From: Scott Wolla (misterwolla@yahoo.com)
Date: Fri Jul 25 2003 - 13:13:27 EDT
Next message: Scott Wolla: "[Channel-talkeconomics] Video #8 observations - Growth and Entrepreneurship"
Video #5
Trading Globally
In my one semester required Economics class, we
haven’t been able to spend much time on global trade.
We do however, spend some time on the basic rationale
for trade as being advantageous to all parties
involved and the role of specialization. I really
enjoyed the discussion of why Global Trade is so
controversial. My perception is that most students are
very patriotic in their attitudes about buying
American products and protecting American jobs, but
very few will personally pay more or go out of their
way to look specifically for an American made product.
Also, they automatically think of cars when speaking
of global trade. I believe this issue is of special
interest to the Iron Range of Minnesota because the
iron industry is very cyclical and is very much
affected by imported steel and also imported cars,
since domestically produced automobiles use more
domestically produced steel. When the Bush
administration surprisingly decided to impose a steel
tariff on imported steel a few years ago, we had some
great discussions about tariffs, and their effects on
trade and prices.
I enjoyed the activity in which students check the
labels of their clothing to see where they were made.
Students often don't realize how interdependent our
economy is on the economies of foreign nations. It
serves as a good springboard for discussions on
specialization. I also enjoyed the discussion about
the various sources of a candy bar. It is truly
amazing how something like a candy bar, something we
think of as a piece of Americana, is truly an
international product.
The Banana Wars activity is a great one. The growing
role of international trade and open markets will
greatly accelerate the role of international politics.
Students hear of the WTO in the news occasionally, but
the Banana Wars activity does a wonderful job of
involving students giving them an understanding of how
the markets work.
One area that I would like to fit into my existing
curriculum is David Ricardo’s comparative and absolute
advantage.
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