Master
2020/2021
Project Seminar
Type:
Compulsory course (Politics. Economics. Philosophy)
Area of studies:
Political Science
Delivered by:
School of Politics and Governance
Where:
Faculty of Social Sciences
When:
2 year, 1, 2 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Master’s programme:
Политика. Экономика. Философия
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
6
Contact hours:
40
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Empirical research is based on research projects of IIMS/ICSID. The Institute for Industrial and Market Studies (IIMS) was founded in April 1997, and was one of the first research institutes established at the Higher School of Economics. The institute focuses on empirical analysis oforganizational behavior, market development, competition, business climate and business - government relations. The Institute specializes in academic and applied research projects, provides information and advisory support to major enterprises, Federal ministries and their departments, regional organizations and leading Russian think tanks. IIMS projects are based on empirical data and combine both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Informal interviews with companies’ managers allow researchers to identify trends in firm behavior, and more formal surveys help test hypotheses by using econometric analysis. IIMS main research areas include: market structure of Russian industries; organization and management of enterprises, including incentives for increasing efficiency and innovation activity; analysis of competition trends; property relations and corporate governance in transition economies; behavior of foreign investors; functioning of the public procurement system; incentives for bureaucrats and their impact on economic development; collective actions in business environment and professional communities; informal institutions, including cultural norms and trust, and their impact on social and economic development.
Learning Objectives
- Discussion on institutional issues of economic development in Russia with respect to different industries and markets
- Analysis of experience of countries that have a similar level institutional development as Russia
- Development of methodological tools of applied microeconomic research in Russia
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Students understand the basic principles of public procurement process at the national and municipal levels in Russia and EU-countries
- Students know the role that law and legal mobilization play in the political process
- Students know the effect of financialization in emerging markets
- Students are proficient in methodological principles of measuring difficult concepts
- Students have the skills to discuss and present research projects
Course Contents
- Introduction (Yakovlev)Course logic overview. Description of research projects of IIMS/ICSID. Information about the rules of the course and requirements for students.
- Rule of Law and Legal Mobilization (Kazun)The experience of different countries shows that lawyers often become key actors in social transformations. Lawyers played a crucial role in the liberalization of the United States (Halliday et al. 2007; Boukalas 2013), Europe (Bell 1994; Halliday 1982, 1987; Ledford 2006), several countries in Asia (Epp 2012; Rajah 2012; Munger et al. 2014), Latin America (Brinks 2007), and Africa (Gould 2006). In other countries lawyers hinder social reforms, for example, in Nazi Germany, in Japan in 1930–1945 and in Italy in 1926–1945 (L. Karpik and Halliday 2011, 224). A present-day example is the case of China, where lawyers remain passive toward the tightening of control by the authorities (Liu & Halliday 2011). This observation raises an important question: why does the legal profession become the initiator of positive changes in some countries, whereas in others it undermines the principle of rule of law? We will discuss possible answers to this question considering the experience of different countries of the world (Tunisia, Taiwan, Pakistan, France, United States, Russia etc.).
- Public procurement process in Russia and EU-countries (Rodionova)Public procurement regulation is an extremely important issue for economic development because public procurement constitutes a significant component of public bodies’ activities. Moreover, public procurement plays an important role in the national economies of both developed and developing countries (Klemperer, 2002; Dlamini & Ambe, 2012). It accounts for 10–15% of the GDP in developed countries and even more in developing nations (Lewis & Bajari, 2011). The efficiency of public procurement is a vital problem for public administration at the national and municipal levels. This subject has been addressed in many papers in recent years (see, for instance, Singer et al., 2009; Dimitri, 2013; Bovis, 2013; Guccio et al., 2014; Yakovlev et al., 2015). Many countries have undertaken reforms of their public procurement systems with a view to reduce the level of corruption and increase procurement competition, transparency and efficiency (European Commission, 2014). During the past decade, Russia’s system of public procurement has also undergone a number of serious reforms. There is evidence of increasing interest in improving public procurement, which accounts for significant proportions of countries’ total spend. Today, however, there is little understanding of the nature of public procurement and how and why, it differs across countries.
