Wright State University, Department of Economics
Spring 2016, Institutional Economics (IW)
T, R: 3:30-4:50, Rike Hall 056
Prof. Zdravka Todorova, zdravka.todorova@wright.edu
Rike Hall 243, Office Phone: (937) 775 – 3932
OFFICE HOURS: T, R: 2-3, 5-6, and by appointment
I encourage you to meet with me. You are welcome to stop by my office and discuss anything
about the economy, society, and economics, as well as about your studies.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
Mode of Instruction: Lecture and Discussion
Institutional economics studies issues of production, consumption, finance, and distribution in
relation to social values, culture, and ecosystems. Institutional economics emphasizes historical
evolution and analysis of system relations. Institutional concepts differ significantly from those
used in standard undergraduate textbooks. Consequently, students will be introduced to a
different approach to economic analysis. Students are going to learn that not only it is
important to consider culture and nature in economic analysis, but that it is important to
understand that there are different ways to do so. We are going to explore the Institutional
approach to analyzing the economy in relation to society and to nature.
Objective 1 of this course is to expose students to the approach of Institutional Economics and
its relevance for understanding contemporary economic issues. Objective 2 is to challenge
students, while practicing critical thinking, reading, and writing. Objective 3 is to facilitate an
appreciation of pluralism in Economics, and an understanding of the contested knowledge
generated by our scientific discipline.
REQUIRED READINGS
Books
Geoffrey M. Hodgson. 2012. From Pleasure Machines to Moral Communities: An Evolutionary
Economics without Homo Economicus.
Ken McCormic. 2006. Veblen in Plain English: A Complete Introduction to Thorstein Veblen's
Economics (2006).
Thorstein Veblen. Conspicuous Consumption. Penguin Press (2005).
Articles
Articles will be posted on Pilot. You can access Pilot through WINGS. You will need your
campus ID name and password. Once you are logged in, click on the Academics tab. For
additional help, please contact the Help Desk at 775-4827.
1
RECOMMENDED BOOKS THAT MAY HELP YOU WITH YOUR WRITING SKILLS:
Barnet, S., Bellanca, P. and Stubbs, M. 2013, A Short Guide to College Writing, Pearson.
Richard Bullock. 2006. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. W. W. Norton and Company, New
York.
Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. 2006. They Say I Say – The Moves that Matter in Academic
Writing. W. W. Norton and Company, New York.
INTEGRATED WRITING COURSE OBJECTIVES:
EC 3190 is an Integrated Writing course, and as such it has the objectives that Wright State
students will be able to produce writing that:
Demonstrates their understanding of course content,
Is appropriate for the audience and purpose of a particular writing task,
Demonstrates the degree of mastery of disciplinary writing conventions appropriate to the
course (including documentation conventions), and
Shows competency in standard edited American English.
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Attendance is crucial for your success in this course. In addition to attendance and discussion,
participation includes your behavior in class and your attitude towards the course work. Good
attitude towards course work includes following these rules:
- Please, do not be late for class, and leave class only if absolutely necessary.
- Please, use lap tops/electronic notebooks only for following the electronic texts of
assigned readings, and for note-taking. Take a notice of the argument that handwritten
note-taking is more effective than using laptops.
o http://www.vox.com/2014/6/4/5776804/note-taking-by-hand-versus-laptop;
o http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-case-for-banning-laptops-inthe-classroom)
- Audio and video recording is not permitted.
- Please, be respectful to your classmates when engaging in class discussion.
- Take the time to familiarize yourself well with the syllabus. If you lose your copy,
download another one from Pilot.
- When you meet with me with questions about the material, you need to demonstrate
that you have already read the assigned readings and you have put effort on your own.
If you miss class, it is not appropriate to expect that I will summarize the class material
for you during my office hours. However, you are welcome to bring up questions after
you have familiarized yourself with the readings.
- Follow the schedule and read the assigned readings.
2
GRADING
Attendance and Participation: 15 %
Assignments: 20 %
Presentation: 10% You will be assigned an article or a chapter from the required readings. You
will summarize it for the class, and will bring up two discussion questions to the class. Prepare
a one page handout for each of your classmates. The handout ought to includes the full
reference of the reading; summary; and discussion questions. Everything should be fitted on
one page!
Topic, Outline, Bibliography, and Presentation of Research Proposal: 10 %
Research Proposal: 20 % (Due April 19; 3000 words; no time extensions)
Comprehensive Final Exam: 25 %
Grading Scale:
A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F <60%
University policy prohibits the communication of grades electronically or by phone.
Check your grade thorough Wings Express. You can collect your final exam from me during
my finals week office hours – these will be announced at the end of the semester.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
If you need special accommodations for the fulfillment of class requirements, contact the Office
of Disability Services, and please let me know as soon as possible.
disability_services@wright.edu,
Telephone: (937) 775-5680
E186 Student Union, Wright State University
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
The university policy on academic dishonesty can be found in the student handbook which is
available on the WSU website and provides information on how to avoid academic dishonesty.
Academic dishonesty will be prosecuted in accordance with university guidelines.
CLASS SCHEDULE
It is important that you follow this schedule. The assigned reading for each topic should be
read before class, and you should be prepared to engage in discussion about the main points
3
that the readings makes. Readings are available through Pilot. I will ask you to keep a
handwritten “journal”/notebook while doing the readings. There is no specific required format.
