Bio
Michael G. Plummer is Eni Professor of International Economics at SAIS Europe
Michael Plummer is the Eni Professor of International Economics and Professor of International Economics since 2001. He was Director of SAIS Europe from 2014 to 2023. Professor Plummer was Head of the Development Division of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 2010 to 2012; an associate professor at Brandeis University (1992-2001); and Fellow at the East-West Center (1988-1992). From 2007 to 2015 he was Editor-in-Chief of the
Journal of Asian Economics (Elsevier) and president of the American Committee on Asian Economic Studies (ACAES) from 2008 to 2015. A former Fulbright Chair in Economics and Pew Fellow in International Affairs at Harvard University, he has been an Asian Development Bank (ADB) distinguished lecturer on several occasions and team leader of projects for various organizations including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United Nations, the OECD, the ADB, the World Bank, the IMF, and the World Trade Organization. He has taught at more than a dozen universities in Asia, Europe, and North America. Professor Plummer has advised several governments on the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and ASEAN governments of economic integration issues and was a member of the Trade Policy Modelling Review Expert Panel of the UK government (2020-2022). He is a member of the editorial boards of the
Asian Economic Journal, the
Journal of Southeast Asian Economics (formerly
ASEAN Economic Bulletin); and the
Global Economic Journal. Professor Plummer is author/co-author of over 100 journal articles and book chapters and co-author/editor of 28 books. His PhD is in economics from Michigan State University. For a recent curriculum vitae including a full list of publications,
see his personal webpage
Courses
- Microeconomic Risk and International Trade
The goals of this course are two-fold. First, it provides a basic understanding of the theory of price determination and markets and underlying microeconomic concepts necessary for economic policy and welfare analysis at the national level. Second, it applies these microeconomic tools in the context of international trade and trade policy, including the economic underpinnings of globalization, implications for economic agents, effects of protectionism and industrial policy, and the economics of regional cooperation. It also reviews multilateral and regional institutions that govern modern trade and considers their future in the post-Covid era.
- International Economics I
This course provides an introduction to the study of international trade. The first part of the course will focus on theoretical frameworks designed to understand the drivers and implications of international trade and review empirical applications of these models. The second part of the course will cover distributional consequences of trade policy instruments, arguments for trade protection, and the organization of the world trade system. Principles of microeconomics is a prerequisite for this course; more advanced topics in microeconomics will be introduced throughout the course.
Prerequisites: Students may not register for this class if they have already received credit for SA.100.301[C]
- Asian Economic Development
This course gives a survey of the Asian economic development experience over the past half-century, with a focus on its international dimensions. In addition to evaluating the source of the remarkable growth and development of the region, the course considers the many challenges that the region has and will continue to face, from the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-98 to the backlash against international trade and climate change. It also looks at conflict and cooperation in the region in the 21st century.