- Financialization in Emerging Markets (Zadorian)Scholars have identified financialization as a key characteristic of advanced capitalist economies over the past forty years. The term refers to the increasing importance of finance both as an interest group and as a regulatory ideal. Some scholars focus on “financialization of the everyday,” in which the finance industry has penetrated the lives of citizens by promoting consumer debt and investment vehicles in the face of falling wages (van der Zwan 2014, Standing 2012). Others have demonstrated that finance and related industries like real estate absorb a larger percentage of national income since the 1970s (Krippner 2005). A third dimension explores financialization processes within firms: non-financial corporations earn a larger proportion of their profits from financial activities relative to productive activities (Krippner 2005), and shareholder value maximization has become the primary objective of firms’ managers (Nölke and Perry 2007; Aglietta 2000, Lazonick and O’Sullivan 2000). Processes of financialization have been tied to economic crisis, growing income and wealth inequality, and deterioration of democratic institutions in OECD countries (Blyth 2013, Epstein 2005, Hacker and Pierson 2010, Piketty 2014, Streeck and Schaeffer 2013). Though we can observe patterns of financialization in emerging markets, fewer studies have considered the implications for democracy and economic growth there. The lecture will focus on one dimension of financialization in emerging markets: the introduction of shareholder value maximization corporate governance at state-owned enterprises in the oil sectors of Russia and Brazil.
- Old and new approaches in analyzing state capture in post-communist countries and beyond (Milos Resimic)State capture has been recognized as one of the crucial challenges to the successful transition of developing democracies. Namely, the existing scholarship suggests that state capture can block the reform process (Hellman, 1998; Kang, 2002; Magyar, 2016) and impede democratization (Tudoroiu, 2015). Traditionally, the state capture scholarship has been focusing on the business side of the state capture equation, portraying it as a unidirectional process (Hellman, 1998; Hellman et al., 2003). In this scholarship, the state typically remains a black box, simply following the signals of businesses. Until recently, few studies attempted to analyze the process of state capture from a micro-level perspective, by observing the dynamic of interaction between political parties and firms as the two main actors in contemporary capitalism and democracy (Yakovlev, 2006; McMenamin & Schoenman, 2007; Schoenman, 2014). However, in recent years, much more research emerged, which focused on disentangling both political and business actors and applying novel methodological approaches, such as social network analysis, to analyzing the driving actors on both the political and the business side of the state capture dynamic (Stark & Vedres, 2012; Fazekas & Tóth 2016). In this lecture, we will discuss the evolution of the scholarship on state capture by emphasizing both dominant and novel methodological approaches, central findings and challenges. We will try to shed light on the main advantages and shortcomings of different approaches in analyzing the phenomenon and consequences of state capture.
- Data analysisA series of seminars on how to collect and analyze data.
- Discussion of literature reviewStudents should choose 2 scientific articles from different topics and prepare a presentation.
- Group workStudents should choose one of the themes and divide into groups: (1) Rule of Law and Legal Mobilization; (2) International Comparisons of Public Procurement Regulation; (3) Financialization in Emerging Markets; (4) Old and new approaches in analyzing state capture
Assessment Elements
- Participation
- Review of the literature
- Presentation of group project
- Participation
- Review of the literature
- Presentation of group project
Interim Assessment
- Interim assessment (1 module)0.2 * Participation + 0.5 * Presentation of group project + 0.3 * Review of the literature
- Interim assessment (2 module)0.2 * Participation + 0.5 * Presentation of group project + 0.3 * Review of the literature
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Aglietta, M., & Rebérioux, A. (2005). Corporate Governance Adrift : A Critique of Shareholder Value. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=130496
- Andrey Yakovlev, Andrey Tkachenko, Olga Demidova, & Olga Balaeva. (2013). An impact of different regulatory regimes on the effectiveness of public procurement. HSE Working Papers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.hig.wpaper.08.pa.2013
- Bell, D. A. (1994). Lawyers and Citizens : The Making of a Political Elite in Old Regime France. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=143807
- Bernhard, M., Örsün, Ö. F., & Bayer, R. (2017). Democratization in Conflict Research: How Conceptualization Affects Operationalization and Testing Outcomes. International Interactions, 43(6), 941–966. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050629.2017.1257489
- Bovis, C. H. (2013). Efficiency and Effectiveness in Public Sector Management: The Regulation of Public Markets and Public-Private Partnerships and Its Impact on Contemporary Theories of Public Administration. European Procurement & Public Private Partnership Law Review, 8(2), 186–199. https://doi.org/10.21552/EPPPL/2013/2/171
- Brinks, D. M. (2008). The Judicial Response to Police Killings in Latin America : Inequality and the Rule of Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=263457