The journal/notebook is going to be for your own benefit. When you read a new text usually
you learn new names, events, sources, etc. that you find intriguing, or you think may be of use
to you in the future. It is good that you jot those down in one place as you read. You can use
the journal/notebook to draw diagrams, write down data sources and related references,
questions, comments, or ideas for your research proposal. I will look at your journal once or
twice, however do not write this journal for me – it is for your own benefit. Jot down
information that you think will be useful to you. Sometimes in the future, beyond this class
look back at your journal.
Week 1: Introduction to the Class and to the Subject of Institutional Economics
T, Jan 12
Introduction
James Sturgeon. 1991. “The Institutional Approach” in Alternative Economic Perspectives. (Pilot)
(This reading is an introduction to Institutional Economics. It is an overview of all topics in the
class and it is rather long. So we will use it as a reference throughout the whole duration of the
semester. I do not expect you to read all of it in the first week).
R, Jan 14
Discussion of: William Kapp. 1950. Social Costs of Business Enterprise (Ch. 2)
http://www.kwilliam-kapp.de/documents/SCOPE.pdf
Week 2: Defining Economic Problems: Economic Man and Beyond
T, Jan 19
Discussion of Hodgson ch. 1
R, Jan 21: Group Exercise
Week 3: Research and Writing about Socio-economic Phenomena
T, Jan 26
Talk by Librarian
R, Jan 29
Discussion of L. R. Wray. “The Financial Crisis Viewed through the Theory of Social Costs”
In: Social Costs Today: Institutional Analyses of the Present Crises. Edited by Paolo Ramazzotti,
Pietro Frigato, and Wolfram Elsner. Routledge: New York. (Pilot)
Week 4: Morality and Economics
T, Feb 2
Discussion of Hodgson ch. 2, ch. 3
R, Feb 4
Discussion of Hodgson, ch. 4, 5
Week 5: Institutions
T, Feb 9
Discussion of Veblen, ch. 1, 2
4
R, Feb 11: Discussion of Research Proposals – Verbal report on your preliminary Library
search
Week 6: Technological and Institutional Change
T, Feb 16
Discussion of Veblen ch. 3, 4, 5, 6
R, Feb 18:
Discussion of Christopher Brown. 2008. “A Brief History of Innovation in the Consumer Credit
Industry,” Ch. 2, in Inequality, Consumer Credit, and the Savings Puzzle. Cheltenham: Edward
Elgar (Pilot)
Week 7: Business Enterprises
T, Feb 23
Discussion of Veblen ch. 7, 8; Hodgson ch. 6
R, Feb 25
Discussion of: Frigato Pietro and Francisco Javier Santos-Arteaga. (2012). “Planned
Obsolescence and the Manufacture of Doubt: On Social Costs and the Evolutionary Theory of
the Firm.” In: Social Costs Today: Institutional Analyses of the Present Crises. Edited by Paolo
Ramazzotti, Pietro Frigato, and Wolfram Elsner. Routledge: New York. (Pilot)
Spring Break
Week 8: “Public” and “Private” Explored
T, Mar 8
Discussion of Hodgson ch. 7 and
J. K. Galbraith.1958. “The Theory of Social Balance,” ch. XVIII from The Affluent Society (Pilot)
R, Mar 10
Week 9: Human Needs, Provisioning, and Consumption
T, Mar 15
Discussion of Hodgson: ch. 8; Veblen ch. 9, 10, Conclusion
R, Mar 17
Discussion of: Thorstein Veblen’s Conspicuous Consumption
Week 10: Ecology
T, Mar 22
Discussion of Hodgson ch. 9
R, Mar 24
Discussion of: De Groot, Rudolf, Matthew Wilson and Roelof Boumans. (2002). “A Typology
for the Classification, Description and Valuation of Ecosystem Functions, Goods and Services,”
Ecological Economics 41, 393–408. (Pilot)
5
Week 11: Policy Formulation, the Capitalist Economy, and Economic Theory
T, Mar 29
Discussion of Hodgson ch. 10
Optional: Z. Todorova. “Connecting Social Provisioning and Functional Finance in a Post
Keynesian – Institutional Analysis of the Public Sector” European Journal of Economics and
Economic Policies 10 (1): 2013, 61-75. (Pilot)
R, Mar 31
Discussion Steve Keen. 2012. “The Fiscal Cliff – Lessons from the 1930s: Report to US
Congress,” Real-World Economics Review, # 62. (Pilot)
Week 12: Market Based Solutions for Social Costs?
T, Apr 5
Discussion of S. Berger. 2012. “The Discourse on Social Costs: Kapp’s ‘Impossibility Thesis” vs.
Neoliberalism.” In: Social Costs Today: Institutional Analyses of the Present Crises. Edited by Paolo
Ramazzotti, Pietro Frigato, and Wolfram Elsner. Routledge: New York. (Pilot)
R, Apr 7
Week 13: Summary
T, Apr 12: What did we learn?
R, Apr 14: No Class – use the time to proofread well and print your Research Reports; prepare
one page handouts for your presentations.
Week 14: Presentations of Research Reports and Overview
T, Apr 19: Research Proposals are due. Presentations of Research Proposals.
R, Apr 21: Presentations
Final Exam R, April 26, 2:45 am – 4:45 pm, same room
Have a Nice and Productive Semester!
6