International Political Economy
GOVT 376C / Spring 2014
Class day & time: M W 2:30 – 4:00 PM
Classroom location: Hepburn 019
Instructor
Yong Ouk Cho
ycho@stlawu.edu
Office: Hepburn Hall 103
Office Hours: M W 9:00 – 10:20 AM, 1:20-2:20 PM, & 4:10-5:00 PM; and by appointment.
Class Description
This course introduces students to how domestic and international politics influence the market, as
well as how global economy shapes domestic and international politics. The first part of the course
addresses the general theories and debates surrounding international political economy. We then
dive into major issue areas such as international trade, multilateral corporations, international
monetary relations, balance of payment/currency crises, and economic developments, and discuss
theories and debates within each subject. The course will also have a thorough discussion of the
ways economic globalization alters theories of international political economy and how we can
evaluate the recent global financial crisis through the lens of IPE.
At the end of the course, students will have developed a firm grasp of the major issues,
approaches, and debates in the field.
Books Required:
Oatley, Thomas. 2010. International Political Economy: Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy, Fifth
Edition. New York: Longman (5th edition, paperback).
Additionally, I will provide journal articles. They will be posted online.
Course Requirements and Evaluation:
Students are required to complete the reading assignments before class. Also note that for some
weeks you have to complete all the reading assignments before Monday’s class
Active participation is strongly encouraged. Do not hesitate to ask questions during lectures
and discussions. If you feel uncomfortable bringing the issue up in class you may ask me after class
or during office hours.
Two In-class Exams: there will be a midterm and a final. Each midterm will be composed of
short essay questions and one comprehensive essay question. There will be no make-up exams.
If you have a conflict over the exam, see me in advance. In a genuine emergency, I am very willing to
work with you. I will, however, require documentation of emergencies.
In-class Quizzes: Throughout the semester, I will give you several quizzes that will be also used as
records for class participation. They will have a short essay, or multiple choice questions.
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Two Synopsis Papers: Students are required to write two synopsis papers (2 double-spaced pages
& standard 1.5-inch margins) for two of the assigned journal articles and be ready to discuss them in
class. Each paper should be distributed to all class members, by posting it on the class Sakai site.
Others are expected to read the response papers prior to class; papers are due by one day before
each class. The paper should have a short summary of the reading and raise some theoretical issues
and empirical questions for future research (challenging the material is appreciated). There will be a
sign-up sheet in class during the first two weeks of the class. Note every student must sign up for
two articles.
Collaborative Research Project and Paper: This course requires a research project for a group
that can constitute no more than 3 students. As a group, you are required to identify unanswered
questions that attract your attention, and provide your theoretical arguments and hypotheses, and
proposals on how to test your hypotheses (Actual empirical tests are not required). This project is
basically similar to what is known as a research design paper.
Each group should inform me of its members by week 3 (if you cannot find you partners,
please let me know as soon as possible). A note on your research question along with motivation or
justification for your project is due by week 6 (it should not be more than 300 words).
Completion of the projects means that a group must present its project in class and
submit its research paper within one week after presentation after incorporating comments from
panels. Each paper may not exceed 10 pages, double space, standard 1.5-inch margins. Paper
presentation will be held during the last two weeks of class (each group will have a 15 minute
presentation and a 15-minute discussion). Each group’s rough draft should be uploaded to online class one day before presentation.
Here is an brief example on how to do it. Suppose that you are interested in the effect of
trade on economic development. Although it is an interesting area, there is an extensive literature
on it. So, you might want to narrow down to a question like under what condition trade improves
economic development. Suppose your answer (hunch) after your some preliminary research is that
for trade to facilitate economic development, there should be a governmental projection of infant
industries. Then provide some important previous studies and your own why-arguments. Finally,
show me how you want to test your hypothesis (We will talk more about this project as we discuss
the assigned journal articles).
Since this is a collaborative research project and requires serious joint thought experiments,
simply dividing the parts of your project and writing them individually will be a bad choice. I
strongly recommend you to work together and construct thoughtful and cohesive arguments (after
all, your arguments are the largest component of your score). If you think your partner(s) barely
contributes to your project, please let me know. I will arrange a meeting with your group and try to
resolve problems in your group.
All writing assignments must be submitted online.
