ECON228: Economics Study Tour to South America - “The Economics of the Wine Industry”

1. ECON228: Economics Study Tour to South America - “The Economics of the Wine Industry”

2. Brief overview of ECON228 • 6-week intensive course (15 pts) to be offered in 2020-SU1 (January-February). • Focus on how economic thinking is used to address issues related to the wine industry. • Includes a 3 week study tour to Santiago (Chile) in January including visits to Chilean wineries. • Also, 1 week at UC in early January including visits to Canterbury wineries. • Prerequisite ECON104, and an interest in the wine industry and/or South American business and culture.

3. Chile • 6

4. Cultural element of ECON 228 • Some basic instruction in Spanish language will be provided (this is not an examinable part of the course, it is just to help out). • First-hand visits to Chilean wine businesses. • Gatherings and informal meetings with local Chilean students. • Opportunities to visit museums and other cultural centres in Chile. • Plenty of free time in Chile to visit the city of Santiago and surrounding parts of Chile. • Trip to Valparaiso, with cultural tour around the city.

5. Academic element • Class work will centre upon using basic economics and economic thinking to understand the particular features of the wine market both in general and in particular for both New Zealand and Chile. • Microeconomics: • Production and production functions. • Vertically and horizontally integrated firms. • Markets for differentiated products. • Consumer demand for luxury products. • Wine as an investment product. • Macroeconomics: • International trends in wine markets. • Importing and exporting wine. • Specific readings will be supplied, and it is also expected that students are able to carry out basic research using online tools.

6. Travel to Santiago • We will most likely fly Air New Zealand on a route Christchurch-Auckland-Buenos Aires-Santiago. • Bookings will be made together via Orbit (UC Travel provider). • Your travel insurance will be arranged by the UC and you will get a travel safety briefing before we go. • New Zealand passport holders do not require a visa to enter Chile but you do need to have your passport valid until early August 2020 to be safe. • If you are not NZ citizen, we will help you with the visa application if necessary.

7. Accommodation • We will stay in a hostel adjacent to the Universidad de Chile, by the name of FENtastic. • The rooms are small single-occupancy rooms and you will share bathrooms, kitchen facilities and laundry facilities.

8. Timetable – application, selection, enrolment and orientation • Applications open on 5th August and close on 9th August. • Short-listed candidates interviewed during August and decisions made in early September. • Selected students need to enrol by the end of September so that we can make travel bookings. • During October-December, all of the final details about the arrangements will be worked out and confirmed with enrolled students. • Fundraising initiatives can be looked at over this period.

9. Timetable – application, selection, enrolment and orientation • All students accepted onto the course must sign, and adhere to, a strict policy on behaviour (code of conduct) before they can enrol. • This is for everyone’s safety, and it is in accordance with UC fieldtrip policies. • Failure to follow the rules will incur punishments that, depending on severity, will range from a stern warning to expulsion from the course. • Full details of the behavioural contract, and other general expectations, will be made available to those that are selected to enrol, before they actually enrol. • For now, just bear in mind that we want respectful, thoughtful adult behaviour at all times – no ratbags allowed!

10. Timetable - Canterbury • The course will start on Monday January 6th. • We will have our orientation week from January 6th to 9th (Thursday). • In those 4 days, we will have: • A few introductory classes on the economics of wine. • One day of winery visits to local Canterbury wineries. • Some basic instruction in Spanish language (survival Spanish). • Lessons to learn a waiata which will be performed as our welcome at gatherings in Chile. • Full health and safety briefing. • The plan (right now) is to travel to Chile on Friday January 10th. • After the trip, we should arrive back at UC on Sunday February 2nd. • From then until the end of the course (February 14th), students will be working on their final projects. Office hours will be available.

11. Timetable – Chile • Arrive in Chile on Friday 10th of January, and have a free weekend to recover. • While in Chile, we will have: • Classes at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Chile. • Visits to 3 traditional wineries in Chile, including a laboratory where experimental wines are tested. • Visits from people in the Chilean wine industry, and from the NZ Embassy and Trade Delegation. • A visit to an urban winery in Valparaiso run by a NZ ex-pat. • Plenty of free time to visit Santiago and other places in Chile. • All course related activities are compulsory. • Students will prepare and deliver 3 group presentations on what they learn. • There will also be the opportunity to continue with some Spanish language instruction (not compulsory).

13. Timetable • The entire course involves 150 hours of your time (same as any other 15 point course at UC). • Of those hours, there should be • 9 hours of class time during the orientation week • 8 hour field trip during orientation week • 15 hours of class time in Chile. • About 20 hours of field-trips in Chile. • 30 hours of preparation for presentations. • 68 hours for preparation for classes, and working on the final project.

14. Application and selection criteria • Minimum enrolment of 15 and the class size restricted to a maximum of 30 students. • An online application will be made available after this information session. The application includes a 1000 word statement of purpose. • We will go through the applications to create a short-list to interview before final selections are made. • We are looking for students who are serious about economics, serious about learning about a new industry and have an interest in South America. Your GPA has some role in the decision but high GPA alone is not sufficient nor will you be automatically excluded if your GPA is a bit lower. • We are also looking for students who we believe will be able to represent University of Canterbury and New Zealand well. • Previous travel experience and Spanish language skills are looked upon favourably but are not strictly required.

15. Assessment • There will be no exam for this course. • Students will be assessed on the following: • Three group presentations on the wineries visited worth 10% each for a total of 30%. These will be done in Chile, but if for any reason we miss one there, a final day will be organised at UC in February. Groups will be of 3 students. • An individual project worth 50%, to be handed in on completion of the course. Topics for this project will be suggested during the orientation week. Students may choose their own topic, subject to approval by the course coordinator. • Four reflective learning journal entries worth 5% each for a total of 20%. These are written in Chile to reflect on your experience and learning.

16. Costs • Standard course fee • Additional costs will apply. At the moment, the estimate is: • Airfares $2700 • Accommodation in Chile $700 • Winery visits (bus rental) $500 • TOTAL $3900 • You will also have to consider your personal expenses (including food) • A small amount of funding has been secured, $500 per student. • Other funding opportunities are still being worked on. • So the estimated costs (above course fees and personal expenses) are about $3400.

17. The climate • The climate in the Central Chile is Mediterranean. • Average high in Santiago in January is 30O and the average low is 11O. • Chile has the same seasons as we do, so we will be there during the summer. • Santiago gets very little rain during the summer months.

18. Thanks for coming this session, and feel free to ask any questions you like now.