From: web-form@Oswego.EDU Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:43 AM To: ucc@oswego.edu Subject: Web Form: Course_Submission Department_Chair: Steve Rosow Department_Chair_Email: rosow@oswego.edu Additional_Contact: Said Atri Additional_Contact_Email: atri@oswego.edu Course_Number: GLS 300 Course_Type: Updated Course Course_Title: Issues in Global Economy Catalog_Description: This course engages students in the debate about the ongoing developments in the global economy. Following a brief review of the history of international economic relations the course addresses the issues concerning international trade and investment and their implications for environment, economic development, employment, and income and wealth distribution. Prerequisites: All lower-division General Education Requirements. Economics 101 or 200 is recommended Fl - every Fall: Yes Semester_Hours: 3 Justification: Global economic resources are scarce and, for the most part, unequally distributed among nations. The contemporary issues in the global economy arise from the dynamics of the economic relations among nation states as each attempts to better position itself in an increasingly interdependent and competitive world. While the economic benefits of specialization and trade have long been recognized and trade among nations has been going on and growing for many hundreds of years, only in the past fifty years or so have the general political conditions of the world been stabilizing at a rate steady enough to allow for worldwide expansion of economic interactions. This expansion has occurred despite the Cold War and continuing conflicts in many parts of the world. The collapse of the Soviet Union seems to have accelerated the pace of the economic liberalization that had begun in the early 1980s. Today nearly one quarter of the world’s output is exported are competitive global economic environment. Course_Objectives: Students who have successfully complete the requirements of this course will be expected to: a. have a good understanding of the nature and history of the global economy b. understand the ambiguities and complexities of international economic relations c. understand the changes taking place in the global economic environment d. be able to critically think about issues involving globalizations and form opinions on them e. understand the complexities of contemporary issues concerning the world economy and international economic relations and engage in informed discussions about them. Course_Description: This course engages students in the debate about the continuing changes and developments in the global economy. Students will study the theoretical and historical background necessary to understand the complexities of the dynamics of the global economy and to make informed judgments about the controversies surrounding the ongoing economic globalization. They will learn about the issues related to international trade, global division of resources, globalization of business corporations, and implications of globalization for regional and global environment, global income and wealth distribution, capital and labor movements, employment, and economic development of developing countries. After a summary review of the structure and status of the world economy, the basic economic problems facing all societies are addressed. A brief review of some economic principles and tools of analysis will then follow. We will next examine the role of international trade (and finance) and the function of the market in dealing with economic problems. Next, we will look at the special challenges that developed and developing countries encounter in pursuing economic growth in an increasingly competitive economic environment. In our discussion of economic integration the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will be given special attention. We will also try to closely examine the fundamental challenges that developing countries face in their attempts to participate in the global market. Finally, we will look at the international monetary and financial systems and the role of international and regional institutions in the world’s financial scene. The Course Outline • The World Economy: An Overview • The Basic Economic Problem and the Nature of Political Economy a. Economies of the ancient world b. Mercantilism c. Classical political economy d. Marxism e. Neoclassical economics f. Capitalism g. A review of the market system • From International Trade to a Global Economy a. The Theory of Trade: Comparative Advantage b. Trade Policies c. Economic Integration: Regional Trade Alliances d. The Political and Economic Implications of Regional Economic Integrations e. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) f. The Politics of NAFTA g. Labor Mobility: Immigration • The Dynamics of Globalizing Economies a. Specialization, Division of Labor, and Economies of Scale b. Winners and Losers c. The Role of the Government in a Globalized World d. Strategic Trade Policies e. Political Implications of Globalization • The International Monetary System and the Globalization of International Finance a. The Global Capital Distribution b. The Changing Role of International Trade and Financial Organizations c. The Liberalization of the Global Capital Market and its Implications d. Developing Countries’ Debt Burden • The Challenges Facing Developing Countries a. Poverty b. Inadequate Capital c. Poor Physical and Institutional Infrastructure d. Political Instabilities and Poor Governance e. Cultural Issues • Other Issues in the Global Economy a. Women and Globalization b. Labor and Globalization c. Environment and Globalization d. Globalization and Democracy e. Multinational Corporation Method of Instruction: Lectures integrated with Classroom Discussions Means of Evaluation: Written Exams, Weekly Quizzes, Term Papers/Projects, Classroom Presentations, Presentation Peer Evaluations Group Research Projects: The class will be divided into study groups of 4 to 6 students, depending on the class size. From a list of topics provided by the instructor each group will choose a topic (or question) to study. Each group will split into two debating teams. The debating teams in will adopt opposing positions relative to the question or the topic of their research. The results of each group's research will be submitted in writing as a term paper. In addition, the two teams of each group will present and debate their views and findings in a classroom presentation. The classroom presentations/debates will be scheduled during the second half of the semester. Resources: No additional resources beyond Library’s regular acquisitions will be required. Bibliography: Baker, Dean, Gerald Epstein and Robert Pollin (Editors). Globalization and Progressive Economic Policy, Cambridge University Press: 2008 Bhagwati, Jagdish. In Defense of Globalization, Oxford Press: 2004 Case, Karl E. and Ray Fair. Principles of Economics, Pearson Prentice Hall: 2007 Cavanagh, John and Jerry Mander. Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World is Possible, Berrett-Koehler Publishers: 2002 Chanda, Nayan. How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization, Yale University Press: 2007 Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 2005 Fusfeld, Daniel R. Guide to the Global Economy, New Press: 2000 Fusfeld, Daniel R. The Age of the Economist, 8th Edition, Addison-Wesley: 1998 Gilpin, Robert and Jean M. Gilpin. Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order, Princeton University Press: 2001 Hayek, Richard and M. Ebeling (Editors). The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle, Ludwig Von Mises Inst; 2 edition (March 1996) Heilbroner, Robert. The Worldly Philosophers, 3rd Edition, Simon and Schuster: 1969 Henderson, Hazel. Beyond Globalization: Shaping a Sustainable Global Economy, Kumarian Press: 1999 Hutton, Will and Anthony Giddens (Editors). Global Capitalism, New Press: 2000 Jackson, Paul. The World Trading System, MIT Press: 1989 Kesselman, Mark. The Politics of Globalization, A Reader, Houghton Mifflin: 2007 Krugman, Paul R. and Maurice Obstfeld. International Economics, 4th Edition, Addison-Wesley: 1997 Landreth, Harry H. and David Colander. History of Economic Thought, Hougton Mifflin: 1993 Mitchell, William C. and Randy T. Simmons (Contributor). Beyond Politics: Markets, Welfare, and the Failure of Bureaucracy (Independent Studies in Political Economy) Westview Press: 1994 Oately, Thomas. The Global Economy: Contemporary Debate, Longman Publishers: 2004 Oatley, Thomas. International Political Economy: Interest and Institutions in the Global Economy, Longman Publishers: 2007 Ravenhill, John. Global Political Economy, Oxford University Press, USA: 2008 Razin, Asef and Efraim Sadka (Editors). The Economics of Globalization: Policy Perspectives from Public Economic, Cambridge University Press: 1999 Rischards, J. F., High Noon: Twenty Global Problems, Twenty Years to Solve Them, Basic Books, 2002 Roberts, Russell. The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism, Prentice Hall: 2004 Rothbard, Murray N. Economic Thought before Adam Smith: An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought, Edward Elgar Publishing: 1995 Sassen, Saskia. Globalization and Its Discontents, The New Press, New York: 1998 Steger, Manfred. Globaalization: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press: 2003 Stern, Robert M. (Editor). U.S. Trade Policies in a Changing World Economy, MIT Press: 1987 Stiglitz, Joseph. Making Globalization Work, W. W. Norton: 2006 Thompson, William R. The Emergence of the Global Political Economy: International Relations and History, Routledge: 2000 Weinstein, Michael. Globalization: What's New? Columbia University Press: 2005 Wise, Timothy A., Hilda Salazar and Laura Carlsen (Editors). Confronting Globalization: Economic Integration and Popular Resistance in Mexico, Kumarian Press, Inc., Bloomfield, CT: 2003 Yarbrough, Beth V. and Robert M. Yarbrough. The World Economy, Trade and Finance, Thomson South-Western: 2006 Note: This course is one of the core requirements for the GLS program. It will also satisfy the General Education Intellectual Issues (Cultures and Civilizations), Writing Across the Curriculum and Oral Discourse requirements. IP_Adress: 129.3.50.245