Mount Holyoke College
Economics 100(01)
Spring 2014
Jens Christiansen
Office:112 Skinner, x2750, email: jchristi
Office Hours: M 2:45-4:00, T 11-12, W 11-12, & by appmt.
Mentor: Pragya Bajoria, email: bajor22p@mtholyoke.edu
INTRODUCTION TO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Course Description and Requirements:
This is a first-year seminar. There are no prerequisites, but the class is only open to first-year students
and involves very active student participation, which means, apart from being actively engaged in our
discussions, you will often report on particular topics or issues to the class as a whole.
Globalization has become a household word. This course introduces students to the economic forces that
have led to an ongoing integration of economies worldwide over the centuries. We will examine both
the benefits and the costs that have resulted from this development. Topics will include the enormous
threats entailed in financial instability, economic inequality, and environmental degradation on a global
scale. We will also discuss specific integration projects (such as the EU), as well as the general tendency
towards a fully integrated global market, and the economic outlook after the recent/current great
recession.
Texts:
Galeano, Eduardo, Open Veins of Latin America, Monthly Review Press, New York, 1997.
Hacker, Diana, A Pocket Style Manual, 5th edition, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston, 2010.
These paperbacks are available at the Odyssey Book Shop. Most other readings will be provided as
links on Moodle or other websites.
Course Website: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/jchristi/econ100/homepage.html
Grading:
1. Each student has to write at least five short essays (due electronically Tuesdays or Thursdays at noon
-- late essays will not be accepted!). You cannot write more than six essays – or at least I will not
grade more than six. The topics for each deadline will be available on the website (there is a total of
seven potential deadlines). Each essay has to be between 800 and 1000 words (these limits will be
strictly enforced. You have to provide the exact word count on each paper, not including title,
references, and short footnotes). Your best four essays will count for 40 percent of your grade.
Each student has to write at least one essay by the second deadline (see topics below) and at least
three by the fifth deadline (for exact dates see the website).
Additionally, each student also has a write a very short, non-graded essay for this coming Monday,
January 27 (see below for details). Make sure you send me this article by email before class!
2. There will be two midterm exams on February 28 (ten percent) and on April 4 (fifteen percent) and a
regular self-scheduled final (fifteen percent). Thus, these exams will count for a total of forty
percent in your final grade.
3. Active participation in class and a number of oral presentations (some of them formal) will count for
the remaining twenty percent of your grade.
2
The First Two Essay Deadlines:
February 6 Deadline -- choose one of two:
1. Globalization is often portrayed in the media these days as if it were a phenomenon of the past few
decades. In defining the term globalization, discuss why it is seen this way and then make an argument
that it is actually a process that has been going on for at least several centuries. Provide some specific
references to earlier time periods, indicating how activities at the time can be interpreted as part of a
process of globalization.
2. The period between (roughly) 1300 and 1500 was a time of monumental changes and developments
in Europe. Elaborate on specific events as well as developments in science and technology and trade
and business practices at the time and show how they contributed to the process of globalization.
February 18 Deadline -- choose one of four:
1. Define and discuss colonialism and imperialism as phenomena of globalization. What is the
difference between these two and how do they differ from globalization at the beginning of the third
millennium?
2. What is the gold standard? How did it function and what role did it play in international trade and
finance prior to World War I?
3. Discuss the nature and dynamics of inter-imperialist rivalries at the beginning of the twentieth
century and how they contributed to the onset of World War I.
4. What is the Great Depression? Discuss its origins, its effects on the world economy, and its role in
triggering World War II.
Further deadlines are: March 6, 13, and 25, April 10, 17, and 22 (see website for topics).
Additional Short Essay for January 27:
Globalization is such a buzzword these days. You are supposed to write a short essay about what you
understand by the term. What does it mean to you? What do you think are the driving forces behind
globalization? What are, in your view, its consequences? This essay does not require any reading or
research, it will not be graded, but you are supposed to give it you best shot in terms of style and
presentation. Be as clear and articulate as you can be in presenting your arguments and in getting your
views across to the reader. This little essay should be at least two pages (500 words) in length, but
definitely no more than three pages (800 words; provide exact word count at the end of the essay!).
All essays should always be type-written (I guess “word-processed” would be the proper term),
double-spaced, and with adequate margins! And don’t forget to give the word count at the end of
each essay!
I will collect all your essays (with my comments and corrections on the margins) and use them
when I determine your final grade.
3
Date
Preliminary Course Outline
Topic
1-22
Introduction to the Course: What is Globalization (the Global Economy)?
1-27
Initial Discussion of Globalization: What are the Forces behind it, what are its Consequences?
1-29
Session on Research with Reference Librarian James Burke (Williston 619)
1-31
A Race through History I: Ancient Empires, the Middle Ages, and the Age of Discovery.
2-3
A Race through History II: The Age of Colonialism and Imperialism
2-5
Two World Wars and the Great Depression
2-6
Paper Deadline One
2-7
Bretton Woods and the Golden Age of Capitalism
2-10
Global Economic Crises: The Oil Crises, Third World Debt Crisis, and Asian Financial Crisis
2-12
The Recent Global Financial and Economic Crisis
2-17
Smith’s Invisible Hand
2-18
Paper Deadline Two
2-19
Neo-Classical Equilibrium Theory
2-21
Neo-Classical Equilibrium II
2-24
Keynesian Economics and the Circular Flow Model of the Economy
2-26
Review
2-28
First Midterm
3-3
Monetary and Fiscal Policy
3-5
International Trade and Finance: Comparative Advantage, Balance of Payments, and Exchange Rates
3-6
Paper Deadline Three
3-10
Marx’s Theory of Capital Accumulation
3-12
Theories of Imperialism and Dependency
3-13
Paper Deadline Four
3-24
Neo-Liberalism, Multinational Corporations, and Economic Growth and Development
3-25
Paper Deadline Five
3-26
The Washington Consensus: the IMF, the Worlbank, and Economic Development
3-31
Global Trade and the WTO
4-2
Review
4-4
Second Mid Term Exam
4
4-7
The Recent Global Crisis
4-9
Current Debates about Economic Policy
4-10
Paper Deadline Six
4-11
Europe: Economic Integration and the Introduction of the Euro
4-14
Chile: A Case Study
4-16
Global Inequalities
4-17
Paper Deadline Seven
4-18
Global Inequalities Continued
4-21
Global Environmental Degradation
4-23
Global Environmental Degradation Continued
4-24
Paper Deadline Eight
4-25
Global Governance and the G20: Is Social and Ecological Sustainability on a Global Scale a Possibility?