Course

International Economics and Finance

Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Department
Economics
Course code
ECON 3400
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks X 4 Hours per Week= 60 Hours
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Course designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This Economics course is a post principles course examining international finance theory and policy. This course will examine a variety of finance issues including the international financial system, balance of payments, the foreign exchange rate market, exchange rate determination, fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes, and the impact of international financial crisis.
Course content

1. National Income Accounting and the Balance of Payments

  • National Income and Product
  • National Income Accounting for an Open Economy
  • Balance of Payments Accounts
  • Creditor and Debtor Nations 

2. Exchange Rates and Foreign Exchange Market

  • Exchange Rate Characteristics
  • Interest and Purchasing Power Parity
  • Interest Rates, Expectations, and Equilibrium
  • Money, Interest Rates and Exchange Rates
  • Flexible and Fixed Exchange Rates
  • Changes in Fiscal and Monetary Policy 

3. International Monetary Systems

  • Evolution from Gold Standard, Breton Woods, to the Current System
  • Financial Globalization 

4. Performance of the Global Capital Market

  • Currency Areas and the Euro
  • Global Capital Flows
  • International Financial Crisis
Learning activities

Lecture and Seminar

Means of assessment

Term tests 25% - 50%

Assignments 10% - 30%

Essay or Research Paper 0% - 30%

Participation 0% - 10%

Final Examination 30% - 40 %

Total 100%

(No individual test or assignment can exceed 40%.)

 

Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the successful student should be able to:

1. Critique, and demonstrate an understanding of, the theories of international finance to explain balance of payments and exchange rate determination.

2. Examine and evaluate the role of monetary and fiscal policy on balance of payments and exchange rates.

3. Evaluate the implications of the international monetary system on national incomes and trade flow.

4. Analyze and critique current issues affecting the performance of the global capital markets.

Textbook materials

The textbook is to be chosen from the following:

Gerber, J. International Economics, Latest editon, Addison Wesley Pearson

Husted, S., et al. International Economics, Latest edition, Addison Wesley Pearson

Krugman, P., et al, International Finance; Theory and Policy, Latest edition, Addison Wesley Pearson

or textbook as approved by the Economics department.

Requisites

Prerequisites

ECON 1150 and ECON 1250

OR currently active in one of the following:

PBD Finance
PDD Financial Analysis
PDD Financial Planning

 

Corequisites

Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:

  • No corequisite courses

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for ECON 3400
College of New Caledonia (CNC) CNC ECON 2XX (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR ECON 2XX (3)
Coquitlam College (COQU) No credit
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU ECON 3455 (3)
University Canada West (UCW) UCW ECON 3XX (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC ECON 308 (3)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) VCC ECON 2XXX (3)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) No credit

Course Offerings

Winter 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
17
Remaining seats:
18
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N4312
Times:
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
15:20