EC421 One Unit
International Economics
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Dmitry Mukhin
Dr Thomas Sampson
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, MSc in Economics, MSc in Economics (2 Year Programme) and MSc in Economics and Management. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: These courses are intended for MSc Economics, MSc Economics (2 Year Programme), and MSc EME Students. Any external student must have successfully completed EC400 or EC451 in September and/or have approval of the Department of Economics.
Deadline for application: Please apply as soon as possible after the opening of course selection for all courses.
For queries contact: Econ.msc@lse.ac.uk
Requisites
Pre-requisites:
Students must have completed EC400 before taking this course.
Additional requisites:
In exceptional circumstances, students may take this course without EC400 provided they meet the necessary requirements and have received approval from the course conveners (via a face-to-face meeting), the MSc Economics Programme Director and their own Programme Director. Contact the Department of Economics for more information (econ.msc@lse.ac.uk) regarding entry to this course.
Course content
A graduate course in international economics consisting of i) the fundamentals of international trade and its application to policy and ii) international macroeconomics.
Trade: Comparative advantage and the gains from trade. Technology, factor endowments and patterns of international trade. Empirical tests of trade models. Trade and the labour market. Adjustment to trade liberalisation. Intra-industry trade. Gravity equation. Firm heterogeneity and selection into trade. Foreign direct investment. General equilibrium trade policy.
International macroeconomics: Intertemporal trade and the current account balance. Dynamics of small open economies. The real exchange rate and the terms of trade. Uncertainty and international financial markets. Monetary model of exchange rate determination: flexible and sticky prices. Introduction to currency crises models.
Teaching
1 hours of seminars in the Spring Term.
10 hours of seminars and 20 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.
Formative assessment
Two marked assignments per term.
Indicative reading
A full reading list will be distributed at the beginning of the course. Some important items are:
R Feenstra, Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence, Princeton, 2004;
M Obstfeld & K Rogoff, Foundations of International Macroeconomics, MIT Press, 1996.
Assessment
Assessment Pathway 1
Exam (50%), duration: 120 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period
Essay (50%, 6000 words)
Assessment Pathway 2
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period
MSc Economics & Management students must follow assessment path 2
All other students must follow assessment path 1
This course is IRDAP-enabled, meaning that resit and deferred assessments will take place in August 2026.
Key facts
Department: Economics
Course Study Period: Autumn, Winter and Spring Term
Unit value: One unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 9
Average class size 2024/25: 9
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.