...International Political Economy TITLE One cannot speak of International Political Economy without at least wading through the fundamental debate between the degree of importance of political structures and market forces in economic development. This dynamic serves as one of the basic foundations of the discipline itself as well as subsequent major schools of thought. Theories in International Economy have been founded on empirical observations on the economic conditions of a set of cases and are, as Robert Cox posits, critical of the circumstances from which certain politico-economic configurations emerge[1]. A contemporary theory that has surfaced in the last few decades is the developmental state theory which sought to explain the precipitous economic progress of East Asian states after the Second World War. Although the initial outcome of adopting developmental strategies among East Asian states have shown the theory’s potency as a basis for economic development policies, subsequent events especially the results of Southeast Asian attempts to pattern itself after developmental strategies have put into question the developmental state’s efficacy as a long-term arrangement. Specifically, the Philippines’ status as an “anti-developmental” state[2] serves as a channel for criticism of the developmental state theory through other IPE theories not only in terms of strategies and policies, but also in the deeper level of societal conflict and political structures. ...
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...International political economy (IPE), also known as global political economy, is an academic discipline within the social sciences that analyzes international relations in combination with political economy. As an interdisciplinary field it draws on many distinct academic schools, most notably political science and economics, but also sociology, history, and cultural studies. The academic boundaries of IPE are flexible, and along with acceptable epistemologies are the subject of robust debate. This debate is essentially framed by the discipline's status as a new and interdisciplinary field of study. Despite such disagreements, most scholars can concur that IPE ultimately is concerned with the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, individual actors, etc.) shape the systems through which economic interactions are expressed, and conversely the effect that economic interactions (including the power of collective markets and individuals acting both within and outside them) have upon political structures and outcomes. IPE scholars are at the center of the debate and research surrounding globalization, both in the popular and academic spheres. Other topics that command substantial attention among IPE scholars are international trade (with particular attention to the politics surrounding trade deals, but also significant work examining the results of trade deals), development, the relationship between democracy and markets, international finance, global markets, multi-state...
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...nternational political economy (IPE), also known as global political economy, is an academic discipline within the social sciences that analyzes international relations in combination with political economy. As an interdisciplinary field it draws on many distinct academic schools, most notably political science and economics, but also sociology, history, and cultural studies. The academic boundaries of IPE are flexible, and along with acceptable epistemologies are the subject of robust debate. This debate is essentially framed by the discipline's status as a new and interdisciplinary field of study. Despite such disagreements, most scholars can concur that IPE ultimately is concerned with the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, individual actors, etc.) shape the systems through which economic interactions are expressed, and conversely the effect that economic interactions (including the power of collective markets and individuals acting both within and outside them) have upon political structures and outcomes. IPE scholars are at the center of the debate and research surrounding globalization, both in the popular and academic spheres. Other topics that command substantial attention among IPE scholars are international trade (with particular attention to the politics surrounding trade deals, but also significant work examining the results of trade deals), development, the relationship between democracy and markets, international finance, global markets, multi-state...
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...Syllabus INTA 3301: International Political Economy Spring 2013 Class meets MWF 1:05-1:55, Instructional Center 109 Instructor: Michael Murphree Sam Nunn School of International Affairs 137 Habersham Building Email: michael.murphree@gatech.edu Office Hours: Monday 2:00-3:00, 137 Habersham, or by appointment TA: Kathleen Thompson Email: kthompson136@gatech.edu Political economy is the study of the role of government, politics and collective human behavior in shaping economic outcomes. This exciting field is both old and new. Political economy predates both political science and economics but only reemerged as a distinct field in the 1960s and 70s. It is concerned with understanding how political forces (broadly defined) shape and are shaped by economic ones (broadly defined). There are many research and policy-relevant questions addressed in this field: 1. What is globalization and is it really good for everyone? 2. Is free trade really the only “appropriate” means for international exchange? 3. Why are some countries or regions rich while others struggle? 4. How did the global casino of high finance emerge and what is its purpose? 5. Is economic performance the root of power or power the root of economic performance? 6. What should be the role of government in the economy? 7. Is there a best practice for government economic policy or are there many workable practices? 8. Why has Asia seemed to perform so well over the last...
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...National University of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy PP5145 Political Economy of Reform Special Term 2014 – 2015 (as at 8 April 2015) (Tentative) Instructor: Office: Phone: Email: Website: YEE, (Henry) Wai-Hang, Ph.D. Li Ka Shing Building 02-03 6516 5832 sppywh@nus.edu.sg http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/Faculty_Yee_Wai_Hang.aspx Class Hours: Office Hours: Monday 14:00 – 17:00; Thursday 14:00 – 17:00 By appointment Course Description Public managers need to master the skills of not only managing organizations but also managing projects, programs, and particularly larger-scale policy reforms. Good understanding of the political economy embedded in policy and administrative reforms are thus essential. This course examines the political-economic dynamics embedded in the reform process from an institutional perspective. It is a master–level course designed for practitioners in the field of public administration and public policy. It discusses strategies for achieving and enhancing reform outcomes. Theories and practices proposed by academics and practitioners will be drawn on as learning resources for the class. Class Format To achieve a high level of synergy and make the most out of our classroom meetings, I expect students to learn from both the instructor and one another in the class. Each of our class will be divided into 2 parts. In the first part, I will begin by giving a general introduction of the assigned readings. Then...
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...does a “political economy” approach to study of the Creative and Cultural Industries involve? What are its advantages and disadvantages? ID: 10048001 Anastasia Davydova 1. Introduction The intention of this paper is to define what we mean by political economy? What does this approach involve to study the Creative and Cultural Industries and what its advantages and disadvantages. This work will search through definitions, different schools and historical periods to better understand the background of Political Economy. Also this approach will be compared with another approach which examines cultural industries namely cultural studies approach to underline the main key point of political economy. This essay will briefly discuss specifics features of Creative and Cultural industries and moves to political economy approach itself with the final observation of advantages and disadvantages. “Culture is our business and business is our culture” [1] Definitions The term political economy addresses to relationship between politics and economy, how political power cooperate with economics, so politics responsible for the society and economy, in other words in charge of wealth of the society. Hence it is possible to declare that political economy examines the production and distribution of wealth in society. But there are also combination of such factors as political, economic...
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...Chapter 02 National Differences in Political Economy True / False Questions 1. A country's political economy and culture are independent of each other. True False 2. It is not possible to have democratic societies that emphasize a mix of collectivism and individualism. True False 3. The communists believed that socialism could be achieved by democratic means, and turned their backs on violent revolution and dictatorship. True False 4. In an individualist society, the welfare of society is best served by letting people pursue their own economic self-interest. True False 5. The central message of collectivism is that individual economic and political freedoms are the ground rules on which a society should be based. True False 6. There is a global trend of societies shifting from individualism toward collectivism. True False 7. It is possible to have a democratic state where collective values predominate. True False 8. It is possible to have a totalitarian state that is hostile to collectivism and where some degree of individualism is encouraged. True False 9. The most practical form of democracy is direct democracy. True False 10. Most modern democratic states practice representative democracy. True False 11. In a market economy, if demand for a product exceeds supply, prices will rise, signaling to producers to produce more. True False ...
