Its content includes tools that are introduced in microeconomics courses, including supply and demand analysis, firm and consumer behavior, perfectly competitive, oligopolistic and monopolistic market structures, and the effects of market distortions. The typical course describes economic relationships between consumers, firms, factor owners, and the government. The objective of an international trade course is to understand the effects on individuals and businesses of international trade itself, of changes in trade policies and of changes in economic conditions. The course will develop arguments which support a free trade policy as well as arguments which support various types of protectionist policies. By the end of the course, students should better understand the centuries-old controversy between free trade and protectionism.
International finance applies macro economic models to help understand the international economy.
Its focus is on the interrelationships between aggregate economic variables such as GDP, unemployment rates, inflation rates, trade balances, exchange rates, interest rates, etc. This field expands macroeconomics to include international exchanges. Its focus is on the significance of trade imbalances, the determinants of exchange rates and the effects of government monetary and fiscal policies. Perhaps the key issues addressed are the pros and cons of fixed versus floating exchange rate systems.