PS 2120 International Politics

1. PS 2120 International Politics Economics in a World Context

2. II. In Economics, Structure matters • Microeconomic theory • Individual consumers and producers have little choice.

3. III. Globalization makes structure more powerful. • Globalization increases the Structure’s scale. • Countries and regions lose the ability to make choices for themselves.

4. Friday’s Main Points Economics is the study of how scarce resources are distributed. To Economists, structure matters. The textbook’s critique of the modern world economy is that structure matters too much

5. Today’s Main Points Trade occurs because countries have Comparative Advantage. This trade allows gains from specialization.

6. I. Comparative Advantage A. Comparative advantage means being relatively better at producing something.

7. I. Comparative Advantage • Comparative advantage means being relatively better at producing something. • Specialization makes the whole pie get bigger.

8. Today’s Main Points Trade occurs because countries have Comparative Advantage. This trade allows gains from specialization.

9. You should be reading… “Trade and Globalization” Handout