Introduction to World Economy

2019/2020

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Course type:

Elective course

When:

3 year, 2 module

Instructor

Altukhov, Artem

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Introduction to the World Economy is a one-module elective course offered to the third-year students of all specializations. The course purports to introduce the students to the most topical issues of the global economy, including inequality, migration, trade wars, and climate change. We start by reviewing the factors behind the historical development of capitalist economies and their amalgamation into one and seek to link these factors to the key theories in the field. In the course of our subsequent discussion, we come to explore and assess the different policies addressing the challenges world economy faces, including hunger, pension crisis, poverty, and others, their societal and political implications, as well as idiosyncrasies of these challenges in specific parts of the world.

Learning Objectives

• Provide a thorough treatment of economic globalization, surveying different approaches as to its age, drivers, and outcomes;
• Introduce the students to the most topical issues of the global economy, tracing each of them back to their historical roots;
• Discuss the conventional, as well as alternative, theoretical explanations of inequality, migration, trade wars, and climate change;
• Assess different cases of tackling these problems by national governments and international organizations.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Understand the economic implications of globalizing capitalism for individuals, industries, cities, and nations;
• Analyze the links between trade, economic growth, and globalization with particular reference to developing countries’ cases;
• Apply the framework of sustainable development to analyzing current global economic problems.
• Critically comment on specific policy issues such as protectionism, gentrification, universal basic income, immigration controls, &c.;

Course Contents

• Introductory lecture. Short history of globalization. Fourth Industrial Revolution & sustainable development
  Online lecture: Sachs week 1
• Demographic challenges. Malthusian limits to growth. Pension crisis. Global healthcare
  Online lecture: Guillén module 1, videos 1–6 ; Sachs week 6, videos 1, 5
• Food supply and the end of hunger
  Online lecture: Sachs week 10 and video 4 from week 6
• Migration & Urbanization
  Online lecture: Guillén module 1, videos 7–9 ; Sachs week 11
• Poverty & inequality
  Online lecture: Guillén module 2 ; Sachs weeks 2, 4, 5
• Trade III: Economic imbalances & trade wars
  Online lecture: Guillén module 3
• Climate change
  Online lecture: Sachs week 12

Assessment Elements

• Quizzes
  Quizzes are offered at the beginning of each seminar and are based on the contents of the corresponding online lecture. A quiz consists of ten questions and lasts for no more than seven minutes. Questions may be of either multiple-choice, true/false, or short-answer format.
• In-class participation
  In-class participation accounts for a substantial share of the final grade, as it is crucial for learning experience. The students are thus expected to engage with the core ideas of the course as discussed in lectures and readings and to arrive to class well prepared. Participation shall be evaluated in concordance with the HSE-UoL program evaluation rubrics, the Code of Conduct, and Expectations (available on the official website) and shall be based on:
• Make-up Essay
  In the aforementioned cases of a student missing more than five classes for a valid reason, he or she is allowed to write a two-hour in-class compensatory essay with a choice of three out of four questions.
• Final exam
  Final exam will be closed-book and will consist of ten multiple-choice, six true/false, five definition-based, and two free-response questions. A total of 80 minutes will be allowed. The exam will be comprehensive, which means it will cover the contents of the entire course.

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (2 module)
  0.4 * Final exam + 0.3 * In-class participation + 0.3 * Quizzes

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Borjas George J. and Chiswick Barry R. Foundations of Migration Economics [Book] / ed. Elsner Benjamin. - Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.
• Daron Acemoglu, & Pascual Restrepo. (2017). Secular Stagnation? The Effect of Aging on Economic Growth in the Age of Automation. American Economic Review, (5), 174. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.p20171101
• International economics : theory and policy, Krugman, P. R., 2015
• Katerina Lisenkova, Marcel Mérette, & Miguel Sánchez-Martínez. (2014). The Long-Term Economic Impact of Reducing Migration in the UK. National Institute Economic Review, (1), 22. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.niesru.v229y2014i1pr22.r30
• Mathias Czaika, & Hein Haas. (2014). The Globalization of Migration: Has the World Become More Migratory? International Migration Review, (2), 283. https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.2014.48.issue-2
• Michael Bordo, & Robert N McCauley. (2017). Triffin: dilemma or myth? BIS Working Papers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.bis.biswps.684
• See-Yan Lin Global Economy In Turbulent Times [Book]. - Singapore : John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Cheshire Paul C., Nathan Max and Overman Henry G. Urban Economics and Urban Policy: Challenging Conventional Policy Wisdom [Book]. - Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014.
• Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson, & Thierry Verdier. (2017). Asymmetric Growth and Institutions in an Interdependent World. Journal of Political Economy, (5), 1245. https://doi.org/10.1086/693038
• Pollin Robert Greening the Global Economy [Book]. - Cambridge, MA : MIT Press, 2015.