Introduction

Question 1

What is the defintion of economics ?

Answer 1

economics is the study of the choices people make in a context where resources are scare and wants are unlimited and how they respond to incentives in this context of scarcity.

Question 2

What is the main objective of free trade ?

Answer 2

remove trade barriers

Question 3

Why are we trying to remove trade barriers ?

Answer 3

governments can no longer provide unfair advantage to their local business

Question 4

What are the disavantages of free trade aggrements ?

Answer 4

governements can no longer provide unfair advantages to their local businesses

Question 5

What is the founding idea behind free trade ?

Answer 5

the theory of comparative advantage (When each nation specializes in the production of that good in which it has a relative advantage, total production of each good increases; thus all countries can realize welfare gains.)

Question 6

What are the main aspects of international economics ? (4)

Answer 6

• Democracy
• Race to the bottom
• Equity
• Culture

Question 7

What are the data that describe the world ?

Answer 7

Income and production
International trade
Population and population growth
Inequalities of income
Poverty
Globalization!

Question 8

What are the 4 factors that explains the recent globalization of trade ?

Answer 8

• information and communication technolgies make exchanges easier
• freight rices are going down
• The USD is commonly used as the global currency, and floating currencies create the need for international financial transactions.
• Liberalism emerges from the 20th century as the dominant economic system. Based on free markets and specialization of labor, it fosters international trade.

Question 9

What are the main issues/ challenges in the world ?

Answer 9

1) international trade
2) population
3) inequalities
4) Rapid development
5) The growth of international investment and finance
6) The growth of international migration

Question 10

What is the Gini coefficient ?

Answer 10

It applied to income distribution
and is the usual indicator of inequality. The more it is close to 1, the more there is inequality

Question 11

What is the deal with rapid development ?

Answer 11

Rapid development leads to increase GDP and so international trade

Question 12

What is international investment ?

Answer 12

the acquisition of assets located in one country by citizens, firms, or governments of another country.

Question 13

What is international finance ?

Answer 13

international borrowing and lending

Question 14

What’s the def of Financialisation ?

Answer 14

the recent tendency of the financial sector, from the 1980s, to grow faster than the real economy.

Question 15

What are the two types of international migration ?

Answer 15

Humanitarian migration = migration forced by violence or by natural catastrophes.
Economic migration = migration chosen in order to improve one’s economic situation.

Question 16

What are the conséquences of immigration ?

Answer 16

Economic immigration can be a solution to the demographic deficit most Western countries are facing (ageing population).
High rates of immigration can however cause racial and ethnic tensions.