Dr. William M. Downs
Department of Political Science
Georgia State University
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This graduate-level course analyzes the linkages between economic performance/conditions and political behavior in advanced industrial democracies, primarily in Europe and North America, and also explores the interplay of economic and political variables among nascent democracies in developing countries. Instead of a country-by-country approach, the course focuses on key theories, arguments, and issues in the field of political economy. We will cover several different definitions of political economy, examine macro-economic policy, search for evidence of economic influences on democratic behavior, compare classic liberal market political economy with Marxist or "radical" political economy, conservative political economy, and modern liberal political economy, and evaluate public policy performance in a cross-section of political systems. In analyzing relationships between economic performance and political behavior, this course considers these and related questions:

• How strong is political control over national economic policy making?
• What are the effects of unemployment and inflation on government stability?
• Why do tax systems vary so profoundly across liberal democracies?
• Why does the relationship between economic performance and mass opinion vary in strength and direction across time and across countries?
• Does national economic performance or an individual's personal economic situation affect one's voting decisions?
• What role have economic crises played in the current wave of political liberalization and democratization?
• How, if at all, can new democracies manage the daunting political challenges posed by economic reform?

We will make use of the following texts:

James P. Caporaso and David P. Levine. Theories of PoliticalEconomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman. The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.

Sven Steinmo. Taxation and Democracy: Swedish, British, and American Approaches to Financing the Modern State. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.

Edward R. Tufte. Political Control of the Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980.

Ben S. Bernanke et al. Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Jeffrey S. Banks and Eric A. Hanushek, eds. Modern Political Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Notes on Articles and Chapters: Additional readings will come from select journal articles and book chapters, which will be made available to you. Please note that I reserve the right to add or delete reading assignments as the course develops. Additionally, you should recognize that I provide you with a set of required readings as well as a suggested list of recommended readings. You will not be held formally responsible for the supplementary readings; however, if you find a theme particularly engaging or perhaps particularly difficult to grasp, you may want to pursue the supplementary readings to gain a fuller understanding of the material.

For your reference, be aware that new work in the subfield of comparative political economy appears regularly in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, and the official journals of the other regional political science associations (for example, the Southern Political Science Association's Journal of Politics). Of the journals specializing in comparative political economy, Journal of Political Economy and European Journal of Political Economy are among the best. Others you should be aware of include: Constitutional Political Economy, Economics and Politics, New Political Economy, Review of Radical Political Economics, and the Scottish Journal of Political Economy.
 
 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING SYSTEM

Participation: This is a graduate-level class. As with all graduate classes, the value you derive from it is largely a function of the effort you put into it. Therefore consistent attendance is expected. Everyone is expected to participate--i.e., thoughtful participation in class discussions is required. There is no expectation that you be correct when you speak, only that you be thinking seriously--raising questions, critiquing the literature, and trying to apply theoretical propositions to real-world phenomena. Also, please note that we will begin class promptly at 5:30.

Reading Assignments: Given our time constraints in the summer session, it is imperative that each student completes the assigned readings prior to each class. It is important that we all keep up to speed on the material and come to class prepared to discuss it.

Written Assignments: Given, again, the time constraints of the summer session, there is no research paper requirement for this course. In its place are three short papers--two analytical essays reviewing one or more of the readings and one empirical paper on the theme of "economics and elections."

Distribution of Grade Weights:
Attendance/Participation        20%
Essay 1                                 10%
Essay 2                                 15%
Economics-Elections Project 15%
Exam                                    40%
 

Course Outline

June 14 Introduction to Course

June 16 "The Great Debate": Contending Perspectives in Political Economy

• Caporaso & Levine, Chapters 1-5 (pp. 1-125)

• Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (Bk. 1, chs. 1-3; Bk. 3, ch. 1, Bk. 4, chs. 1, 2, 5, 8; Bk. 5, ch. 1)
• K. Marx, Das Kapital (esp. volume 1)
• John R. Freeman, "Theoretical Perspectives," in Democracy and Markets: The Politics of Mixed Economies (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989): 21-53

June 21 Monetary Policy, Economic Theory, and Rise of Central Banking

• Bernanke et al., Chapters 1-4, 7

• James E. Alt and K. Alec Chrystal, "Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Theory," in Alt and Chrystal, Political Economics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), pp. 54-77.

