Assignments for September 7

Click here to fill out the introductory survey for the course. This will suffice as lecture/reading response for this week. These results will not be shared with the rest of the class.

Reading assignment (in addition to Rivoli): Stiglitz, "Anatomy of a Murder: Who Killed the American Economy?"

And in case you want a PDF version, here's a link to the course syllabus. 

Gold May Not Be As Safe As You Think

Economists suggest gold investments are risky

"In the long run, gold has gone up," Thomas said. "But in 2000 the price of gold was $300 an ounce. It has gone up six-fold since then, and it might go up higher than what it is right now. It's gone up too fast -- it's a bubble."

--PhysOrg.com

Five Myths about the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Is the Dow 30 still just a collection of American industrial corporations? Is it a reasonable estimate of the health of the broader economy? James K. Glassman has the answers.

"Even stranger is how the Dow is calculated. Most indexes, including the Standard & Poor’s 500, are weighted by market cap: Bigger companies affect the index’s value more than smaller ones. But the Dow is weighted by stock price — an arbitrary figure that has little to do with size or value."

--Glassman, Five Myths about the Dow (Washington Post)

See also:

• Five myths about the debt ceiling
• Five myths about cutting the deficit

The Big Mac Index

As presented by FlowingData, the Economist's Big Mac Index is an easy to understand measure of inflation and purchasing power in different countries. Simply, it measures how much a Big Mac cheeseburger costs in each of these economies, presented as both a raw number and also adjusted for local incomes.

Question: Why is the Big Mac so cheap in India?

Dropping Greico and Ikenberry from the Syllabus

For those of you who bought your books ahead of time--and good for you--you should  be aware that I am dropping Greico & Ikenberry's State Power and World Markets: The International Political Economy from the syllabus.

To those of you who already spent your money, I apologize.

However, the purchase may not have been a complete waste. If you have a strong economics background, or plan to go further in either economics or international politics, this book can help you understand the field better. Also, come research paper time, this book may prove a useful source.

Ultimately, however, I felt that this book was not appropriate for this class. Instead of clarifying obscure concepts, it tends to obfuscate clear concepts. That's counter to my goals in POLI 487.

Changes in the Second Edition of Rivoli

Those of you who have or are considering acquiring the first edition of Rivoli's Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy should be aware that there are differences between the two versions. I cannot be sure that the original edition will include everything that we will cover in class. A list of the additions to the newer edition is posted in a PDF below.


Rivoli: Changes in the Second Edition

P.S. For those of you who have e-readers or don't mind reading off a screen, my recommendation is always for the digital edition.