POLI
487: International Political Economy*
Monday and
Wednesday: 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM
Building III,
Room 3203
Mr. Jesse-Douglas
Mathewson, Instructor
Last
updated: December 6, 2011.
Contact
Email: jessmath@umbc.edu
Phone: 301.405.6260
Office
Hours
12:00 PM –
1:00 PM
Building III
cafeteria
(Or by
appointment in adjunct office)
-Philosophy
and Objectives-
The goal of
this course is to provide you with the the fundamental analytical tools and basic
knowledge to understand the relationship between political actors** and the
international political economy. We shall explore the challenges for
policy-makers stemming from the globalization of finance, markets and
production. We shall also explore the
effects of these choices on your
future and everyday life.
**Make no mistake—YOU are a political
actor.
I
consider it my primary responsibility not
to simply offer facts but to provide you with the capacity to independently acquire, analyze, evaluate
and apply information about the international economic and political climate. At the end
of the course, you will better understand the relationship between the
authoritative allocation of resources (politics) and the market allocation of
resources (economics), but you will also be prepared to improve your
understanding autonomously.
The primary
responsibility implies a secondary one: to convince you that you should be
interested in such matters. Should you
leave the classroom unconvinced that the day’s material is relevant to your
life, it is your right and responsibility to demand more of my time and effort.
To these
ends, I shall not treat you as an
anonymous figure in a passive audience. You and your classmates will
participate as active members of the learning process through frequent in-class
discussion of key concepts and texts, group projects investigating substantive
contemporary issues, and peer review of writing assignments. In doing so, it is
my expectation that you will develop more effective thinking skills and retain
more information than you would in a class based on lectures, closed-book
testing and rote memorization.
-Expectations
and Academic Integrity-
Classroom
Courtesy
As I intend to commit myself fully to
your academic growth during, I expect a similar commitment from you to the rest
of the class.
·
Attend
all classes
·
Complete
readings and class assignments on time.
·
Do
not interrupt or distract your fellow classmates.
·
Avoid
responding to classmates using derogatory and/or negative language during discussions
in class and online.
·
Refrain
from any negative characterizations of any group defined by
race/color/ethnicity, gender, faith or sexual orientation or any language based
on said characterizations.
·
Silence
all cell phones and electronics upon entering the classroom.
Technology
Policy
I fully endorse the use of technology
such as laptops, tablets and e-readers in the classroom for reading, taking
notes, investigating relevant topics and other academic purposes.
However, the use of technology for
non-academic purposes in my class is strictly prohibited. Chatting, texting,
and social networking, and/or visiting related websites regardless of intent,
during class time will result in a zero grade for class participation and the
temporary forfeiture of devices during the class period. Use of cell phones for
any of the purposes listed above, or for texting or voice during the class
period, is also prohibited.
Academic
Integrity
I maintain a
zero-tolerance policy on all incidents of suspected cheating, plagiarism,
fabrication, falsification or other misconduct. I will report all events to the
Academic Conduct Committee for disciplinary action and logging in the Academic
Misconduct Reporting Database.
Regardless of
severity or previous history my minimum disciplinary recommendation to the Committee
will be course failure with a permanent
transcriptional notation indicating academic misconduct.
UMBC
Statement of Values
“By enrolling
in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant
in UMBC's scholarly community in which everyone's academic work and behvior are
held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism,
and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic dishonesty,
and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action
that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the
full Student Academic Conduct Policy, consult the UMBC Student
Handbook, or the Office
of Undergraduate Education.”
-Materials
and Resources-
Books
·
Rivoli,
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global
Economy (2nd Edition)
·
Frieden,
Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in
the Twentieth Century
·
Seife,
Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical
Deception
Articles
Listed
below and provided online
Online
Course
Blog: http://poli487.blogspot.com/
-Assessment-
Class
Participation: 20%
Attendance
and quality of discussion; students may boost their participation grade by
engaging in discussions on the course blog, by meeting with me after class, or
by sharing your thoughts via phone or email.
Reactions: 20%
Written
reactions to classes and readings for that week: due every Wednesday unless otherwise stated (does not count as class
participation). Through the 9/28 class, all reactions will receive scores of
100%. Thereafter, they will be graded on quality. I shall supply you with a
grading rubric for guidance.
Group Project:
20%
As
a group, you’ll have twenty minutes to teach the class something new but
related to course topics. The goal is a project that is informative,
interesting, and interactive. It will be graded by me and your classmates.
