International Food and Agricultural Products Trade

Welcome to the module “International Food and Agricultural Products Trade”.

Brief description of aims 

Aim: The objective of  this course  is to provide a  foundation  in international trade theory and enable the student to apply this theory to the study of issues in globalization, economic integration and trade policy.  Broadly, the goals are to

i) understand existing patterns of international  trade 

ii)  ask  if  trade  is  beneficial  for  individual  economies  and  the wider

international  community  and  if  there  are  winners  and  losers  from  trade 

iii)  study the conduct of trade policy, its objectives and impacts

iv) gain familiarity with the world trading system.

Learning Outcomes 

Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of this course, students should ideally be able to:

1)  understand  the major models  of  international  trade  and  compare  and  contrast them.

2)  understand  the principle of comparative advantage,  including  its  formal expression.

3)  analyze  the  linkages between  trade,  labor  and  capital movements,  international

fragmentation  of  production,  economic  well-being  and  the  income  distribution  and  to

identify and critically examine policy implications of these linkages.

4)  apply equilibrium models  to analyze  the economic effects  of policy  interventions including tariffs, quotas, export subsidies, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and the creation of preferential trading agreements.

 5)  critically  analyze  these  policy  interventions  in  terms  of  their  costs  and  benefits, including their implications for economic well-being, performance and competitiveness.

6)  Understand major recent developments in the world trading system and comment critically on  their  effects  on  individual  economies  and  on  the  wider  international community.

Cognitive/Intellectual skills/Application of Knowledge

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

1. Explain patterns  of world production  and  trade and  ask  if  international  trade  is beneficial. This will be done with the help of models from international trade theory that are important components of the toolkit of contemporary  trade economists.

2.Explore  the  phenomena  of  outsourcing  and  international  mobility  of  labor (immigration) and capital (Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)). 

3.Analyze and compare  instruments  of  trade  policy  and  evaluate  their  impact  on  domestic  and international welfare. 

4. Compare  the world  trading  system,  including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international trade agreements.

Communication/ICT/Numeracy/Analytic Techniques/Practical Skills

          Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

Write a report

Present the results

Have practice in discussion and reasoning

Compile a literature review and make an appropriate use of references

General transferable skills

          Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

Independently carry out a field survey

Apply basic tools of ascertaining the real advantages we get from international trade, trade restrictions and protectionism

The module is composed of 3 learning units:

1.International Food and Agricultural Products Trade

2. International Trade Policy

3. Seminar in Agribusiness

Indicative Resources:

The following textbooks are recommended for reading:

1.Feenstra,  Robert  C.  and  Alan M.  Taylor,  2014,  International  Economics,  3rd edition, Worth

    Publishers  (ISBN-13:  978-1-4292-7844-7;  ISBN-10:  1-4292- 7844-

Background Texts

Some useful links:

WTO, http://www.wto.org

UNCTAD,  http://www.unctad.org

OECD,  http://www.oecd.org

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NZ, http://www.mfat.govt.nz

Economists:

Paul Krugman (Princeton University website): https://www.princeton.edu/~pkrugman/

Journals

Useful journals can be found on Agora database accessible through www.ur.ac.rw. Agora database is a free database providing full text downloadable papers. Recommended journals are the following:

Journal of economics

Agricultural Economics

International trade

For a glossary of terms used in international economics, see Alan Deardorff’s (University

of Michigan) website at

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/glossary

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environments