• Bernanke et al., Chapters 9-12
• William T. Bernhard, "A Political Explanation of Variation in Central Bank Independence," American Political Science Review 92:2 (June 1998): 311-328.

• Alberto Alesina and L. Summers, "Central bank independence and economic performance: Some comparative evidence," Journal of Money Credit and Banking 25 (May 1993): 403-414.

June 28 Revenue: The Politics of Taxation in Comparative Perspective

• Steinmo, Taxation and Democracy

• B. Guy Peters, The Politics of Taxation : A Comparative Perspective (Cambridge, MA. : B. Blackwell, 1991)
• R. Bates and D.-H. Lien, "A Note on Taxation, Development and Representative Government," Politics and Society 14:1 (1985): 53-70.

• Peter Hall, "Economic Policy and the Paradigms of Politics," in Governing the Economy (Cambridge: Polity, 1986)
• Edward M. Gramlich, "The politics and economics of budget deficit control: policy questions and research questions," in Jeffrey S. Banks and Eric A. Hanushek, eds., Modern Political Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 171-190.
• Alexander M. Hicks and Duane H. Swank, "Politics, Institutions, and Welfare Spending in Industrial Democracies, 1960-82," American Political Science Review 86:3 (September 1992): 658-674.

• Gøsta Esping-Andersen. Politics Against Markets: The Social Democratic Road to Power. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985.

July 7 Schools of Thought Applied: Tying the Classics to Contemporary Fiscal Issues

• Caporaso & Levine, Chapters 7-9 (pp. 159-216)
• Clark, Political Economy, Chapter 9 (Poverty and Inequality), 11 (Minorities and Discrimination), 12 (Political Economy of Gender)

• Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy
• Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (1962)
• Michael Barratt Brown, Michael Barratt Brown, Models in Political Economy: A Guide to the Arguments
• John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. (1964)Brace and World.

July 12 Economics and Elections

• James E. Alt and K. Alec Chrystal, "The Economics of Voting," in Alt and Chrystal, Political Economics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), pp. 149-172.
• Alberto Alesina, "Elections, Party Structure, and the Economy," in Jeffrey S. Banks and Eric A. Hanushek, eds., Modern Political Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 145-170.

• Michael S. Lewis-Beck, Economics and Elections (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1990)

• Tufte, Political Control of the Economy
• P.E. Mouritzen, "The Local Economy Political Business Cycle," Scandinavian Political Studies (1989), pp. 37-55
• Motoshi Suzuki, "Political Business Cycles in the Public Mind," American Political Science Review 86:4 (December 1992): 989-996.

July 19 Problems of Political Economy in Developing Countries

• Ronald Chilcote, "Theories of Development and Underdevelopment," in Theories of Comparative Politics (Boulder: Westview, 1994), pp. 215-283.
• Mancur Olson, "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," American Political Science Review 87:3 (September 1993): 567-576.

• Haggard and Kaufman, Chapters 1-5
• William H. Riker and David L. Weimer, "The Political Economy of Transformation: Liberalization and Property Rights," in Jeffrey S. Banks and Eric A. Hanushek, eds., Modern Political Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 80-107.

• J. Frieden, Debt, Development and Democracy, ch. 1-3,7-8.
• Gerschenkron, Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective, ch.1.

• Haggard and Kaufman, Chapters 6-10
• McFaul, Michael. "State Power, Institutional Change, and the Politics of Privatization in Russia," World Politics, 47 (January 1995).

• Haggard, Pathways from the Periphery, chs. 1, 2, 8-10.

July 28 Environmental Policy: Classic Nexus of CPE and IPE

• Clark, Political Economy, Chapter 14
• David P. Baron, "The economics and politics of regulation: perspectives, agenda, and approaches," in Jeffrey S. Banks and Eric A. Hanushek, eds., Modern Political Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 10-62.
• Geoffrey D. Dabelko and P. J. Simmons, "Environment and Security: Core Ideas and US Government Initiatives," SAIS Review (Winter-Spring 1997): 127-146.

• Lester Thurow, The Future of Capitalism (Morrow, 1996)
• C. Lindblom, Politics and Markets, chs.1-6, 8-9, 12-15.
• Gabriel A. Almond, "Capitalism and Democracy," PS: Political Science and Politics (September 1991): 467-474.

 Note: This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.

Note: Students are responsible for the information contained in the Academic Honest policy found in On Campus.