I am.

I'm probbaly going to take a class or two on econometrics soon, too.

Which issues are you interested in specifically?


For me, inspite of myself, I always end up reading about China.

International trade and the theory of comparative advantage.

I just read up on it. Seems straightforward enough. Do you support the theory because it provides a justification for trade even in cases where a country is more effective in production than its trading partner?


I'm trying to think of a possible real-life scenario that can act as an example of the theory in practice, to a certain extent. Tell me how this hypothetical example is:


Due to technological innovations, computer production in Japan is much cheaper than in China, as is the production of TVs. Computers are twice as cheap to make in Japan as in China, while television sets are one and a half times cheaper. Realizing that this is the case, Japan decides to engage in trade with China by selling them the computers. Now Japan, in exchange, will buy the TVs from China, even though it is much easier to produce them in Japan. That is because, for as long as computers are cheaper to produce in Japan, and are cheaper to produce relative to China than TVs are, it is more profitable to do so.

So Japan will continue to engage in such trade for as long as its computer production is cheaper than in China and cheaper in relation to China's than the production of TVs.

Is that what the theory is about?

As of now, I plan on reading Ulrich Beck's "Risk Society" soon.

its horrible.

maybe

I have a minor in economics, and I'm interested in many aspects of it. Being a math guy, I'm attracted to theories, models, and numbers. On the macro side, I like to study about how monetary policy affects everything: trade deficit, exchange rate, etc. On the micro side, I'm mostly interested in game theory and financial market. This year I also studied some corporate finance on my own.