AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
POLS 3551 THEORY AND HISTORY OF POLITICAL
ECONOMY
FALL 2015
Javed Maswood, HUSS 2008
Lectures Times: MR 15:30-16:50 (Waleed CP72)
Office Hours: Sunday 10:00-12:00; Thursday 13:00-14:00
Email: javedmaswood@aucegypt.edu
Course Objectives
Political economy examines the relationship between politics and economics and assumes that a
perfectly laissez faire economic system is non-viable and impossible. There is of course ongoing debate as to the extent politics should intrude in the economy and market, and to
understand this fully, we will look at the work of several important economists, such as Adam
Smith, Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Schumpeter, Hayek and others. The second half of the
course will look at contemporary issues, including a review of globalization and economic
development.
Assessment
The breakdown of marks is as follows:
Participation
15 per cent
Term Paper
30 per cent
Mid Term examination
25 per cent
Final Examination
30 per cent
Participation is extremely important and that will be the primary determinant of marks for this
part of the assessment schedule. Of course, in order to participate, you will have to attend and it
is important that you do not miss too many classes. I will take attendance on most class days and
will not make any changes after the fact. It is entirely your responsibility to ensure you are
marked present on the day and not ask for changes to the roll after the fact. However, there are
no marks allocated for attendance, only for participation, but participation of course is dependent
on regular attendance. Remember also that the University mandates that you are allowed to be
absent for six lectures (3 weeks) whether for medical or other reasons. If you expect to be absent
more than six lectures, you should consider withdrawing from course or risk a failing grade.
Ask questions, whether in class or in my office. I am here to help in whatever way I can but you
must take the initiative to approach me. Feel free to knock on my door, during or outside of
office hours.
The essay has to be structured around a hypothesis and it is advisable that you submit a statement
of your hypothesis and its significance by mid March. This should be no more than a 100 words.
Typically, the hypothesis itself will be one sentence long and should establish a causal link
between two variables. An essay without a clearly stated hypothesis will not be accepted. A
hypothesis is your educated guess or answer to a research question or puzzle. You must
formulate the hypothesis yourself, but I am happy to provide feedback. The essay should be no
more than 2000 words in length, not including references and bibliography. Do not use internet
sources in your essay and rely instead only on published books and refereed journal articles. I do
not accept any essay that is based on web sources. It is safest to avoid all www. citations. There
are plenty of books in the library for any serious student. Essays must have proper referencing
and provide evidence of research. There must be references to at least five different sources. Do
not cite dictionaries, encyclopedias, or class notes. Students that plagiarize or cheat in any form
will receive a grade of F for the course and be referred also to the University Academic Integrity
Committee.
THE ESSAY WILL BE DUE IN CLASS ON THE FIRST CLASS DAY OF NOVEMBER
2015. I DO NOT MIND LATE SUBMISSIONS AND THERE IS NO REASON TO ASK
PERMISSION FOR MODERATELY LATE SUBMISSIONS BUT PLEASE BE AWARE
THAT THE LATER THE SUBMISSION, THE HARDER MY EVALUATION
CRITERIA. SO IF YOU TAKE LONGER TO COMPLETE YOUR ASSIGNMENTS, I
EXPECT A BETTER QUALITY PAPER. ONLY EXCESSIVELY LATE PAPERS, SAY
A WEEK BEFORE END OF TEACHING, WILL INCUR PENALTY
Bring a hard copy of essay and the essay should be stapled without any plastic jacket or cover.
NO TEXTING. PHONES MUST BE SWITHED OFF
Academic Integrity Policy
The University has a zero-tolerance policy on cheating and plagiarism. Academic integrity is
important and you should abide by established policy and guidelines. You can read the code of
ethics at http://www.aucegypt.edu/resources/academicintegrity/
Course Outline and Reading
1. Introduction to course
2. Political Economy: An introduction
The Debate Within Economics
3. An Overview of the Debate Through History
4. Laissez Faire Economics : The Science of Adam Smith and Alfred Marshall
Caporaso J. and David Levine, Theories of Political Economy, pp. 33-54
Brue, S. and Randy Grant, The Evolution of Economic Thought, pp 275-300
5. Challenge to Laissez Faire 1: Marxist political economy
Brue, S. and Randy Grant, The Evolution of Economic Thought, pp. 171-92
6. Keynes and ‘Depression Economics’: Demand Management
Cord, R., Reinterpreting the Keynesian Revolution, pp 1-11
Kindleberger, C., The World in Depression,
Wheelock. David C., ‘Monetary Policy in the Great Depression: What the Fed
Did and Why’, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, April 1992.
7. The Conservative Challenge: Schumpeter, Hayek and Friedman
Brue, S. and Randy Grant, The Evolution of Economic Thought, pp. 497-503
8. Krugman and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008
9. MID TERM EXAMINATION
Politics Weighs In
10. Political Economy in1970s and early 1980s: Islands of Theories, HST etc
11. Developmental States: Bringing the State Back In
Ziya, O. “The Logic of the Developmental State” Comparative Politics, Oct 1991
12. Asian Financial Crisis and a Neo-Classical Consensus
Maswood, S., "Developmental States in Crisis", in Beeson, M. (ed.), Reconfiguring East
Asia: Regional Institutions and Organizations After the Crisis, Curzon, London, 2002.
Maswood, S., International Political Economy and Globalization, pp 83-123
Issues in Contemporary Political Economy
13. Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Lohmann, S., ‘The Non-Politics of Monetary Policy’ in Oxford Handbook of
Political Economy.
O’Connor, J., The Fiscal Crisis of the State, pp xiii-12, passim
14. Collective Action Theories
Olson, M., The Logic of Collective Action, 1965.
15. Capitalism, Democracy and Development
Przeworski, A., ‘Self-Enforcing Democracy’, in Weingast and Witman, The
Oxford Handbook of Political Economy, 2008. Chapter 17.
Iverson, T., ‘Capitalism and Democracy’, in Weingast and Witman (eds.). The
Oxford Handbook of Political Economy, 2008, Chapter 33.
16. Capitalism, Inequality and the Kuznets Curve
Pikety, T., Capitalism in the Twenty-first Century.
Glaeser, E.L., ‘Inequality’, in Oxford Handbook of Political Economy.
17. Regional Integration: European Union
Eichengreen, B. in Oxford Handbook of Political Economy.
18. Trade Stability and Protectionism
Gilpin, R., The Political Economy of International Relations, Princeton
University Press.
Grossman, G.M. and Helpman, E., ‘Protection for Sale’, American Economic
Review, Vol. 84, No. 4, 1994, pp. 833-850
19. Trade and Development
Maswood, S., Trade, Development and Globalization, pp 1-30
20. Globalization
Rodrik, D., The Globalization Paradox, pp. ix-23
Altman, Roger C., ‘Globalization in Retreat’, Foreign Affairs, July/Aug 2009
21. Environmental Politics and Global Warming
Carter, N., The Politics of the Environment, 2nd edition, Cambridge University
Press, 2007, chapters 8 and 9
22. Crises in the Global Economy: Role of Governments in Turbulent Times
Rodrik, D., The Globalization Paradox, pp 207-232
23. Review