This class will cover a number of major issues in international economic policy, organized loosely into three categories: trade, finance and development. My approach is eclectic, historical, institutional and evolutionary; my belief is that underlying current policy debates is a long sequence of economic systems, ideologies, arguments and struggles. We will touch on some of the classic sources, including Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Schumpeter and Keynes, and build from there. This is a class primarily for first year students. No prior exposure to economics is required or assumed. An indicative list of themes follows; the course is a work-in-progress and these topics are neither exhaustive nor exclusive.
International Trade
1. The origins of capitalism in new technologies and new territories
2. Trade, industrialization and the liberal view of markets
3. Free Trade and Protectionism
4. The Government of World Trade
International Finance
5. Money and Debt in International Relations
6. Monetary Standards and Exchange Rate Regimes
7. Regulating Global Finance
Economic Development
8. Classic and Near-Modern Development Ideas
9. Modern Development Ideas
10. Neoclassical Development Policy
11. Development and Inequality
12. Conflict, Limits to Growth, Resources and Climate Change