International economics and business are crucial to understand national politics and current international affairs, from development alliances to political conflicts. How does economic globalization constrain national democracy? How do protectionism or countries’ political alliances affect business strategies? How does international business activity affect countries’ relations? What challenges and opportunities do firms operating internationally face and what business strategies they use? What is the expected role of firms in the implementation of global agendas?

The course starts examining key international economic institutions and their effects on countries’ politics and development. It considers the past and present international trade and finance regimes, the role in these of states, multinationals and intergovernmental institutions, global economic crises, inequalities within and across countries, global economic governance and the global agendas. Current international news presented in class illustrate course topics. Documentary videos and illustrative case studies are also widely used during the course.

The second part of the course considers key international business topics, emphasizing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) component: management across different political environments, internationalization and alliance strategies, global marketing, and global R&D and human resources management. The study of these topics will consider their relationship with sustainable development and, particularly, with the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals. The management knowledge acquired in the course enables students to apply this and the rest of learning attained in this and other Masters courses in private sector careers.

Assessment

The assessment of the students is based on the following components and percentages:

1. Individual essay (take-home) on international economy and politics (40%)
2. Group essay (take-home) on international business management (40%)
3. Active class participation (20%)

Competences, learning outcomes and teaching activities (PDF)