This document contains discussion prompts and questions for two online discussions and instructions for the final exam in an International Economics course. The first discussion asks about the staffing function and how managers can adapt to changes in the external environment. The second discussion is about performance appraisals and whether they should be eliminated. The final exam will consist of 5 out of 10 multiple choice and essay questions. Questions cover topics like comparative advantage, tariffs, exchange rates, balance of payments, and international capital flows. Students are instructed to provide comprehensive answers demonstrating an in-depth understanding of course concepts.

1. Week 4 - Discussion 1
77 unread replies.77 replies.
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and
you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates.
Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and
the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum
Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on
how your discussion will be evaluated.
The Staffing Function
Why is staffing important? Who is responsible for it? Is it a
function of personnel/human resource departments? What are
some of the ways managers can adapt to changes in the external
environment (shrinking work force, impacts of technology, etc.)
to recruit and maintain quality personnel?
Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your classmates’
posts. When addressing the question, please make sure that the
response is detailed and relevant to the topic. When responding
to classmates, analyze their discussions by agreeing,
disagreeing, or adding other ideas to strengthen or enhance the
perspective presented in their initial posts.
This is a graded discussion: 3 points possible
due Apr 27
Week 4 - Discussion 2
55 unread replies.55 replies.
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and
you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates.
Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and
the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum
Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on
how your discussion will be evaluated.
Performance Appraisal
The effectiveness of the performance appraisal is often a topic

2. of debate. Read the Forbes article, “Eliminating Performance
Appraisals (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.”.
Based on the content of the article, identify three key points
related to the author’s position on the elimination of
performance appraisals. From the view of the manager and
using the concepts found in our text, prepare a rebuttal to the
article discussing each of the key points you identified and
define the reasons why the performance appraisal should not be
eliminated. Develop a potential solution to the performance
appraisal debate, keeping in mind the intent of the appraisal and
the desired outcome for both the organization and the
employees. Support your solutions with a minimum of one
outside resource.
Guided Response: Review the responses created by your
classmates’. Evaluate the rebuttal points and respond to their
rationale for not eliminating the performance appraisal within
the workplace. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ post
4. Posting requirements---at least one course material reference
per discussion post and two outside scholarly reference per post
(doesn’t include replies to other students but is looked at
favorably). Need substantial posts and replies for a chance at
full credit.
5. Grades for discussion posts will be reduced for the following
reasons: not supporting your discussion post answer with course
material principles, concepts and theories along with 2 scholarly
references; not addressing each component of the assignment;
not replying to the proper quantity of peers with substantial and
analytical replies that deconstruct that peer post answer to the
discussion question; and lastly not posting or replying in
enough depth (substantial postings).

3. 1
ECON 340 – INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
Spring 2018
Final Examination Questions
I will choose 5 of the following 10 questions for your final
exam. The final is 10:30am – 12:30pm on
Monday, April 30, 2018. We will meet in Lewis 206, our
regular classroom. Each of the five questions
will be worth 10 points. Your answers should be
comprehensive and demonstrate a richness of
knowledge and a depth of understanding, in order to earn 10
points.
1. Define the following terms:
a. Opportunity Cost
b. Comparative Advantage
c. Autarky
d. Tariff
e. Producer Surplus

4. f. Consumer Surplus
g. Free trade area
h. Exchange rate risk
i. Currency depreciation
j. The forward market for currencies
2. When a country engages in international trade, what is
expected to happen to the price of
imported goods compared to autarky? What is expected to
happen to the price of exported
goods compared to autarky? Use the supply and demand model
to explain your answers.
2
3. Use the table below for Question 4:
Output per Hour Worked

5. Brazil China
Lumber 30 10
T-Shirts 60 40
a. Which country has absolute advantage in the production of
lumber? Which country has
absolute advantage in the production of t-shirts? How do you
know?
b. Under autarky, what are the relative prices of lumber and t-
shirts in each country?
c. Which country has comparative advantage in lumber? Which
country has comparative
advantage in t-shirts? How do you know?
d. If Brazil and China trade, which good would you expect each
country to produce?
e. What are the upper and lower bounds for the terms of trade
between Brazil and China for
lumber?
4. Give two reasons why a country might impose a tariff on
imported goods. Discuss the tradeoffs

6. that nations make when imposing tariffs – who is benefits and
who loses? What are some
reasons for the widespread use of tariffs despite their overall
implications for national welfare?
3
5. Use the table below for Question 7:
Supply and Demand for Tangerines, France
Price ($/bushel) Quantity Supplied Quantity Demanded
0 0 45
1 4 40
2 8 35
3 12 30
4 16 25
5 20 20
6 24 15
7 28 10
8 32 5
9 36 0
a. Draw the supply and demand schedules for tangerines in
France.

7. b. Give the autarky price and quantity of tangerines in France.
c. Assume that Germany can supply tangerines to France for
$3/bushel, and Italy can
supply tangerines to France for $2/bushel. Under free trade,
from whom will
France purchase tangerines? What will be the quantity of
tangerines produced in
France, the total quantity purchased, and the volume of imports?
d. Calculate the increase in consumer surplus under free trade,
compared to autarky.
e. Now suppose that levies a $2 per bushel tariff on tangerines.
Now who does France
buy tangerines from? What is the quantity produced, consumed,
and imported?
f. How much revenue will be collected from the tariff?
g. Calculate the deadweight loss that results from the tariff.
6. True or false? The US could reduce its current account
deficit by importing more products from
Europe and South America.

8. 4
7. Complete the following table: (2 points per line)
International Transaction
Current (C)
or
Financial (F)
Debit (-)
or
Credit (+)
a. A US investment firm buys a controlling interest
in an German business
b. A grandmother in Florida sends a cash gift to
her grandchildren in Turkey
c. A Japanese firm builds a factory in the US

9. d. US government sends foreign aid to Bangladesh
e. A Japanese firm receives income from a factory
that it previously built in the US state of
Alabama
f. A US investor buys a 3-year European treasury
note
g. US Imports food products from Mexico
h. China’s central bank buys US treasury bonds
i. British tourists spend dollars in New York while
on vacation.

10. j. A European investor is paid a dividend on
Google stock that she purchased a few years
ago
5
8. Suppose the interest rate in the US is 4%, while the interest
rate in France is 3%.
a. If the dollar/euro exchange rate is $1.19/euro, and the
forward rate is also $1.19/euro,
then where does the wise investor choose to invest? Why?
b. If the spot and forward exchange rates are equal, as in Part a,
what will happen to the
forward rate as investors respond to the difference in interest
rates between the US and
France? Use a supply and demand model to answer the
question.

11. c. What if the forward rate is $1.21/euro? Where should a wise
investor invest then?
9. Suppose that the current exchange rate between dollars and
British pounds is $1.49 / pound.
a. What is the exchange rate expressed in pounds / $?
b. Draw a market diagram illustrating how the exchange rate
will change if US consumers
decide to boycott British products.
c. Under the boycott in Part b, do you expect the dollar to
appreciate or depreciate against
the pound?
10. Suppose that initially, the dollar/yen exchange rate is
$0.05391 in New York, and $0.05562 in
Mexico City.
a. Explain how a currency arbitrager could exploit this
difference in exchange rates to
make a profit. Give a numerical example based on a $1 million

12. transaction.
b. Use supply and demand diagrams for the currency markets in
New York and Mexico City
to demonstrate and discuss how the exchange rates would
evolve in response to
currency arbitrage. What is a likely equilibrium exchange rate
in each market?