CORRUPTION, GLOBALIZATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Introduction
This unit of lessons has been developed to teach the topic of international economics in an interactive and
stimulating way in order to promote intercultural understanding and peace. Many of the materials are
applicable to teach international trade as well as some development economics. In my case I have used the
material to bridge the gap between the two topics.
The lesson material has been created according to the following core beliefs of the unit are:
- Knowledge should lead to understanding
- The personal development of the student is central
- Independent learning should be encouraged and supported
- Different kinds of minds and intelligences should be respected and fostered.
- Students should be given opportunities to think about why and how they learn, about how they know what
they know.
- Transparency: the goals of the programme should be clear, the modes of assessment and the assessment
criteria should reflect the common strategies and be known to the student.
- Student feedback and views are essential. Students are collaborators.
The following strategies are to be found in the material:
- Experiential learning: practical work in tandem with the theory
- Opportunities for both learning inside and outside the classroom
- Subject material with ‘real life applications’ and connections to the world outside the classroom.
- Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.
- A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.
- Students are challenged to work on their own, well-founded ideas and express them in their work
- Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.
In my case the material covers about 10 weeks of teaching and can be extended.
UNIT 1: John Godfrey Saxe – Six Blind Men and the Elephant
Task:

Distribute copies of Saxe’s poem to the class and have them read aloud

Discussion
Outcomes:

Importance of recognizing different perspectives on issues of international economics and
development

Normative vs positive

Political compass exercise (http://www.politicalcompass.org/test)

The ‘Elephant in the Room’ for international economics is CORRUPTION
Strategies:

Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.

Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.

A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.
UNIT 2: Corruption
Task – Step 1

Divide class into small groups – ask them to define ‘corruption’ and to offer examples to support their
definitions

Provide ‘official’ definitions. Transparency International (http://www.transparency.org/)
Task – Step 2

Divide class into country groups based on Transparency International lists (4 groups of 3 countries each
– each student assigned a country and a respondent country from another group)

Each student carries out individual research on their countries

Groups develop a list of key characteristics e.g. role of family, political system, gdp/capita, income
distribution, nature of civil service, geographic location and present findings to the class

Tentative answers to the question of why
Outcomes:

Recognize the challenge of defining the term

Cultural bias of definitions – if it is ‘legal’ is it corrupt?

Importance of corruption in limiting economic activity
Strategies:

Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.

Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.

A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.

Subject material with ‘real life applications’ and connections to the world outside the classroom.

Students are challenged to work on their own, well-founded ideas and express them in their work
UNIT 3: Traditional Trade Theory
Task:

Teacher presentation of traditional trade theory – opportunity cost, comparative
advantage, absolute advantage, David Ricardo

Assumptions of the model, terms of trade, etc.

Gains from trade based on comparative advantage
Outcomes:

Student understanding of the ‘abstract’ nature of traditional trade theory, its usefulness and its
limitations
Case Study: The International Trade Game
(For full details see Additional Materials)
This game is a version of the World Trade Game developed by the Third World development charity Action Aid,
amended to be suitable for students beginning a course in economics, economic development or international trade.
(Many versions of this game are available. Oxfam (www.oxfam.org) provides very useful material.)
The following text is composed of details and excerpts from the text of John Sloman (University of the West of England,
john.sloman@uwe.ac.uk, published September 2002).
To play the game you need:
• At least 10 students
• very basic equipment, such as scissors, pencils, rulers and paper
• A game leader (the teacher), a “commodity trader” (a student), an observer (a student)
Students are divided into teams, each of which acts as a separate ‘country’. Five or six countries compete against each
other in manufacturing and selling goods to a international commodity trader at posted prices which vary with supply
and demand. The game takes between 45 and 90 minutes. After the game, results are collated and students are
debriefed.
Debriefing is in three stages:
1. Draw students’ attention to similarities and differences between the results from different groups. Did the groups
that started with the same resources perform in a similar way? How much of the difference between the groups was
due to strategies pursued and how much to the initial endowment? It is also appropriate at this stage to pose questions
that prompt students to describe how they felt about the game as it developed.
2. The second stage consists of asking the students to indicate ways in which they believe the game simulates the real
world and ways in which they believe it is unrealistic. One of the strengths of this game is that the inherent inequality in
resource endowment that gives the game its distinctive character is hard to contest as a reflection of the real world
economy. Students are more likely to question the way in which the game simulates the opportunities that these
endowments create for different countries and how those opportunities are exploited.
3. In the third stage of the debriefing, the tutor aims to help students to compare the way they have analysed their
experience in the game with the insights derived from economic ideas and the evidence that economists have
assembled.
Learning outcomes
The International Trade Game has a wide range of potential learning outcomes, and with suitable focus, especially
during the process of debriefing, a number of economic topics might be identified and developed more fully. These
topics range from elementary trade theory to issues of imperfect information and even debates surrounding
international inequality and first and third world relations.
As well as subject-related learning outcomes, the International Trade Game helps develop a number of key skills. Group
working and interacting with others are among the most significant. The process of negotiating is also a very strong
element within this game.
Strategies:

Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.

Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.

A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.

