POL 349 - International Political Economy (International Relations & Comparative Government) (1)

This class uses methods and theorems central to international economics in the areas of trade and money (such as comparative advantage, factor and sector models, partial and general equilibrium, the Heckscher-Ohlin model, imperfect competition, import-substitution vs. export-orientation, strategic trade theory, balance of payments, aggregate demand, the Stolper-Samuelson theorem, and other concepts, methods, and theorems) to sustain an economically informed discussion of the political constraints upon and political implications of international exchange of goods and currencies. I have often noted that the class covers a large part of the same economic material as ECB 223 (International Economics), though we constantly direct our attention to the questions of what political constraints preclude or modify the outcomes economists expect and how economic developments favor and constrain the desires of domestic political actors. The class also has a substantial focus upon the political constraints upon economic development, that highlights the very important interactions between these economic and political science concepts in a particular policy area that is often of interest to students. Thus, the focus of the class is upon questions that are of interest to both economists and political scientists, and my hope is that our attention to the interaction between economics and politics - each viewed through the disciplinary lenses best adapted to understanding them - will help my students understand the value of using multiple disciplinary approaches to approach problems. Prerequisites: POL 142 and ECB 101. Alternate years.
(Social Science)