International Economics

International Economics sounds pretty high brow and complicated and it is too! You've got to be a bit of a clever clogs to understand it, let alone be involved in it during your daily life. But what does it mean? How would someone describe International Economics to, say, an alien who had just landed, or more to the point, someone else who doesn't have a clue what you're talking about.

OK, here goes - International Economics is the study of economic transactions between countries, and the impact of such transactions. International trade, that sort of thing.

International economics takes into account the following topics, as well as lots more:

• EXCHANGE RATES - how money flows between countries is an important indicator and topic of study in the field of international economics.
• FREE TRADE - not to mention trade disputes. International economics is very often concerned with some pretty controversial issues, the dispute over softwood lumber is just one example.
• IMMIGRATION AND MIGRATION - how people move between countries is very significant and can also be of great interest to anyone involved in the field of international economics.
• SHIPPING COSTS AND REGULATIONS - and the role that these factors play in how trade is allowed to flow around the world.
• TAX REGIMES - and other factors which can influence the decision on which country many of the big international companies actually operate from.
• WAGES AND LABOR STANDARDS - this is another big factor which can influence the countries in which companies operate in.

International economics can often literally be a matter of life or death. Incomes and wages fluctuate in all countries depending on international commerce, a trend which is evident even in rich developed countries such as the US. Some poorer countries find themselves in a much more precarious situation, one question might be "how the trading sanctions on Iraq make an impact on the lives of ordinary people in the country".

Decisions made for all the right reasons in board rooms thousands of miles away, can have a devastating effect on millions of the most vulnerable people in the world, and these are the issues which are adressed (or need to be) by studies of international economics.