Comparative Political Economy I:
Developing Economies and Emerging Markets
B.Sc. International Business and Politics
All exam questions 2006-09
Closed book exam
June 27, 2006
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. How and why have transnational corporations (TNCs*) influenced economic
development in developing countries during the Cold War and/or the PostCold War era? (*TNCs and MNCs (Multinational Corporations) are here
considered as equivalent terms).
2. How has industrialisation been promoted in Latin America, Sub-Sahara Africa
and/or Asia, and why has it succeeded and/or failed?
Written closed book re-exam
August, 2006
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. Discuss whether, how and why authoritarian political systems are
preconditions for economic development. Illustrate your argumentation with
relevant examples.
2. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is one of the UN Millennium
Development Goals. Discuss contemporary theories about the role of private
firms in the alleviation of poverty in developing countries and assess how valid
they are?
Written closed book exam
June 22, 2007
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. How and why has globalisation affected the state-business relationship in
developing countries? Illustrate your points of view with examples from Latin
America, Sub-Saharan Africa, The Middle-East, and/or Asia.
2. Discuss whether, how and why the transformation of developing countries
and/or emerging markets from state-led to market-based economies has been
economically successful?
Written closed book re-exam
August, 2007
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. In the late 20th century and the early 21st century the private sector has been
increasingly involved in international development cooperation. Discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of development strategies which make private
firms the primary vehicle of economic development and poverty alleviation.
2. Compare the overall economic development strategies applied in two or three
regions of the Global South and explain how and why they have effectuated
sustainable economic development or failed to do so.
Written closed book exam
June 20, 2008
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. In the anthology States, Markets, and Just Growth Atul Kohli (2003, 2) defines
“just growth” as “growth with distribution and democracy”. Discuss whether,
how and why the goal of just growth is partly or fully attainable by developing
countries or emerging market economies in an era of economic globalisation?
Please, illustrate your arguments with examples from Sub-Saharan Africa, The
Middle-East, Asia, Latin America and/or Eastern European and CIS countries.
2. Since the 1980s the private sector has been appointed the driver of economic
growth in the Global South. Discuss whether, how and under which conditions
multinational companies (MNCs, TNCs) enhance or impede the development
of private sectors in developing countries and justify your argumentation with
empirical examples.
Written closed book re-exam
August, 2008
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. The so-called ‘Washington Consensus’ (WC) dominated the international
development discourse during the 1980s and 1990s. The question is why this
discourse became mainstream thinking and whether this discourse is still
dominant in the 21st century. Please, illustrate your argumentation with
concrete examples of developing countries where the WC has been applied in
development policy or strategy.
2. East Asian economic development in the Post World War II era has been
labelled a ‘miracle’. However, the questions are whether the theory of the
developmental state is valid as explanation of the rapid economic
development of the East Asian newly industrialising countries (NICs), and
whether the ‘lessons learned’ from contemporary East Asia can be extended
to other countries and regions in the Global South.
Written closed book exam
June 2009
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. During the 'Cold War' history of ‘development’, state and market have been
debated as alternative or even contradictory mechanisms of economic
development and industrialisation in the Global South. Describe what this
debate is about and discuss whether, how and why at least the theoretical part
of the debate has or has not been settled in the 'Post-Cold War' era and the
'War on Terrorism' in the 21st century. Finally, assess the strengths and
weaknesses of the present state-market theorising of economic development
and illustrate your criticism with empirical evidence.
2. It is suggested by several development researchers that linking up with foreign
companies e.g. in global value chains is an avenue to business expansion and
upgrading in a globalised economy. Others have disagreed. Discuss
contrasting theories about the role of internal and external linkages in the
upgrading of developing country firms and outline whether, how and under
which conditions external linkages can or cannot generate sustainable private
business development? Please, substantiate your argumentation with
empirical evidence.
Written closed book re-exam
August, 2009
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. In the post-World War II era of political-economic development “just growth”
defined as “growth with distribution and democracy” (Atul Kohli 2003, 2) has
seldom been fully achieved in developing countries and emerging market
economies. The question is which role private business has played in
trajectories where “just growth” was more or less accomplished in societies of
the Global South? Please, illustrate your arguments with examples from SubSaharan Africa, The Middle-East, Asia, Latin America and/or Eastern
European and CIS countries.
2. Economic liberalisation and globalisation dominated the relations between the
Global North and Global South during the 1980s and 1990s. The question is
whether, how and why the state has returned to the centre stage of economic
development theory and practice in the 21st century? Please, illustrate your
discussion with contrasting theories of economic development and assess the
validity of their claims with empirical examples from the comparative political
economy of developing economies and emerging markets.
Political Economy of Development
B.Sc. International Business and Politics
Spring 2010
Written closed book exam
June 2010
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. Many classification systems of ‘developing countries’ have been formulated
since the emergence of the problem area of ‘development’ after the Second
World War. Describe various conceptual typologies of ‘developing countries’
and discuss whether, how and why they make sense in field of Political
Economy of Development in the 21st century. Please, illustrate your
argumentation with theoretically- and empirically informed examples from
various problem areas of development and/or developing countries/regions of
the ‘Global South’.
2. One of the key purposes of the Political Economy of Development is to
theorise about economic ‘catching-up’ policies and strategies for developing
countries. Contrast various ‘catching-up’ theories and discuss their
contemporary relevance and theoretical and empirical validity using examples
from developing countries and/or regions to illustrate your argument.
Written closed book re-exam
August 2010
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. Since the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s and the withering of the
‘systemic rivalry’ between market systems and plan-economy systems, the
quest for democratic development has been voiced more broadly but it is still
highly contested. Discuss whether, how and why political democracy and
economic development are interdependent factors or if one of them is a
precondition for the other. Please, illustrate your argumentation with examples
from the Global South and consider finally if the ‘War on Terrorism’ of the
2000s has added a new global political-security obstacle for democratic
development in the Global South.
2. With the decolonisation of developing countries especially in Africa and Asia
after the Second World War, a debate emerged about the options for
economic development of the new postcolonial countries. Modernisation
theory and dependency theory were two counterpoints and reflected a deeper
debate about the importance of country internal factors versus country
external factors as explanatory dimensions of economic development. Discuss
how the debate about external and internal factors shaping economic
development is played out at the macro-economy level and micro /firm level in
Political Economy of Development. Please, illustrate your argumentation with
empirical evidence from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, transition
European economies and/or Asia.
B.Sc. International Business and Politics
Political Economy of Development
Spring semester 2011
Written closed book exam
June 2011
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. ‘Emerging market economies’ like China, India, Brazil and Russia have moved
to the centre stage of international business in recent years. Which types of
political-economic development strategies have made emerging market
economies pivotal to international business? Discuss also whether these
political-economic development strategies are sustainable in the future.
Please, illustrate your argumentation with empirical evidence from emerging
market economies.
2. The issues of poverty and socio-economic inequality have been key concerns
for development theory since the 1950s. Describe the evolution in the main
theoretical positions on these issues and discuss the relevance and validity of
these theoretical positions in today’s development setting. Please, illustrate
your argumentation with empirical evidence from developing countries or
regions.
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Written closed book re-exam
August 2011
Answer one of the following two questions:
1. The discourse of ‘development’ emerged after the World War II and the world
was conceived as three worlds where the concept of ‘Third World’ covered the
group of developing countries. Describe this concept and its theoretical
foundation in the Cold War era. Moreover, discuss the relevance and validity
of the concept in the 21st century relative to alternative classification systems
of developing countries. Please, illustrate your points of view with empirical
evidence from developing countries and/or regions.
2. One of the most contested issues of economic development has been whether
how and why states of developing countries should (not) intervene in the
economic system in order to generate economic growth and industrial
upgrading. Discuss contrasting theories about this issue and outline how and
under which conditions state interventions can be seen as part of the problem
or part of the solution to low economic growth and lack of industrial upgrading.
Please, illustrate your argumentation with empirical evidence from countries
and/or regions of the Global South.