International Finance & Trade

The following description and course documents are for the “International Finance & Trade” course that I taught at East China Normal University.

Class Description

This course will familiarize students with the global financial system and its markets, along with the history, structure, issues (protectionism, free-trade, foreign exchange markets, exchange rate regimes) and recent developments related to international trade. The course begins with an overview of China’s monetary history, specifically the role that international currency preferences played in the Opium Wars. on international trade in the post-WWII era, leading up to the present. Special emphases will be given to the impacts of international trade on select countries, as well as the regions in which they are located. Focus will be given to international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as multinational corporations (MNC) that influence trade and finance. During the second half of the course, students will gain an understanding of both the onshore and offshore markets of China, including why certain products or jurisdictions are preferred, and be given insight into current developments and their implications for international finance and, in particular, Chinese financial markets.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  • Analyze and explain recent and important cases in international finance and trade.
  • Calculate a nation’s balance of payments.
  • Identify key theories of international finance and trade.
  • Distinguish between various foreign exchange rate regimes used today and historically.
  • Understand the role of monetary and fiscal policies in international finance and trade.
  • Understand the importance of onshore and offshore bond markets for the renminbi.
  • Identify arbitrage opportunities using international foreign exchange parity relationships.
  • Select an appropriate financial product to minimize corporate foreign exchange risk.

Course material in the past has come from these books:

Course Documents

Powerpoint Presentations

  • IFT 4
  • IFT 5

Homework Assignments