Subject material with ‘real life applications’ and connections to the world outside the classroom.

Experiential learning: practical work in tandem with the theory
UNIT 4: Protectionism and ‘Modern’ Patterns of Trade
Task:

Teacher introduction of more sophisticated trade models

Assumptions of the model, terms of trade, etc.

Tariffs, quotas and VER’s

Free Trade Areas, Customs Unions, Common Markets

Trade and Developing Countries – Should a Developing Country Open Itself Up to Trade? – Editorial
assignment based on a hypothetical Latin American country (see attached)

DVD – Commanding Heights – The New Rules of the Game. PBS documentary outlining a pro-trade
liberalization agenda
Outcomes:

Students grow to understand that in the ‘real’ world there are competing interests (winners and
losers) with often competing priorities.

Decisions about trade often extend beyond Economics to questions of politics, culture, etc.
Strategies:

Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.

Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.

A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.

Subject material with ‘real life applications’ and connections to the world outside the classroom.
UNIT 5: Exchange Rate Determination, Balance of Payments Accounts and the
Role of Elasticity (Marshall-Lerner Condition)
Task:

Adapt the supply and demand model to currency determination with special emphasis on the
determinants of supply and demand of currencies on the international exchange market

Introduce the interdependent nature of trade and net foreign investment through the balance of
payments accounts – use of personal analogy for students to understand the relationship between
money coming in and money going out (see support materials)

Define terms of trade – the quantity of imports that can be bought with a fixed quantity of exports –
and introduce the role of price elasticity of supply and demand, as well as income elasticity, in
determining patterns of trade (Marshall-Lerner condition and the J Curve models may be introduced
for a more sophisticated understanding of the underlying economic theory)
Outcomes:

Students understand the particular nature of ‘derived’ demand and supply and the impact on exchange
rates

The challenges faced by less developed countries with respect to trade and attracting foreign
investment are explicitly recognized

Students begin to understand potentially catastrophic implications of worsening terms of trade
Strategies:

Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.

Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.

A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.
Subject material with ‘real life applications’ and connections to the world outside the classroom.
UNIT 6: Globalization and Non-governmental Organizations
Task:





Divide class into small groups – ask them to define ‘globalization’ and to offer examples to support
their definitions
Each student to choose two NGO’s in his/her home country whose mission is to deal with issues of
trade (and thus globalization) – one for and one against
Carry out research on the NGO
Divide them randomly into two groups – ‘for’ and ‘against’ globalization
Debate by category – social, cultural, political, economic
Outcomes:
 Understanding of the complexity of the issues
 Understanding of the role that NGO’s play in shaping the debate and influencing government policy
 Recognition of the conflicting nature of debate depending on category
Strategies:

Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.

Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.

A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.

Subject material with ‘real life applications’ and connections to the world outside the classroom.
UNIT 7: ‘Globalization and Its Discontents’
Task:

Explore the relationship between trade, globalization and corruption through investigation of the
realities of the global trading system
The International Monetary Fund
The WorldBank
The World Trade Organization

In groups find information about one of the three organizations. Find out information about the origins of the
organizations and it purpose. Then try and find a case study of how the organisation works and make an analysis
of the effectiveness of the organization. What are the critics?

In class present results and make a handout with main findings for the other students to use as study material.

Class discussion.

Watch:
http://events.streamlogics.com/wto/2004/WTOMain/auditorium/index.asp?speed=300&browser=IE&playerStri
ng=WM&bypass=true&actualSpeed=651&testing=dennis A film about the WTO
And the DVD ‘Life and Debt, A Critical Look at the IMF’s and the WTO’s policies in Jamaica’. There is a
worksheet with this DVD but I did not have time to use it. It is to be found under the additional
materials. – Axiom Films – 2001 – www.lifeanddebt.org
Strategies:

Diversity of teaching methods, resources and aids.

Collaborative work amongst students and between students and teacher.

A participatory approach to class, with students taking responsibility for contributing.

Subject material with ‘real life applications’ and connections to the world outside the classroom.
Conclusion:
In general this teaching unit was very useful and it created a very good working atmosphere in class. The only
strategy which was very difficult to imply was opportunities for learning outside the classroom. Here the
school’s budget can be a limiting factor or the time you have to teach this material.
RESOURCES:
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2005/08/economics_of_co.html
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues6/index.htm
The Blood Bankers: Tales from the Global Underground Economy
www.icgg.org/
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/EXTWBIGOVANTCOR/0,,menuPK:1740542~pagePK:64168427~piPK:
64168435~theSitePK:1740530,00.html
http://youthink.worldbank.org/issues/corruption/
www.heritage.org/Research/TradeandForeignAid/HL813.cfm
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/nft/2002/govern/index.htm#chp1
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/globalization/?gclid=CNvww6Dk74wCFR0PZgodjRvuAQ
http://www.globalization101.org/
http://www1.worldbank.org/economicpolicy/globalization/
http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2000/041200.htm
http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/index.htm
http://www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/
http://www.globalisationguide.org/
http://youthink.worldbank.org/issues/globalization/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=home
www.imf.org
www.wto.org
www.worldbank.org