Course description
The course takes a variety of applied topics which link trade and institutions to trigger research ideas and create potential topics for the PhD thesis. The course introduces seminal work and recent advancements in trade and the international organization of firms (offshoring, outsourcing, multinational production). On the institutions side the focus of the course is on contract enforcement and the protection of intellectual property rights. The interrelationship between trade and institutions and their impact on innovation and development is discussed by introducing further related literature.
Topics
Prerequisites
Participation in the course requires a basic background in microeconomics.
Teaching methods
Presentation and discussion of selected core papers for each topic followed by overview of related follow-up literature. All students are expected to carefully read all required papers. By the end of the course, students should be able to confront a variety of applied topics to derive arguments for their PhD research.
Assessment methods
In-class participation (20%), Final take-home assignment and its presentation (80%).
Primary readings:
Secondary readings: