International Political Economy (IPE) - Syllabus of the course 21 Feb 2014

Code: JPM325 (mandatory course for the students of IEPS programme and optional for other students of FSV UK). Intensity: 1/1 (i.e. one hour of lecturing and one hour of seminar coursework) Credits: 5

Instructors: Doc. Ing. Vladimír Benáček, CSc. and Mgr. Tomáš Petříček, M.A., plus presentation of a visiting professor from abroad. Contacts: benacekv@fsv.cuni.cz, tomas.petricek@seznam.cz

Requirements on students: Studying continuously during the course, participating in assignments for homework, presenting 4 team reports (essays) and elaborating an individual essay, which should be presented and defended.

The objective of the course rests in the analysis of fundamental issues of IPE dealing with wealth, power and conflicts. The studied agents include the representatives of nations, businesses (e.g. multinational corporations), governments and individuals. The participants will have to master the methodology of comparative studies and the theoretical concepts of IPE applied on markets with goods and factors, international trade, money, public choices, government hierarchies and political interests. The study and discussion of present international economic and social crises will form an important part of seminars.

The background of this course will be taken from the renowned Oxford Handbook of Political Economy (OHPE), 2008, edited by Barry R. Weingast and Donald A. Wittman (ISBN13: 9780199548477, ISBN10: 0199548471). There will be selected chapters for mandatory reading, plus articles and texts assigned for reading during seminars. The textbook is available in the libraries of Jinonice and IES (Opletalova) FSV sites. Students should also check the course website via SIS or Karolinka and download the handouts BEFORE lectures/seminars from http://is.cuni.cz/studium/predmety/index.php?do=predmet&kod=JPM325.

The course will be interactive, aiming at creative critical thinking. Remember that the aim of this course is the buildup of your skills and excellence in dealing with the world issues - please consider it also as your own investment into yourself. The course will be launched on 21 February 2014 at IES, Opletalova St. 26, hall 206. The lectures and seminars will take place on Fridays from 12:30 till 13:50. Its 12 sessions in 12 weeks will include:

*Week 1: VB 21.2. Introduction, theoretical fundamentals - home vs. global bias, endogeneity vs. exogeneity in the causal chains. Three pillars of social development: objectives and instruments.

Reading:

Handout on social interactions;

OHPE ch. 1: The Reach of Political Economy, Weingast & Wittman, p. 3-25;

Benacek, V. (2006) Three Dimensions of Modern Social Governance. Bratislava, NISPA, 2006

*Week 2: VB 28.2. Three pillars of social development: free markets vs. hierarchies of political and economic powers; mechanisms of social adjustment and conflict resolution.

Reading:

OHPE ch. 42: International PE, Lake, p. 757-777;

OHPE ch. 55: Politics and Scientific Enquiry, Buchanan, p. 980-995;

OHPE ch. 57: What is missing from PE, North, p. 1003-1009.

*Week 3: TP 7.3.Actors, Institutions and Authority in the Global Economy.

Reading:

Knill Ch. and Lehmkuhl D. (2002) "Private Actors and the State: Internationalization and Changing Patterns of Governance," Governance, Volume 15, Number 1, p. 41-63.

OHPE ch. 42: International Political Economy: A Maturing Interdiscipline, David A. Lake, p. 757-777

OHPE ch. 55: Politics and Scientific Enquiry, Buchanan J.M., p. 980-995.

*Week 4: TP 14.3. Governing the Societies in Globalized Economies; Institutions and Regimes of Coordination in the Globalized World;

Reading:

Aggarwal, V.K. and Dupont, C. (2011) Collaboration and Coordination in the Global Political Economy, in: Ravenhill J. Global Political Economy. Oxford University Press.

Blyth M. (2002) Institutions and Ideas: http://goodliffe.byu.edu/310/protect/blyth.pdf

Detomasi D. (2006) "International Regimes: The Case of Western Corporate Governance", International Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 225-251.

Rasche, Andreas; Gilbert, Dirk Ulrich (2012) " Institutionalizing global governance: the role of the United Nations GlobalCompact." Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 21, no. 1.

*Week 5: VB 21.3. Institutional economics, government policies, market and government failures.

Reading:

Handouts on New Institutionalism, transaction costs, market failures, bounded rationality, contracts, incentives and property rights.

OHPE ch. 35: Comparative Perspectives on the Place of the State in the Economy, Wren, p. 642-655;

OHPE ch. 59: Old Questions and New Answers about Institutions, Shepsle, p. 1031-1049

*Week 6: VB 28.3. Global Financial Markets; Financial Crises, Euro Crisis, Spillovers of Contagion and Stabilisation Policies.

Reading:

Various handouts and readings (Benacek, Mundell, Krugman, Wyplosz, Winiecki, De Grauwe, Razin, etc.).

*Week 7: ZK 4.4. Regulation of the Globalised World Financial System. EU regulatory system. Political economy of exchange rates. Invited lecture by Dr. Z. Kudrna (Univ. of Vienna). The lecture will cover 3 hours: 12:30 - 13:50, 14:00 - 15:20.

Reading:

OHPE ch. 26: PE of Fiscal Institutions, p. 464-478;

OHPE ch. 29: The Nonpolitics of Monetary Policy, Lohmann, p. 523-544;

OHPE ch. 32: The PE of Exchange Rates, Lawrence Broz & Frieden, p. 588-597;

OHPE ch. 44: European Integration, Eichengreen, p. 800-813

*Week 8: TP 11.4. Public Choice Perspective. Barriers to Fairness, Democracy and Growth. Bureaucracy, Agency Problems and Adverse Selection.

Reading:

OHPE ch. 14: Politics, Delegation, and Bureaucracy, Huber and Shipan, p. 256-274

Buchanan, James M. (2003) Public Choice, Policy, Vol. 19, No. 3, p.13-19.

Abbot, Andrew and Philips Jones (2013) Procyclical government spending: a public choice analysis, Public Choice, No. 154, p. 243 - 258.

Considine, John (2006) Yes Minister: Invaluable material for teaching the public choice of bureaucracy, Vol. 26, No. 3, p. 55 - 61.

*Week 9: 18.4. NO CLASSES (University Easter holiday).

*Week 10: VB & TP 25.4. Corruption, market failure and government failure. International conflicts.

Reading:

Handout;

OHPE ch. 46: Central issues in the study of international conflicts, Bueno de Mesquita, p. 832-851

*Week 11: TP 2.5. Political Economy of Development

Reading:

OHPE ch. 37. Paths of Economic and Political Development, Acemoglu and Robinson, p. 673 - 692.

OHPE ch. 39. The Role of the State in Development, Robert H. Bates, p. 708 - 722.

Sen A. (2001) Development as freedom. Oxford University Press. (Introduction)

*Week 12: VB 9.5. Global Trade, Trade Regimes, Impediments to Free Trade and Their Impacts on National Economies and Enterprises.

Reading:

Handout;

OHPE ch. 45: Trade, Immigration and Cross-Border Investment, Rogowski, p. 814-828;

OHPE ch. 41: Economic Geography, Venables, p. 739-754.