Economic Issues in North America
Section outline
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All classes take place on Tuesday from 14:00 to 16:50 in the room J3015, starting February 16, 2016.
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Introduction class. What is political economy.
Inside Job (documentary film)
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Conceptual thinking about the economy 23.2.2016
Basic terminology, homo economicus, economic analysis, regression analysis, economy and society
Mandatory texts:Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner: Freakonomics. A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, Penguin Books, 2006. (levitt_freakonomics.pdf)
Stefan Schneider: Homo economicus - or more like Homer Simpson? Deutche Bank Research, 2010.
Optional text (example of regression analysis in practice):
Frederic W. Mayer: Interpreting NAFTA. Science and Art of Political Analysis, Columbia University Press, 1999. (mayer-part1.pdf)
Rafael Reuveny, Uneven Economic Growth and the World, Economy’s North–South Stratification, International Studies Quarterly (2008) 52, 579–605.
Useful links for regression analysis:
Linear regression analysis in Excel:Linear regression analysis in program R:Multiple regression analysis in Excel:Multiple regression analysis in program R:Program R (free download):Bonus recommended for beginners:
Story of Stuff, Full Version; How Things Work, About Stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8&feature=related -
U.S. Economic History as History of Capital
Niall Ferguson: The Ascent of Money. A Financial History of the World. Penguin Books, 2009. Chapter 2: Of Human Bondage (ferguson-bondage.pdf).
Thomas Piketty: Capital in 21st century. Th e Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014, Introduction, Conclusion.
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Types of capitalism, regional differences in economic policies
Mandatory texts:
Ronald Dore: Stockmarket Capitalism vs. Welfare Capitalism, Oxford University Press, 2000, Introduction, Conclusion.Allen White: Capitalism needs rethinking but what are the options? available at: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/capitalism-needs-rethinking-what-options
The Economist: Rise of State Capitalism, Jan 21st, 2012
http://www.economist.com/node/21543160
The Economist: Visible Hand
http://www.economist.com/node/21542931
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Recommended: Allan Meltzer: Why Capitalism, Oxford University Press, 2011.
Robert Gilpin: Global Political Economy, Princeton University Press, 2006, Chapter 7: National Systems of Political Economy.
Dani Rodrik: The Globalization Paradox, 2011 (Capitalism 3.0)
Newsletter:
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The Domestic Politics and Interantional Trade policy
Mandatory readings:
Oatley, Thomas, Debates in International Political Economy, 2nd edition (Pearson, 2012), Chapter 5 "Free Trade Agreements are stepping-stones v Free trade Agreements are Stumblig Blocks"
Hamilton, Pelkmans, Rule makers or Rule Takers, Chapter 1, 1-17, Center for European Policy Studies, 2015, pdf.
Recommended:
Robert Badlwin, TRADE AND INDUSTRIALISATION AFTER GLOBALISATION’S 2ND UNBUNDLING:
HOW BUILDING AND JOINING A SUPPLY CHAIN ARE DIFFERENT AND WHY IT MATTERS, NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES, December 2011, http://www.nber.org/papers/w17716Laura Dawson, Christopher Sands, and Duncan Wood, North American Competitiveness: The San Diego Agenda, November 2013, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/north-american-competitiveness-the-san-diego-agenda
Robert Gilpin, Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order, Chapter 8 (The Trading System).
Joseph Stiglitz, "Making Trade Fair", in Making Globalization Work, book available as pdf.
Christopher Wilson, "NAFTA's Next 20 Years: In Face Of Chinese Competition, Bonds Must Be Strengthened", Forbes, Jan 6th, 2014.
Dani Rodrik, "Trading Illusions", Foreign Policy, March/April 2001:55-62.
Dani Rodrik, "Why do open economies have bigger governments?", Journal of Political Economy, 106: 50, 1998.
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The Domestic Politics and the Monetary System
Required readings:
Oatley, Thomas, Debates in International Political Economy, 2nd edition (Pearson, 2012), Chapter 11 "China Must Revalue to Correct Global Imbalances".
Joseph Stiglitz, Reforming the Global Reserve System, in Making Globalization Work (New York: Norton and Company, 2006), the book above.
Recommended:
Paul Krugman, Maurice Obstfeld, International Economics, 9th Edition (Pearson, 2012), Part 3 and 4.
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International Competitiveness, Economic Policy plus Financial Crisis Explained in Gory Detail
What makes nations competitive? How can the government increase competitiveness? How can governments international trade?
Mandatory readings:
World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2014: Introduction, USA, Germany, Czech RepublicPaul Krugman: Competitiveness: A Dangerous Obsession, Foreign Affairs, March/April 1994 (volume 73, number 2).
Stephen D. Cohen: The Making of United States International Economic Policy. Praeger, 2000.
Recommended readings:
Michael Porter: The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Harvard Business Review, 1990.
U.S. Council on CompetitivenessFinancial crisis sources:
Crisis of Credit:
15 Explanations from Slate:
27 Visualizations
Newsletter: -
Fiscal policy and national budget
Read pages pages 16-22 from the Budget-2000 document (official budget proposal), and think about the difference in priorities when compared with the 2015 proposals.