Your class performance will be based on the following:
Midterm 1
Final
In-class Quizzes
Collaborative Research Paper
Participation (in-class discussion for lectures and presentation)
Two Synopsis papers
2
20%
25%
10%
25%
10%
10% (5% for each)
Grading scale:
Grade
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Pass
Failure
4.0
94–100
3.75
92
3.5
90
3.25
88
3.0
85
2.75
82
2.5
80
2.25
77
2.0
75
1.75
72
1.5
70
1
0
65
0
Course Schedule
Week 1 (Jan 20)
Monday- Introduction
Wednesday- What is International Political Economy? (Chap 1)
Week 2 (Jan 27)
Monday- The WTO and the World Trade System (Chap 2)
Wednesday- The Political Economy of International Trade Cooperation (Chap 3)
Week 3 (Feb 3) A Society-Centered Approach to the Politics of Trade (Chap 4)
Rogowski, Ronald. 1987. "Political Cleavages and Changing Exposure to Trade."
American Political Science Review 81 (4):1121-37.
Hiscox, Michael J. 2002. "Commerce, Coalitions, and Factor Mobility: Evidence from
Congressional Votes on Trade Legislation." American Political Science Review
96 (3):593-608.
Monday- Theories of trade
Wednesday – Cont’d
****** Research group construction due on Feb 5 ******
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Week 4 (Feb 10) A State-Centered Approach to the Politics of Trade (Chap 5
& Stephen Krasner, 1976. “State Power and the Structure of International Trade,” World Politics 28
Milner, Helen V. and Keiko Kubota. 2005. Why the Move to Free Trade? Democracy and
Trade Policy in the Developing Countries. International Organization 59(1):157-193.)
Week 5 (Feb 17)
Monday – Trade and Development I: Import Substitution Industrialization (Chap 6)
Wednesday – Trade and Development II: Economic Reform (Chap 7)
Week 6 (Feb 24)
Monday – Multinational Corporations in the Global Economy (Chap 8)
Wednesday – The Politics of Multinational Corporations (Chap 9 & Moran, Theodore
H. 1978. "Multinational Corporations and Dependency: A Dialogue for Dependentistas and NonDependentistas." International Organization 32 (1):79-100.)
****** Research question due on Feb 26 ******
Week 7 (Mar 3)
Monday – Foreign Direct Investment Democratic Governance & Multinational
Corporations & exam review
Wednesday – Exam 1
Week 8 (Mar 10) – Spring Break (Happy Break!!!!!)
Week 9 (Mar 17)
Monday – The International Monetary System (Chap 10 & Broz, J. Lawrence, and Jeffry
A. Frieden. 2001. "The Political Economy of International Monetary Relations." Annual Review of
Political Science 4 (1):317-43.)
Wednesday – Contemporary International Monetary Arrangements (Chap 11 & Barry
Eichengreen. “The Dollar Dilemma.” Foreign Affairs, Oct. 2009.)
Week 10 (Mar 24)
Monday – A Society-Centered Approach to Monetary and Exchange-Rate Policies
(Chap 12)
Wednesday – A State-Centered Approach to Monetary and Exchange-Rate Policies
(Chap 13)
Week 11 (Mar 31)
Monday – Developing Countries and International Finance I: The Latin American
Debt Crisis (Chap 14)
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Wednesday – Developing Countries and International Finance II: A Decade of Crises
(Chap 15)
Week 12 (Apr 7) Foreign Aid
Dani Rodrik. “Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion? A
Review of the World Bank's Economic Growth in the 1990s: Learning from a
Decade of Reform”. Journal of Economic Literature. Vol. XLIV (December 2006), pp.
973-987.
Alesina, Alberto, and David Dollar. 2000. "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?"
Journal of Economic Growth 5 (1):33-63.
Easterly, William. 2003. "Can Foreign Aid Buy Growth?" Journal of Economic
Perspectives 17 (3):23-48.
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce , and Alastair Smith. 2009. "A Political Economy of Aid."
International Organization 63 (2):309-40.
Dunning, Thad. 2004. "Conditioning the Effects of Aid: Cold War Politics, Donor
Credibility, and Democracy in Africa." International Organization 58 (2):409-23.
Week 13 (Apr 14) Political economy of conflicts
Dale C. Copeland, “Economic Interdependence and War: A Theory of Trade Expectations,”
International Security 20, No. 4 (Spring 1996), pp. 5-41.
Collier, Paul, and AnkeHoeffler. (1998): ‘On the Economic Causes of Civil War’ in Oxford
Economic Papers, Vol.50, pp.563-573.
Barbieri, Katherine. 1996. Economic Interdependence: A Path to Peace or a Source of
Interstate Conflict? Journal of Peace Research 33 (1):29-49.
Ross, Michael. What do we know about Natural Resources and Civil War? Journal of
Peace Research 2004. 41(3): 337
Week 14 (Apr 21) Presentations
Week 15 (Apr 28) Presentations
Monday –
Wednesday – Wrap Up & exam review
****** research paper due on May 2 ******
Week 16 (Final Exam week)
Monday (May 5) 8:30 – 11:30 AM
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