A selection of revision notes on global trade and protectionism

The financial and economic crisis that has enveloped much (but not all!) of the global economy over recent years has led to renewed fears of a sustained contraction in global trade, a partial reversal of globalisation and a return to protectionism. Many blogs have appeared on these highly topical issues in recent months and this blog provides a selection of revision blogs and notes for students preparing fro their June 2010 papers.

A quick reminder of the AQA specification

A2 Macroeconomics - Globalisation and trade

* Students should have an understanding of the causes of globalisation, its main characteristics, and the different consequences for developing and for developed countries.
* There should be some understanding of the role of multinational corporations in the development of globalisation.
* Students should understand the model of comparative advantage, the distinction between comparative and absolute advantage, and be able to use a simple numerical example to illustrate this distinction.
* They should be able to evaluate the importance and limitations of these concepts as well as discuss the costs and benefits of trade generally
* There should be an understanding of the reasons for changes in the pattern of trade between the UK and the rest of the world, as well as the potential costs and benefits of trade for an economy.
* Students should also be able to discuss the nature and importance of trade between developed and developing countries for both parties.
* There should be an awareness of the extent of progress towards free trade in recent years, especially through the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
* Equally, students should understand the causes and consequences of protectionist policies such as tariffs, quotas and export subsidies.

Our selection of recent blogs can be found underneath the related entries heading

