::Short Course in Global Trade Analysis :: Course Prerequisites
Background in Economics
All participants are expected to have a strong foundation in micro-economics. This should be at the level of a
calculus-based graduate course in micro-economic theory.
Computer Literacy
Since the course software is designed around a PC environment, it is essential that each participant have
access to such a machine. No prior programming or modeling experience is required.
Due to the Web-based nature of the course, participants will need access to the Internet (at least a 56kbps
connection) and Internet Explorer 6 or above installed on their machine. Please note that Netscape will not
work with some of the contents on this course. As a result of this, we strongly recommend that you install the
latest release of Internet Explorer instead. Please visit the course
software page for details on other software needed for this
course.
The computer assignments and the course project will all be implemented in the context of the RunGTAP software
interface to GEMPACK. This is a Windows 95 environment for conducting applied general equilibrium analysis.
RunGTAP is designed to allow users to focus on economics with the programming details being largely taken care
of behind the scenes where it runs GEMPACK programs. GEMPACK is an algebraic modeling language which permits
the user to write out the model in a transparent fashion. It is specifically designed for application to
large-scale, applied general equilibrium models in a policy-oriented environment.
