Economics 161 — Fall 2005International Integration of Latin American EconomiesLatin American Economic DevelopmentOctober 10, 2005Instructor: Marc-Andreas MuendlerE-mail: [email protected]: Economics 312Office hours: TueWed 10:00a - 11:00aPhone: (858) 534-4799Classroom: Center Hall, room 115Section ID: 545105Class Time: TueThu 08:00a - 09:20aClass Web Page: econ.ucsd.edu/muendler/teach/05f/161Teaching Assistant: Jennifer PooleE-mail: [email protected]: Econ 120Office hours: Fri 9:00a - 11:00aReader: Bryan TomlinE-mail: [email protected]: Econ 125Office hours: Thu 10.30a - 11.30a1 Course ObjectivesThis course examines economic development in Latin American and Caribbean countries underthe perspective of their integration into the global economy. The course covers trade in agricul-tural and manufactured goods and regional trade agreements, international capital flows toLatin America, financial vulnerabilities, and policy responses. The course also discusses under-lying economic concepts to inform the analysis of trade regimes, international investments, andforeign debt management.Students work together in randomly formed groups that foster the interaction betweeneconomists and non-economists. In these work groups, students write a 3-to-4-page paper ona development issue in Latin America and select one group representative for a brief in-classstatement and subsequent open discussion.2 PrerequisitesEcon 3, or Econ 1A and 1B.13 ReadingsLecture notes become available online at econ.ucsd.edu/muendler/teach/05f/161 before each class.Textbook: Franko (2003)/ch. 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10Readings: Easterly (2001)/ch. 6,Fern´andez-Armesto (2003)/ch. 7,Pugel (2004)/ch. 3 and 20The readings are intended to help you review the lecture material. Chapters 4, 7, 8, and 10of the textbook and the readings are available electronically from UCSD electronic reserves athttp://reserves.ucsd.edu/. Electronic readings can also be accessed through the class web page. Nocopyright charges apply for electronic access from campus. Materials are not available in printbecause of substantial copyright charges for paper copies.4 Group Paper and PresentationsTo instill interaction between you and your classmates from diverse academic backgrounds,part of your course work is dedicated to a 3-to-4-page group paper in favor or against a selecttopic on Latin America’s international economic integration. You will work in a group of fouror five students on one of the following eight topics, and will have to argue either in favor oragainst the topic:1. Thu, October 25: International trade in Latin AmericaReader: Bryan Tomlin(a) The MERCOSUR trade agreement: Deepen or Abandon(b) Fair trade: Promote or Neglect(c) NAFTA for Mexico: Success or Failure(d) CAFTA for Central America: Paramount or Negligible2. Tue, November 22: International capital markets in Latin AmericaReader: Jennifer Poole(a) IMF and World Bank loans: Expand or Cut(b) Private foreign investment: Promote or Reduce(c) The privatization of public companies: Pursue or Stop(d) Taxes on short-term capital: Blessing or CurseYour goal is to present a compelling case to your classmates.There will be 16 groups, and each group will select a representative. The first 8 group repre-sentatives will present their cases in favor or against the assigned topic during class on Tuesday,October 25 (International Trade in Latin America), and the next 8 group representatives will maketheir cases on Tuesday, November 22 (International Capital Markets in Latin America).Group assignments are determined by random draw. You will be informed in class on Octo-ber 11 whether you will work with a group to present on October 25, or to present on November222. If it is your group’s draw to present on October 25, you will also be informed of your topicand whether your group argues in favor or against the issue. Students with presentations onNovember 22 will be informed on November 8 of their group members, their topic and whetherthey will argue in favor or against the issue.The group paper should be three to four pages in length, and cover the topic using a youngsocial scientist’s tools: Sound and educated arguments based on the adequate literature, sub-stantiated with suitable figures and quantitative tables. Brevity forces you to make concise andclear arguments. Please see a short summary of recommendations for economical writing onthe class web page. You can discuss drafts of your 3-to-4-page papers with Jennifer Poole andBryan Tomlin, or Marc Muendler, after class and during office hours.You are expected to contribute to the group work on your project in a fair manner. A failureto contribute fairly will result in a score substantially below the group score.The final draft of your paper is due at 4:30pm on the Monday prior to your presentation(papers for presentation on 10/25 are due on 10/24; papers for presentation on 11/22 are dueon 11/21). If your group representative wishes to use electronic resources for his or her pre-sentation, please submit (or e-mail) to Jennifer Poole according files before 5:00pm on the dayprior to your presentation (10/24 or 11/21). The group representative’s class-room statementshould be concise and compelling, it should not exceed four minutes in length and be based onthe group paper. There will be one presenter in favor and one against each topic. The grouprepresentatives’ statements are followed by a twelve-minute discussion in class.5 AssessmentYour final raw score will be based on your points fromGroup paper 50 points due 10/25 or 11/22Midterm exam 80 points 11/3Final exam 120 points 12/6Total 250 pointsThe midterm and the final exam are cumulative. The midterm will be held in class, lasting 80minutes, and will have eight (8) questions. Each question is ten minutes in length. The finalexam will be held during finals week and contain twelve (12) questions, ten minutes in lengtheach. You will receive review sheets on Sep 27, Oct 27 and Nov 17 (one at the beginning of eachpart of the course). These review sheets contain questions similar to questions on the exams.The review sheets help you prepare for the exams. We will offer review sessions on Tuesday, Nov1 before the midterm exam and on Wednesday, Nov 30 before the final exam.Your final letter grade will be inferred from the typical grade distribution (curve) in eco-nomics classes at UCSD since 2000. You can find this grade distribution at the class web