Professor Peter J. Boettke

Comparative Political Economy

ECON380/ECON 676

Spring 2003

T-Th 10:30-11:45am

Enterprise Hall Rm. 279

This is a joint undergraduate/graduate course in comparative political economy. This semester we will focus our attention on the problems of economic development in general and the globalization debate. The course will be divided into four sections. The first section will go over the basic economic concepts and factual information required for a political economy analysis of the pressing public policy issues associated with economic development and globalization. The second section will go over the problems that socialism as an economic and political system faced in theory and practice and explain why the socialist alternative is not a viable option despite the popularity the idea still has (if boiled down) with many intellectuals and political leaders. We will also discuss the problems that transition economies have faced over the past decade and why these problems are really problems of underdevelopment rather than something entirely new. The third section will discuss the difficulties that have been confronted in over fifty years of attempts to solve the problem of underdevelopment. This section of the class is important for establishing also why it is important to solve the problem of underdevelopment for humanity. The final section of the class will discuss the globalization debate. We will discuss not only economics, but also environmental and cultural consequences of a global marketplace for ideas and products.

Students are expected to attend all classes and do the assigned reading before class. If you are not prepared to bring this level of commitment to this class, please rethink your decision to take this class. I have assigned five books for this course:

Peter Boettke, Calculation and Coordination: Essays on Socialism and Transitional Political Economy. New York, NY: Routledge.

Tyler Cowen, Creative Destruction: How Globalization is Changing the World’s Cultures. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

William Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economist’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.

Johan Norberg, In Defense of Global Capitalism. Stockholm, Sweden: Timbro, 2001.

Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and Its Discontents. New York, NY: Norton, 2002.

In addition to these readings I will assign additional newspaper and magazine articles and some on-line sources. In particular, I want you to read Richard Stroup and James Gwartney’s What Everyone Needs to Know About Economics and Prosperity. Vancouver, BC: Fraser Institute, 1995 and also different entries from The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics edited by David Henderson. We will draw on these sources heavily in the first section of the class.

We will have periodic quizzes (10 in total), exams (mid-term and final), and a term paper. Your course grade will be determined on your lowest score on these different assignments. For the graduate students your term paper will be judged by professional standards. For undergraduate students the term paper is to address specific county and its history and problems with attempting to overcome the underdevelopment problem. Both undergraduates and graduate students should pick their topic early in the semester in consultation with me.

Course Schedule

DATE	TOPIC	READING
January 21	Introduction
January 23	What We Need to Know About Economics and Prosperity	Gwartney and Stroup, Part I – Ten Key Elements of Economics
January 28	Basic Concepts	Henderson, read the entries on property rights, efficiency, competition and free market
January 30	Why Do Countries Grow?	Gwartney and Stroup, Part II – Seven Sources of Economic Progress Henderson, read the entries on economic growth, entrepreneurship, free trade, and protectionism
February 4	What is the Economic Role of Government?	Gwartney and Stroup, Part III – Economic Progress and the Role of Government Henderson, read the entries on tragedy of the commons, public goods and externalities, and public choice
February 6	The Problems of Economic Control	Henderson, read the entries on price controls, and political behavior
February 11	Economic Calculation Under Socialism	Boettke, 7-65.
February 13	The Experience of Socialism in Practice	Boettke, 77-139.
February 18	How Did the Soviet System Work?	Boettke, 66-76; 140-153
February 20	Why Did this Economic System Break Down?	Boettke, 154-190.
February 25	The Problems of Socialist Transition	Boettke, 1-6; 191-233.
February 27	An Alternative Reading of Recent Russian History	Stiglitz, 133-165.
March 4	The Transition Problem as an Infrastructure of Development Problem Review for Mid-Term	Boettke, 235-247.
March 6	MID-TERM
March 11-13	SPRING BREAK
March 20	What Happens When Countries Don’t Grow?	Easterly, 1-19. Boettke, 266-284. Norberg, 98-105.
March 25	What Happens When Countries Do Grow?	Norberg, 19-105; 179-223.
March 27	Why Has Growth Been So Elusive?: Investment Gap Theory of Development	Henderson, read entry on Keynesian Economics Easterly, 25-70.
April 1	The Continuation of Elusiveness: Why Do Countries Still Lag Behind?	Easterly, 71-139; 217-283.
April 3	Are Institutions the Remedy We Have Been Looking For?	Boettke, 248-265.
April 8	What is the Hope for the Worlds Poor?	Easterly, 143-215; 285-291.
April 10	Why the Discontent with Globalization?	Stiglitz, 3-88.
April 15	Is it all the IMF’s Fault?	Stiglitz, 89-132; 195-252.
April 17	The Problems with the WTO and other International Agencies	Stiglitz, 166-194. Norberg, 107-177; 225-259.
April 22	Trade Between Cultures	Cowen, 1-46.
April 24	What Is Lost When Trade Between Cultures Occurs?	Cowen, 47-101.
April 29	Does the Market Lift Us Up or Dumb Us Down?	Cowen, 102-152.
May 1	Toward a Political Economy of a Free and Prosperous World	Norberg, 262-274.
May 5	Review for Final Exam Term papers are due
May 8 10:30-1:15	FINAL EXAM

Office Hours: 9:00-10:15 T-Th; 1:00-3:00, T-Th or by appointment.

Office Location: 324 Enterprise Hall

Email: pboettke@gmu.edu; Phone: 703-993-1149