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...* ------------------------------------------------- Text analysis provides some insight into media messages but only a critical political economy approach can adequately explain how the media work today * * Whoever Controls the media, controls the mind. This is an interesting quote by Jim Morrison that shows the power of the media and its messages at the present day. Media has played a huge role in the cultures it inhabited. Starting from the Printing Press, and then evolving into the radio, the television till the World Wide Web. The evolution of the mass media took many different shapes and with this evolution, it shaped our cultures and understandings differently, which caused its effects to be more influential. Throughout the history the mass media molded our ideologies by its messages and changed the way we look at things around us. “When we consume mass media, there are a lot of physical and mental activities going on” (Fourie, 2001, p.283). At the present time when we decide to sit and watch a movie, there are millions of messages being interpreted to us as audiences that shape how we speak, dress, and behave. It is believed that the media determines what we should know and how we should think. But the vital question is who controls the media and controls its messages, and how does the media work today. This essay will therefore attempt to discuss the different approaches that are used to analyze and evaluate media messages, and how these various approaches operate...
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...Chapter 2: Political Economy Steven Schrader September 12, 2013 BUS 385 – Online Ed Bruning After reading Chapter 2 in the textbook and watching Jean-Claude Trichet’s lecture about the political economy and the Financial Crisis a few years back, I really grasped more knowledge about the subject matter and the applications discussed can really boost my knowledge as I pursue a degree in the financial field. I really thought that the first guy speaking gave a very pleasant and informative introduction of Mr. Trichet – it really set the stage for the entire lecture. I thought it was very neat how they could bring someone in who was so closely tied in with the entire crisis. The major issue discussed in this video is how Europe and the United States used different tactics with their governmental policies to dig themselves out of one of the worst financial holes the world has ever seen. Mr. Trichet goes deep into his discussion talking about the European government and the certain policies that were applied worldwide to dig themselves out of the crisis. In 2007-2008, there was a Worldwide Financial Crisis that by many, is considered to be the greatest economic collapse the world has seen since the Great Depression back in the 1930’s. Trichet stated many times that this crises was focused on the “advanced” economy. Monetary policy was something that was talked about, and a few years ago, there were situations that stemmed from this policy. According to Trichet, one of...
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...Theories of Political Economy Instructor: Professor Béla Greskovits Office phone: 327-3079 e-mail: greskovi@ceu.hu Time: tba. Room: tba. Office Hours: tba. This course introduces students into three traditions of thought on the relationship between politics and the economy: both the economic constraints on politics and the political embeddedness of the economy. The conceptual frameworks studied include Neo-Marxist and Marx-inspired theories, historical institutionalism, and economic approaches to politics based on the assumptions of neo-classical economics. Students will be acquainted with these lines of thought by discussing important works by representative authors. Readings by Wallerstein, Cardoso and Faletto, Wright, and Mamalakis, represent world-sytem analysis, the dependencia thought, analytic Marxism, and sectoral theory. Historical institutionalism is discussed on the basis of the path-breaking work of Polanyi, and the comparative studies of Schoenfield, Katzenstein, and Gourevitch, who focus, respectively, on the changing balance of public and private power, variants of corporatism, and state autonomy in capitalist societies. Finally, Downs’ economic theory of democracy, the rival views of collective action by Olson, and Hirschman, and North’s work on the relationship between institutional change and economic performance introduce the economic approaches to politics. Requirements and grading Active participation in in-class discussions (20% of final...
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...Commodification – The process of taking goods and services that are valued for their utility and turning them into commodities. Mosco (1996) defines commodification as “the process of transforming use values into exchange values, of transforming products whose value is determined by their ability to meet individual and social needs into products whose value is set by what they can bring in the marketplace.” Commodification is the term for a process in which a product’s value deriving from human want or need (use value) is transformed into the value it could get from exchange (exchange value) (p.141). An example of this in relation to the mass media would be the commodification of audiences, and, increasingly, cybernetic commodification in the form of electronic information about our consumption habits. Spatialization – The process of overcoming the constraints of space and time in social life (Mosco, 1996). Structuration – The third entry point is structuration, developed from Anthony Giddens theory of structuration, whereby the interconnections of structure and action are understood to reproduce social life (p.212). Mosco examines aspects of the structuration of the communications industry in terms of the dimensions of class, gender and race. These he suggests are mutually constitutive categories in terms of structuration processes (p.239) and that two possibilities for considering them together are to be found in the focus on social movements and hegemonic processes. This...
