International Finance.

Catalog description

Without finance, income must always equal expenditures. Finance relaxes this constraint by allowing value to be utilized before (borrowing) or after (saving) it is created by an individual or group (even a country). Finance is directly related to prices, interest rates, income, wealth and exchange rates. Often these are studies within the context of a particular country. However, these variables are linked across countries and the objective of this course is to more fully understand these economic linkages. In this course we will explore prevailing theories of where exchange rates come from and how they change over time. We will then seek to understand balance of payments, that is how saving and borrowing between countries yield benefits and costs to the countries that engage in it. Finally, we will explore crises related to international finance and policies designed to prevent those crises. The material will not be covered in a way that is mathematically complex, but it will be presented in a formal and rigorous manner which will require a good familiarity with basic economic concepts. Prerequisites: ECON 211 and ECON 212 . Course is offered occasionally.