SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS COURSE

MODULE 10:
EVALUATION OF TRADE IMBALANCES

Textbook Reading:

The Whole Truth about Trade Imbalances
Read All Sections

US Trade Deficits and Unemployment
An excel file showing the relationships between US trade deficits and the unemployment rate.

(A 2016 version of the textbook reading is available at FlatWorld Knowledge.)

Presentation Slides:

Evaluation of Trade Imbalances Slides (coming soon)

Recent Events/Analysis:

The Trade-Balance Creed: Debunking the Belief that Imports and Trade Deficits Are a Drag on Growth

OVERVIEW

This session dispels the popular notion that trade deficits are "bad" and trade surpluses are "good". The material highlights the intertemporal borrowing and lending associated with trade imbalances and notes situations in which each of these could be appropriate (or inappropriate) for nations. Key factors needed to determine the seriousness of a trade imbalance are discussed and a case study for the US is presented.

VIDEO LECTURE

This lecture was recorded in Fall 2016. It is 77 minutes long.

ANSWER KEY

Click HERE for answers to the textbook questions.