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...of the critical political economy approach to media analysis. This task will be achieved by first delivering a brief historical overview of this scholarly discipline. Additionally, and by way of a thorough inquiry of the pertinent literature, this paper will highlight the critical boundaries of this Marxist social theory. Moreover, this essay will contend that in an attempt to overcome these perceived limitations, contemporary proponents of the critical political economy of the media have in fact adopted a conciliatory position with the cultural studies approach. Indeed, this paper will deliver an understanding of the emergence of critical theory in social analysis. Consequently, through...
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...Linh Pham Germany – Political Structure and Economy HIS200 Dr. Joanne McKay November 24 2013 Germany – Political Structure and Economy After the World War II, the winner of the war divided Germany and its capital, Berlin, among themselves. East Germany, a brand new country that promised to show the world why socialism was the best political system, was occupied and controlled by The Soviet Union. West Germany, called the Federal Republic, was occupied by the Americans, British and French, who would establish a new democratic government that stood in direct opposition to Communism. Because of the citizen’s emigration to West Germany, East Germany government decided to seal the border to stop their people keep moving to the West. On August 13, 1961, the city of Berlin was cut in two by a wall. Everyone could see that the wall was not protecting this country, but imprisoning and hurting people. It has separated friends, families, and a nation for 28 years. Later, when the Soviet Union fell, East Germany made the decision to get rid of the wall. Finally, the Berlin Wall, symbol of Communist Oppression, fell after 28 years marked by violence and tragedy on November 9, 1989. The country has officially reunited. Since then, Germany political system and economy have changed a lot. Unlike a lot of other countries’ political system which essentially have existed in its current form for a long time ago, the current German political system is a much more recent construct dating...
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...RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY STUDENT GUIDELINE NOTES GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY MODULE Paste the notes here… Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government. Political economy originated in moral philosophy (e.g. Adam Smith was Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow), it developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states — polities, hence political economy. In late nineteenth century, the term "political economy" was generally replaced by the term economics, used by those seeking to place the study of economy upon mathematical and axiomatic bases, rather than the structural relationships of production and consumption (cf. marginalism, Alfred Marshall). History of the term Originally, political economy meant the study of the conditions under which production was organized in the nation-states. The phrase économie politique (translated in English as political economy) first appeared in France in 1615 with the well known book by Antoyne de Montchrétien: Traicté de l’oeconomie politique. French physiocrats, Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx were some of the exponents of political economy. In 1805, Thomas Malthus became England's first professor of political economy, at the East India Company College, Haileybury, Hertfordshire. The world's first professorship in political economy was established in 1763 at the University of Vienna...
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...Robust Political Economy The nirvana fallacy is the informal fallacy of comparing actual things with unrealistic, idealized alternatives. We are always going to come up short when we compare to expectations of the ‘perfect world.’ Economist Harold Demstez, creator of the idea of the nirvana fallacy, states, “The view that now pervades much public policy economics implicitly presents the relevant choice as between an ideal norm and an existing 'imperfect' institutional arrangement.” This nirvana approach differs considerably from a comparative institution approach in which the relevant choice is between alternative real institutional arrangements. Comparative institutional analysis focuses on the rules people operate by and is defined as the assessment of feasible organizational or policy alternatives. Comparative institutional analysis goes conjointly with robustness, which is the normal standard we apply. Robustness asks questions such as, ‘what set of rules produces better outcomes in bad circumstances?’ and ‘how well does it keep the really bad things from happening?’ Mark Pennington on Robust Political Economy, draws on two problems: the knowledge problem and the incentive problem. This goes hand in hand with the economic calculation problem proposed by Ludwig von Mises and later expanded by Friedrich Hayek as well as the comparison between private versus public property in economics. All economic and political systems must challenge both knowledge problems and incentive...
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