Comprehensive Examination in Globalization and Development
Day Two: Specialized Examination
Spring 2007
Answer three of the questions below. You must answer at least one question on each of the two
topics.
Topic I: International Organizations and States
1) Much recent economic literature focuses on the importance of “good institutions” for longterm economic growth. The institutions economists often focus on are protection of private
property rights, rule of law, low corruption, moderate regulation of the economy, and “efficient
government”. Summarize and evaluate some of the key arguments in this debate.
2) In the past couple decades the IMF and World Bank have taken an active roll in trying to
enforce structural changes in the governments and economies of countries in exchange for loans
and bailouts. Evaluate these interventions and what lessons (positive or negative) we can learn
from them to foster long-term economic development in the Global South.
3) East Asia economies have developed far more rapidly than economies in Latin America over
much of the past century. To what extent are differences in state policy and institutions
responsible for these differing trajectories? Please defend your answer even if you think state
policies and institutions have had no effect.
Topic II: Citizenship/Social Movements
4) Are social movement theories developed with the U.S. and European contexts in mind
(Resource Mobilization, Political Process, New Social Movements, etc.) useful for understanding
urban popular movements in developing countries today? Which are the most useful and why?
Are there any characteristics that distinguish urban popular movements in developing countries
from social movements in the U.S. and Western Europe which might force us to revise and
extend existing theories based on the U.S. and European experiences?
5) What kinds of unique challenges do transnational social movements face and what sorts of
strategies have been used to overcome them? Provide at least two concrete examples. What
standard explanations of social movements are most useful for understanding transnational social
movements today?
6) According to Charles Tilly, the national social movement is tied to state formation. It first
emerged in Western Europe just as central states consolidated political power. Moreover, its
basic form of collective action is clearly marked by interaction with central states. Do we see a
similar relation between state formation and the emergence and form of social movements in
developing nations? Or have characteristic differences in state formation in developing nations
led to characteristic differences in social movements?
7) The “cultural turn” in social movement theory is largely linked to research on new social
movements in Western Europe and North America and their post-materialist goals. Is it useful to
extend this Western concern with identity, life politics, protests to defend the lifeworld from
colonization by market and state forces, and cultural framing to the contentious politics of
developing nations? Or does it contort our understanding of the dynamics of contention in these
non-Western contexts?