INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY MOD. 1

This course is part of the "Global Studies" and "European Union Studies" program. In this first module, students will be provided with the basic tools for understanding the meaning of "Political Economy" starting from a brief overview of economic studies as they were intended by classical economist and the subsequent schools of thought. They will be provided with basic understanding of the concepts of markets, demand, supply, economic systems, market failures, government and government failures. Emphasis will be placed on the economic aspects of the processes of globalisation, internationalisation and economic development, including issues of inequality, poverty, industrialisation, structural adjustment and innovation. Also, an in depth discussion on the different theories and policies for growth and economic development will be offered to students. The course is entirely taught in English.

Students will be able to distinguish the Political Economy approach from the others that characterize the economic disciplines. They will be able to identify the most important moments of the evolution of the academic and policy debate. They will be able to apply tools of analysis to topics such as: the organization of contemporary industrial production, the globalization of markets, the relationship between industrialized and emerging economies, structural adjustment, the role of international institutions, the role and the relationship between state and market.

Minimum credit requirements for the Master's Degree Programme in Comparative International Relations: at least 6 ECTS obtained from one of the following modules: SECS-P/01 Political Economics; SECS P/02 Economic Policy; SECS-P/08 Business Economics and Management.

Basic concepts: Political economy, economics, marginalists revolution, keynesian revolution;
Recall of basic concepts: demand and supply at the micro and macro level of analysis;
The role of the state and markets (market failures and government failures);
Economic Growth versus Development;
Major schools of thought in Development Economics;
Basic concepts in trade and trade policy (comparative advantages versus competitive advantages):
The role and the international debate over Industrial development policy;
Industrial development strategies: Import substitution, export orientation and their tools;

Raj Debraj (1998), Development Economics, New Jersey: Princeton University Press – chapters 6.1; 6.2; 7.1; 7.2.1; 7.2.3; 7.2.4; 7.2.7; 7.2.8; 7.2.9; 7.3; 17.2; 17.3 and Appendix;
The CORE TEAMS, The Economy, Oxford University Press;
Chang H. J. (2011), 23 Things they do not tell you about capitalism, Bloomsbury Press – Thing 1, 7, 11;
Chang H. J (1996), The political economy of industrial policy, UK: Palgrave Macmillan – Chapter 1;
Balaam David N., Dillam B. (2014), Introduction to International Political Economy, Pearson - Chapters 1, 7, 8;
online materials on Moodle

A final in-person closed-book written exam will be taken to verify that the students have acquired the necessary knowledge. The assessment of the two modules is performed through two separate exams (see the webpage of MOD II for information regarding the assessment of the second module of this course).
The final grade of the course (12 CFU) is calculated as the average of the grades obtained in the two modules. The grade is officially recorded upon the successful completion of both modules. A student may take each of the two exams in different exam sessions within the academic year. If the student cannot pass both exams within the exam sessions of the academic year, he/she will be required to retake BOTH modules.

lectures, seminars and class discussions.

English

Any change to this syllabus will be made public on the Moodle page of the course.

written