Paper: 30%
Literature
review, 10-15 pages, based on one of a number of questions regarding the modern
political economy.
·
Annotated
Bibliography: 5%
·
Rough Draft
5%
·
Peer Review
5%
·
Final Draft
15%
Short Cumulative
Exercise: 10%
Multiple
choice test that evaluates your retention of details and
basic concepts
Non-graded
Assessment: n/a
Throughout
the course, I shall monitor your levels of retention and understanding on the
class- as well as individual levels. I will provide public feedback for the
class and private feedback on your personal progress.
-Schedule
and Assignments-
W 08/31 Introduction
M 09/05 Labor Day Holiday: No Class
W 09/07 The Three Factors (Labor, Land and
Capital) and their Characteristics
Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt pp. 1-48
Stiglitz, “The Anatomy of a Murder:
Who Killed America’s Economy?”
M 09/12 Comparative Advantage
Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt pp. 49-104
Fletcher, “The Famous (and
Almost Never Understood) Theory of Comparative Advantage”
W 09/14 Information, Risk and Uncertainty
Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt pp. 105-155
Vernon, “International Investment and
International Trade in the Product Cycle”
M 09/19 Technology
Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt pp. 213-261
Kurth, “The Political
Consequences of the Product Cycle”
W 09/21 Protectionism and Sectionalism
Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt pp. 156-211
Selection from
Trubowitz, Defining the National Interest
M 09/26 Money and Credit
Frieden, Global Capitalism XV-XVII, pp. 1-33,
39-45, 54-5
James, “Is
Liberalization Reversible?”
W 09/28 The Unholy Trinity
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 56-87, 93-104
Selection from Greico &
Ikenberry, State Power and World Markets
Instructor Evaluations #1
M 10/03 The Gold Standard
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 105-48
Grant, "How to Make the Dollar
Sound Again"
Wolf, "Could the World Go Back
to the Gold Standard?"
Group Project #1
W 10/05 Distributive Consequences
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 155-94
M 10/10 Economies of Scale
Gilpin, “Review: The Political
Economy of the Multinational Corporation”
Coase, “The Nature of the Firm”
W 10/12 Economics and Security
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 195-241
Ross, “Oil, Drugs, and Diamonds”
M 10/17 Keynesianism
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 253-92
Krugman, “Cycles of Conventional
Wisdom on Economic Development”
Group Project #2
W 10/19 Capitalist Paths to Development
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 301-38
Boughton, “Globalization and the
Silent Revolution of the 1980s”
M 10/24 Non-Capitalist Paths to
Development
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 339-91
Kapur, “The IMF: A Cure or A Curse?”
Annotated Bibliography
Due
W 10/26 Monetarism
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 392-434
Cohen, “Balance-of-Payments
Financing: Evolution of a Regime”
M 10/31 The Economics of Cooperation
Selection from Axelrod, the Evolution
of Cooperation
Cohen, “Phoenix Risen: The
Resurrection of Global Finance”
Group Project #3
W 11/02 Market
Failure
Marx, “Wage Labour and Capital”
Eichengreen
and Bordo, “Crises Now and Then”
Instructor Evaluations #2
M 11/07 The
Trading State
Selection from Rosecrantz, Rise of
the Trading State
W 11/09 Vicious and Virtuous Cycles
Frieden, Global Capitalism pp. 435-76
Lindblom, “The Market as Prison”
M 11/14 The Role of Institutions
No readings
Rough Draft Due
W 11/16 Economics and Democracy
Selection from Moore, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy
Selection from Sen, Development as Freedom
Selection from Oneal & Russet, "The
Kantian Peace"
M 11/21 Paper Peer Review Day
No readings
Peer Reviews Due
W 11/23 No Class
M 11/28 The Limits of Rationality
Seife, Proofiness pp. 1-38
Selection from Heath and Heath, Made to Stick
W 11/30 The Economics of the Commons
Seife, Proofiness pp. 39-66
Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons”
Simon, “More People, Greater
Wealth...”
M 12/05 Prospect Theory and the Endowment
Hypothesis
Seife, Proofiness pp. 91-123
Kahneman, Selection from Thinking Fast and Slow
Group Project #4
W 12/07 Cumulative
Assessment
No readings: Study!
M 12/12 Course Review: The Nature and
Sources of Power
Seife, Proofiness pp. 199-222
Group Project #5
W 12/21 Final
Papers due IN PERSON by 12:30 PM