POLS 347—Political Economy

Fall 2005

T,Th 1:45-3:30, Ramstad 204

www.plu.edu/~olufsdw/347.htm

D.W. Sid Olufs, Political Science Dept.

535-8727, olufsdw@plu.edu

office: Xavier 107, T,Th 10:30-11:45, W 4-5:20; & by appointment,,

Catalog Description: “The course is an examination of the ways that politics and economics coincide.  Prerequisite:  POLS 101, or POLS 151, or introductory economics course.”  Within the discipline of political science, political economy is a subfield of international relations, and a subfield of policy studies, particularly with respect to macroeconomic policy.

Readings. Required readings include the course online readings as assigned, and these paperback books:

·  Paul Blustein, The Chastening (NY: Public Affairs, 2003), Revised and Updated Edition.

·  Robert Gilpin, Global Political Economy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001)

·  Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw, The Commanding Heights (NY: Touchstone, 2002).

Conduct. Students must complete all readings and related work prior to the assigned class.  Class format emphasizes discussion and critical thinking, and requires active participation.  Study guides for each week include questions to answer about readings, and are to be brought to class.  No late papers are accepted.  Students will be encouraged to discuss course progress and conduct throughout the semester.

Academic Integrity.  PLU academic integrity policy shall be taken seriously in this course.  Links to it and a thorough definition of plagiarism are included in links from the course webpage.

Coursework. You are required to do the following work.

  • Regular small essays and group projects, including answers to questions about claims made in the textbooks, and participation in classroom work.  (50%)  Required weekly papers are each worth about 5% of the course grade.
  • Participation in a multi-week simulation, Global Economic Negotiations. (10%)
  • A policy paper, following a format discussed in class, 8-10 pages in length. (30%)  See the web pages for guidelines on format and procedure. 
  • Final examination, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, December 15, from 1-2:50 p.m.. (10%)

Course Web Page. Please go to: http://www.plu.edu/~olufsdw/347.htm.  You will find links to the ecourse website and other course information.

Schedule

9-6: Introduction, Syllabus.  Values and approaches to the study of political economy.

9-8: Approaches to PE.  Gilpin, chs. 1, 2.

9-13: Policy examples: contested concepts in U.S. economic policy. Yergin, chs. 2, 12.

9:15: (cont.) Gilpin, ch. 14, online reading.

9-20: More US policy: online reading.

9-22: (cont.)

9-27: Understanding the market system.  Gilpin, chs. 3, 4.

9-29:  New economic theories.  Gilpin, chs. 5, 6.

10-4:  The state in PE.  Yergin, chs. 1, 3-6.

10-6:  (cont.)

10-11:  Comparing state systems.  Gilpin, ch. 7. 

10-13: Trade.  Gilpin, ch. 8, Yergin, ch. 14.  Introduction to GEN.

10-18:  Money.  Gilpin, ch. 9; Blustein, vi-174. 

10-20:  (cont.)

10-25:  International finance.  Gilpin, ch. 10; Blustein, finish.

10-27:  (cont.) Yergin, ch. 13. 

11-1:  MNCs, or TNCs.  Gilpin, ch. 11, online reading.

11-3:  Development.  Gilpin, ch. 12.

11-8:  (cont.) Yergin, chs. 7-10.

11-10:  (cont.)

11-15:  Regional integration.  Gilpin, ch. 13; Yergin, ch. 11.

11-17:  Global governance?  Gilpin, ch. 15.  Formal beginning of GEN.

11-22:  GEN

11-24, Thanksgiving Holiday.

11-29:  GEN

12-1:  GEN

12-6:  GEN and course summary.

Preparation for Final Examination.