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What you will learn
This free video course covers some of the most complex but also important topics in economics. How are exchange rates determined? When if ever are ongoing trade deficits harmful? Are fixed or floating exchange rates better? What are the roots of the euro crisis and what resolution can we expect? Does China manipulate its exchange rate and if so how does that matter? We cover all of these topics and more, with an eye toward what a person really might want to know. There is no use of mathematics in this course beyond the very basic.
The interesting thing about international finance is that even a lot of professional economists don’t understand it very well, unless they have specialized in the area. If you complete this course, you’ll probably know a lot which they don’t! We encourage you to dive in at your own pace and watch videos more than once if it's helpful.
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1. Introduction to International Trade and Finance
Balance of Payments
Purchasing Power Parity
David Hume on the Balance of Trade
Isaac Gervaise
2. Exchange Rates
Real Exchange Rates
Real and Nominal Exchange Rates
Are Devaluations Contractionary?
Forward Exchange Rates
Covered Interest Parity
Uncovered Interest Parity and the Carry Trade
Speculative Attacks
The “Peso Problem”
Long Swings in Exchange Rates
Swiss Franc Peg
Bela Balassa
3. Currency Issues
The Classical Gold Standard
Gold Exchange Standard
Bretton Woods
Reserve Currencies
Safe Haven Currencies
Capital Controls
Currency Manipulation
Chinese Currency Manipulation
Borrowing in Your Own Currency
4. The Euro Crisis
The Three Sides of the Crisis
The Case for Optimism
The Case for Pessimism
European Central Bank
The Bailout Funds
Why are high bond yields a problem?
The Italian Crisis of 2013
The costs of leaving the Eurozone
Remarks on individual countries
Currency union collapse in history
Indicators for Eurozone progress
Life on the precipice
Will austerity work?
Effects on other multilateral agreements
Optimum currency areas
Optimum currency areas and the Euro
Why is the Euro so bland?
Tyler Cowen lecture at the Bruno Leoni Institute (Optional)
Understanding the Eurocrisis (Optional)
Iceland: Causes of the Crisis
Iceland: Collapse
5. International Trade Overview
Trade Imbalances
Dark Matter
The “Dutch Disease”
Home Bias
Introduction to Mercantilism
Adam Smith on Mercantile Systems
Adam Smith on Mercantile Conclusions
6. Crises and Responses to Them
Asian Financial Crisis of 1997
Mexico and the 2008 Financial Crisis
Sudden Stops