- Calogero Guccio, Giacomo Pignataro, & Ilde Rizzo. (2014). Evaluating the efficiency of public procurement contracts for cultural heritage conservation works in Italy. Journal of Cultural Economics, (1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-012-9194-2
- Cederman, L.-E., & Girardin, L. (2007). Beyond Fractionalization: Mapping Ethnicity onto Nationalist Insurgencies. American Political Science Review, (01), 173. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v101y2007i01p173.185.07
- Cingranelli, D., & Filippov, M. (2018). Are Human Rights Practices Improving? American Political Science Review, (04), 1083. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v112y2018i04p1083.1089.00
- Collier, D., & Adcock, R. (2001). Measurement Validity: A Shared Standard for Qualitative and Quantitative Research. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.4759268E
- Fariss, C. J. (2014). Respect for Human Rights has Improved Over Time: Modeling the Changing Standard of Accountability. American Political Science Review, (02), 297. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v108y2014i02p297.318.00
- Fearon, J. D., Kasara, K., & Laitin, D. D. (2007). Ethnic Minority Rule and Civil War Onset. American Political Science Review, (01), 187. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v101y2007i01p187.193.07
- Gould, J. (2006). Strong Bar, Weak State? Lawyers, Liberalism and State Formation in Zambia. Development & Change, 37(4), 921–941. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2006.00507.x
- Hale, H. E. (2017). Focus on the Fundamentals: Reflections on the State of Ethnic Conflict Studies. Ethnopolitics, 16(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2016.1235346
- Herrera, Y. M., & Kapur, D. (2007). Improving Data Quality: Actors, Incentives, and Capabilities. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.24E3880A
- Jacob S. Hacker, & Paul Pierson. (2010). Winner-Take-All Politics: Public Policy, Political Organization, and the Precipitous Rise of Top Incomes in the United States. Politics & Society, (2), 152. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.polsoc.v38y2010i2p152.204
- James D. Fearon, & David D. Laitin. (2003). Ethnicity, insurgency, and civil war. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.62D44F8F
- Krippner, G. R. (2005). The financialization of the American economy. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.E02EADDD
- Lewis, G., & Bajari, P. (2011). Procurement Contracting With Time Incentives: Theory and Evidence. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.CEFBD899
- Manuel Vogt, Nils-Christian Bormann, Seraina Rüegger, Lars-Erik Cederman, Philipp Hunziker, & Luc Girardin. (2015). Integrating Data on Ethnicity, Geography, and Conflict. Journal of Conflict Resolution, (7), 1327. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.jocore.v59y2015i7p1327.1342
- Mick Moore. (2004). Revenues, State Formation, and the Quality of Governa Countries. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.515E8DF8
- MUNGER, F. W., CUMMINGS, S. L., & TRUBEK, L. G. (2013). Mobilizing Law for Justice in Asia: A Comparative Approach. Wisconsin International Law Journal, 31(3), 353–420. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=asn&AN=108771260
- Nölke Andreas, & Perry James. (2008). The Power of Transnational Private Governance: Financialization and the IASB. Business and Politics, (3), 1. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.bpj.buspol.v9y2008i3n4
- Posner, D. N. (2004). Measuring ethnic fractionalization in Africa. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.56445620
- Rajah, J. (2012). Authoritarian Rule of Law : Legislation, Discourse and Legitimacy in Singapore. Cambridge, [U.K.]: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=443720
- Winnie Dlamini, & Intaher M. Ambe. (2012). The influence of public procurement policies on the implementation of procurement best practices in South African universities. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.A4EE2D58
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Abdelal, R. (2009). Measuring Identity : A Guide for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=313166
- Blyth, M. (2013). Austerity : The History of a Dangerous Idea. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=544269
- Duncan K. Foley. (2013). Rethinking Financial Capitalism and the “Information†Economy. Review of Radical Political Economics, (3), 257. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.reorpe.v45y2013i3p257.268
- Fariss, C. J. (2019). Yes, Human Rights Practices Are Improving Over Time. American Political Science Review, (03), 868. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v113y2019i03p868.881.00
- Labban, M. (2014). Against Value: Accumulation in the Oil Industry and the Biopolitics of Labour Under Finance. Antipode, 46(2), 477–496. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12062
- Making sense of financialization. (2014). Socio-Economic Review, 12(1), 99–129. https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwt020
- Nicola Dimitri. (2012). Best Value for Money in Procurement. Working Papers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.msm.wpaper.2012.02
- Piketty, T. (2015). About capital in the twenty-first century. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.A458330
- Sida, L., & Halliday, T. (2015). Political Liberalism and Political Embeddedness: Understanding Politics in the Work of Chinese Criminal Defense Lawyers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D4CDAF78
- Soskice, D. W., & Hall, P. A. (2001). Varieties of Capitalism : The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford [England]: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=260445
- Streeck, W., & Schäfer, A. (2013). Politics in the Age of Austerity. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=570100