by Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables Princeton University Press Chapters 1 and 2.
Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment: Product Market Access Multinational Firms in the World Economy by
Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables
Princeton University Press Chapter 3.
Settimana 3
Vertical Foreign Direct Investment: Input Costs and Factor Prices
Multinational Firms in the World Economy by
Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables
Princeton University Press Chapter 4.
An introduction to the Project Work Exercise run by the students. By the Instructors with web references.
Settimana 4
Determinants of FDI: the Evidence
Multinational Firms in the World Economy by
Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables
Princeton University Press Chapter 6
Building a Powerpoint presentation of a MNE case study. Project Work
Exercise run by the students. The Instructors with web references
Settimana 5
The Effect of FDI on the Host Economy
Multinational Firms in the World Economy by
Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables
Princeton University Press Chapter 7
Building a Powerpoint presentation of a MNE case study. Project Work
Exercise run by the students. The Instructors with web references
Settimana 6
Home Country Effects of Foreign Direct Investment
Multinational Firms in the World Economy by
Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anthony J. Venables
Princeton University Press Chapter 9
Building a Powerpoint presentation of a MNE case study. Project Work
Exercise run by the students. The Instructors with web references
Settimana 7
Technological change and international production
Frederick Guy, The global environment of business, Oxford U.P (2009)
chapter 2.
The real stuff: selected multinational experiences. FINMECCANICA
Settimana 8
The real stuff: selected multinational experiences. Johnson & Johnson
The real stuff: supporting multinational experiences. SACE
Settimana 9
The politics of international trade
Frederick Guy, The global environment of business, Oxford U.P (2009)
chapter 5.
The real stuff: selected multinational experiences. FIAT
Settimana 10
Trump administration commercial policy
Settimana 11
FDI in Latin America
Settimana 12
Trade and FDI in the Covid era