Look at the 2015 proposal of the Obama administration and the 2015 proposal of the House Republicans. What are the main differences? Why are the two sides so distant from each other? The two articles from the New York Times should help with that.
Updated links for the 2015 budget documents are as follows:
President Obama´s Budget Proposal:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/presidents-message
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2015/assets/econ_analyses.pdf
Paul Ryan´s Budget Proposal:http://budget.house.gov/fy2015/factsandsummary.htm
http://budget.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=374932
http://budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/fy15_budget_charts.pdf
Go through the Public Debt Citizen's Guide document (State of the Union Finances) for more thorough analysis of the debt problem.
Asset tracking:
Update the asset tracking table, and be prepared to briefly comment on the changes of the value of your assets. -
Case study: Car industry in North America
Introduction:
Background mandatory reading:
James P.Womack, Daniel T.Jones, Daniel Roos: The Machine That Changed the World (summary), 1992
Heavy mandatory reading:
The U.S. Motor Vehicle Industry: Confronting a New Dynamic in the Global Economy,
by Bill Canis, Specialist in Industrial Organization and Business and Brent D. Yacobucci, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy March 26, 2010, Congressional Research Service.
Bonuses:
Students are expected to watch movies related to U.S. economy, such as:
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
I.O.U.S.A. (33 minutes version, available at)
The Corporation (available at:)
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. -
Oil-related economy: Resource curse or economic boon?
Mandatory Readings :
- Nikiforuk, Tar Sands, Dirty Oil and the Future of a COntinent, 2010, pdf .
- Oil sands and Keystone XL: Overview and Recent developemnt, Congressional research service, http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43787.pdf
- Clifford Krauss, “Oil Prices: What is Behind the Drop?” (Links to an external site.) The New York Times (6 January 2016).
Highly recommended:
Daniel Yergin. The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, 2011, Introduction and Conclusion and "unconventional" chapters (pdf below). The hard copy of the book is available in the library.
Steve Coll, Private Empire:ExxonMobile and AMerican power, 2013. available in the library.
- Recommended readings:
- Terry Lyn Karl, "Ensuring Fairness: the case for a Transparent Fiscal Social Contract", in Escaping the Resource Curse, pp. 1256-285, see below.
- R. Dobb, Oppenheim, "Reverse the curse: Maximizing the potential of resource-driven economies", McKinsey Global Institute Report, December 2013, Only the Executive Summary available at http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/energy_resources_materials/reverse_the_curse_maximizing_the_potential_of_resource_driven_economies
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Clayton Blake, “The Link Between Oil Prices and the U.S. Macroeconomy”, Georgetown Journal of International Afairs, 14.2. (Summer 2013), pdf
- Fareed Zakaria. "Mile by Mile, Into the Oil Trap",The Washington Post, 22 August 2005. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082201114.html.
- Terry Karl, Oil-Led Development: Social, Political, and Economic Consequences, CDDRL Working Papers, January 2007, available at fsi.stanford.edu/publications/oilled_development_social_political_and_economic_consequences/
Further readings
- Daniel Drache, “Introduction,” in Harold A. Innis, Staples, Markets, and Cultural Change Montreal: McGill-Queen’s, 1995, xiii-liii.
- Keith Brownsey, "The New Oil Order: The Post Staples Paradigm and the Canadian Upstream Oil and Gas Industry", Canadian Political Science Review Vol 1(1) June 2007 (pp. 91-106 of the .pdf document).
- Robert Kunzig: The Canadian Oil Boom, National Geographic, March 2009, available at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/03/canadian-oil-sands/kunzig-text.html
- For a complementary view please check out the report prepared by the Canadian Petroleum Producers at http://www.capp.ca/aboutUs/mediaCentre/CAPPCommentary/Pages/NationalGeographic,March2009Issue.aspx#Bb1kVNFWNb2O.
Newsletter: - Nikiforuk, Tar Sands, Dirty Oil and the Future of a COntinent, 2010, pdf .
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Specific Issues in Mexican Economy, Consequences of NAFTA for Mexico
Mandatory readings:Garry Gereffi: Development Models and Industrial Upgrading in China and Mexico, European Sociological Review VOLUME 25 NUMBER 1 2009 37–51.
OECD Economic Survey on Mexico, 2015.
Recommended background reading:Special Report on Mexico, The Economist, November 2012.
Victor Villafane: Mexican Multinationals in Globalization Context.
Hufbauer and Schott, NAFTA Revisited. Achievements and Challenges, 2005.
Newsletter: -
China-U.S. Trade Issues, Future perspectives on North American in World Economy
Mandatory readings:Niall Ferguson, Ascent of Money, Chapter 6 (From Empire to Chimerica) (passages before page 304 are recommended only)
Wayne M. Morrison: China-U.S. Trade Issues, Congressional Research Service, September 30, 2011.
Recommended:
Claude Hufbauer and Claire Brunel: The US Congress and the Chinese Renminbi, in: Debating China's Exchange Rate Policy.
Washington, DC, USA: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2008. p 232Newsletter:
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Presentations of group projects
Newsletter:
Mandatory readings will be provided by each presented group.