POEC 401(F) Contemporary Problems in Political Economy
This course examines contemporary problems in political economy at and across diverse
spatial scales. Using both Economics and Political Science methods of analysis, we will
study the exercise of power and the accumulation of wealth in the world today as well as
central public policy debates around those processes. We begin with a sweeping historical
overview of the past century. Then we move through three course sections organized around
contemporary problems at three distinct scales: the global political economy, the United
States political economy, and comparative political economy with an emphasis on the advanced capitalist countries. The goal of this course is both to build upon theoretical debates
encountered in POEC 301 as well as to prepare students for the public policy analysis they
will do in POEC 402.
Format: seminar. Requirements: one 3- to 4-page book review; three 8- to 10-page papers.
Prerequisites: Economics 110 and 120; Political Science 202 or 204, or equivalent. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 15). Preference given to Political Economy majors. Required in
the Political Economy major but open to non-majors.
Hour: ROLLEIGH and PAUL