Unit 2 Macro: Evaluation on Supply-Side Policies [21 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: The Current Account of the Balance of Payments [20 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: UK Trade in Services [20 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Migration and the UK Economy [20 May 2012]
Q&A: What do we need to know about output gaps? [20 May 2012]
Revision notes on unemployment [20 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision Presentation on Government Intervention [16 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision Presentation on the Price Mechanism [16 May 2012]
Improving Evaluation Skills in Economics Exams [16 May 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: African Human Development Report 2012 [15 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Revision Notes on Supply-side Policies [10 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Revision Blogs on Markets and Intervention [10 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Model answer for revision data question [9 May 2012]
Made in China - but not quite so cheaply…... [7 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: 10 Key Revision Topics for EdExcel [7 May 2012]
F585: Recent Articles of Relevance [6 May 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Trade and Balance of Payments Glossary [5 May 2012]
Exam Technique for Economics - Weesteps to Evaluation [5 May 2012]
Macro Revision - Key Statistics on the UK Economy [4 May 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Using the Cost-Benefit Principle [30 Apr 2012]
Macro Revision: Putting Things in Context [29 Apr 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: The Euro Zone Crisis (Revision) [22 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Key Diagrams for Business Economics [17 Apr 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Managing the Global Commons - Limits to GDP [15 Apr 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Mini Documentary on Financial Instability [15 Apr 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Globalisation Revision Quiz [14 Apr 2012]
Ukraine Hotel ‘Bandits’? [12 Apr 2012]
Government Intervention in the Energy Market [11 Apr 2012]
Football Clubs to Pay for Negative Externalities [11 Apr 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Globalisation and the Growth of Ports [10 Apr 2012]
2012 Economics Revision: Ways to Improve your Paper [9 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Revision on Contestable Markets [8 Apr 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: The UK Balance of Payments in 2011 [4 Apr 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Productivity Improvements in China [3 Apr 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Revision on Scale Economies, Technology and Prices [1 Apr 2012]
Global Economy- the 2012 BRICS Summit [28 Mar 2012]
Life in the Slow Lane - UK Growth in 2011 Lags the Euro Area [28 Mar 2012]
Beyond the Bike - Monetary Policy in Africa [28 Mar 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Evaluating 3 Years of Quantitative Easing [27 Mar 2012]
Free Trade Agreements [25 Mar 2012]
Solar Panels and Tariffs [21 Mar 2012]
Evidence of the dangers of protectionism [9 Mar 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Sovereign Wealth Funds [4 Mar 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Might Oil Prices Bring another Recession? [4 Mar 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Highest and Lowest Paid Jobs in the UK [26 Feb 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: The Dash for Gas in Mozambique [17 Feb 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: King on the UK Economy [15 Feb 2012]
Economics Explained, by Evan [12 Feb 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: China’s Trade Engine is Spluttering [10 Feb 2012]
Martin Wolf on Global Shocks [10 Feb 2012]
Competitiveness [8 Feb 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Focus on India - Comparative Advantage [27 Jan 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Focus on China - Trade and Growth [27 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Can the UK Computer Games Industry Grow [24 Jan 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Focus on India - Economic Growth [24 Jan 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Exporting to the Booming Chinese Economy [23 Jan 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Russia Joins the WTO [22 Jan 2012]
Teaching vacancy - Economics & Business Studies, Reed’s School - Cobham, Surrey [19 Jan 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: The Economics of Solar Subsidies [18 Jan 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Frontier Markets - the New BRICS? [15 Jan 2012]
Beyond the Bike - The Importance of Remittances [15 Jan 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Competitive Advantage in Trade (Some Videos) [12 Jan 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: UK Trade Patterns [11 Jan 2012]
Revision Presentation: Economics Evaluation Skills [10 Jan 2012]
Exam Advice: 10 Ideas for a Better Economics Paper [10 Jan 2012]
Unit 2 Macro: Factors Driving Business Investment [10 Jan 2012]
Unit 4 Macro: Natural Disasters and their Economic Impact [7 Jan 2012]
AS and A2 Economics - 10 Ways to Improve Evaluation [4 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Prezi on the Economics of Negative Externalities [2 Jan 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Low Cost Airlines Beat the Recession [1 Jan 2012]
Resources on Keynes and Hayek [27 Dec 2011]
Unit 2 Macro: Brazil Overtakes UK in Economic Size [26 Dec 2011]
Introduction to Neuroeconomics - Fusing Psychology with Economics [16 Dec 2011]
Great Economics Blog to Follow - Danny Quah [15 Dec 2011]
Rory Sutherland at Zeitgeist [1 Dec 2011]
Behavioural Economics: Herd Behaviour [28 Nov 2011]
Jim O’Neill - The Growth Map: Economic Opportunity in the BRICs and Beyond [22 Nov 2011]
Stephen King - Great Article on Macroeconomics [22 Nov 2011]
Beyond the Bike - The Value of Money [19 Nov 2011]
LSE Lecture: Daniel Kahneman - Thinking Fast and Slow [15 Nov 2011]
Unit 2 Macro: Should the EU introduce a Tobin Tax? [14 Nov 2011]
LSE lecture: Darwin economy [13 Nov 2011]
AS Macro: The State of British Business [13 Nov 2011]
Economics Resources - Week Ended 6 November 2011 [6 Nov 2011]
Latest world trade data [6 Nov 2011]
Unit 4 Macro: China and India - Notes from Martin Wolf [6 Nov 2011]
Unit 4 Macro: Should TNCs make full disclosure on factory wages? [30 Oct 2011]
Trading Troubles [29 Oct 2011]
Tour of the US income distribution – “The L Curve” [25 Oct 2011]
Is happiness the right measure of social progress? [20 Oct 2011]
Can the “invisible hand” solve Africa’s poverty? [13 Oct 2011]
Unit 2 Macro: Can Exports Drive a Recovery? [13 Oct 2011]
Skidelsky in Madrid [12 Oct 2011]
The Return of Protectionism? [12 Oct 2011]
Why Is Macroeconomics Such A Mess? [11 Oct 2011]
Fat tax: Denmark [5 Oct 2011]
Unit 4 Macro: USA edges closer to naming China as a “Currency Manipulator” [4 Oct 2011]
Unit 4 Macro: Protectionism [3 Oct 2011]
Unit 4 Macro: When China Met Africa [1 Oct 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: Amazon launches the Kindle Fire [1 Oct 2011]

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