Assignment
The purpose of the term paper is to give you an opportunity to apply the economic concepts, principles, tools, and models that we have and will examine in this course to interpret current macroeconomic events. You may decide the exact topic of the paper, so this paper provides you with an opportunity to study something that you are interested in and connect your interests to what you have and will learn in this course.
Choosing a Topic
The topic of the term paper must be related to international economics. Feasible choices of topics could include:
Current events: news articles ,recent events relevant to the course that you could explain using the models and tools from the course. For example, the article "Krugman, Trade Theory, and Apples Chip Problems with TSMCs Earthquake Damage" from chapter 6 explores how Apple's iPhone relies on computer chips made in Taiwan. There is a significant industrial cluster of semiconductor and computer chip production in Taiwan. You could explore the history of Taiwan's semiconductor production, how the industrial cluster was formed, and the potential disadvantages of worldwide production of a certain product being concentrated in just a few places.
An analysis of the top imports and exports of a country: you could use the MIT Trade Atlas to find the top 5 imports and exports for a country. Then, using the Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory, New Trade Theory, and the concepts of comparative advantage, you could discuss if the top imports and exports from the country are consistent with the idea of those theories.
I expect that you will use the economic logic and models that we've developed in the course to guide your analysis, so please choose a topic that is compatible with the tools that we have developed and will develop in this course.
Please email me or talk to me if you have any questions about whether your topic is appropriate for the course.
Suggested Format
Your paper could be organized in the following way:
• Introduction: Here, you introduce the topic of your paper, and summarize briefly the conclusions of your paper.
• Summary of recent events or news articles on your topic: Here, you should examine recent events related to your topic in a way that would interest the average reader, who is someone who is taking the course with you.
• Economic analysis using the tools or principles developed in this course: I expect that the economic analysis will make up at least 50% of your paper.
• Conclusion: Summarize the main points of your paper and leave an interesting question or result for your reader to ponder for the future.