COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST-POLI 482: POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS
Course
Outline
POLI482:
Politics of International Economic Relations (2018)
Course
Description and Objectives:
The course discusses the
underlying structure and organization of the global economic and financial
system, and how countries relate to each other, and to the relevant governing
institutions in the system. Key issues include the Bretton Woods System; World
Trade Organisation; Global Foreign Exchange Systems and Currencies; Governments
and Financial Markets; Regional Economic and Trading Blocs; Foreign Direct
Investments; China and the World Economy. These issues will be discussed in
relation to Ghana and Africa.
By the end of the
course, students would have developed skills in:
• Gathering, organising and using
information from a variety of sources;
• Developing reasoned arguments
underpinned by evidence and critical judgement
• Communicating effectively and
fluently, orally and in writing
• Working independently, showing
initiative, self-organisation and time management.
The main topics covered
in the course include the following:
Bretton
Woods System:
World Bank
(International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), International
Development Association, International
Financial Consortium, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, International
Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
World
Trade Organisation:
From the General
Agreement on Trade and Tariffs to the World Trade Organisation.
Global
Foreign Exchange Systems and Currencies:
Gold backed currency
system; US Dollar as International Currency; the Nixon Surprise that
disconnected currencies from gold; international floating currency exchange;
and the emergence of a basket of currencies (US Dollar; Japanese Yen; Euro and
Chinese Yuan (or Renminbi).
Governments
and Financial Markets:
Government fund raising
activities and the bond market (treasury bills and bonds); Sale and
restructuring of government debts; Credit Rating Agencies and government, etc.
Regional
Economic and Trading Blocs:
Emergence of regional
economic blocs and groupings to pursue common interests; European Union;
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); Asia Pacific
Economic Community (APEC); Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),
African Union, BRICS, G7, G20, etc
Foreign
Direct Investments:
Emergence of
Multi-National Corporations or Trans-National Corporations; free movement of
goods, services and finance; competition to attract investments among
countries; benefits and drawbacks of Foreign Direct Investments.
China
and the World Economy:
Growing influence of
China in the global economy; competition with existing dominant economic
actors; Chinese investments in Africa.
Teaching
and Assessment arrangements:
The course will be
taught mainly through lectures, discussions and readings that students will be
expected to do. 13 Lecture sessions are planned to cover the various topics in
this course. Lectures are compulsory and attendance will be checked against the
official register. Students who attend less than 75% of the lectures will be
removed from the course.
Assessment will follow
the standards set by the University of Education, Winneba and the Department of
Political Science Education. This will include continuous assessments and a
final examination. Failure to complete the continuous assessments automatically
disqualifies any student from writing the final examination. The continuous
assessment carries 40 marks and final exam carries 60 marks. However, the
overall pass mark is 50 out of 100 marks.
Plagiarism
The University regards
cheating and plagiarism and other instances of academic malpractice with the
utmost seriousness.
Plagiarism is defined
as presenting someone else’s work as your own. Work means any intellectual
output, and typically includes text (including lecture notes and handouts)
data, images, sound or performance, or any combination of these.
The significance of
plagiarism is that assessments are only of any use if the work you submit is
your own: to present the work of others is dishonest. You may use information
that you gather from journals, books, the internet, websites, lectures or other
teaching sessions, contact with others, etc., but it must always be properly
attributed and all sources used must be referenced (including lecture notes and
handouts). Failure to attribute material which is not your own will be regarded
as plagiarism, for which the University imposes strict penalties. All cases of
plagiarism and cheating in coursework are reported to the University.
We recognise that you
are often required to work together in classes or other assessments, and it is
often good to discuss assignments with other students. If for any particular
task you are required to work in groups you will be advised on how your work
should be submitted and will be assessed.
Reading
List:
Edkins, J. and Zehfuss, M. (2010) Global Politics: A New Introduction, London, Routledge.
Haynes, J, Hough, P, Malik, S and Pettiford, L (2011) World
Politics, London, Pearson Education.
Van Marrewijkk, Charles (2012) International
Economics: theory, application and policy, Oxford University Press.
Viotti, Paul R. and Kuappi, Mark V. (2013)
International Relations and World Politics, Pearson Education, New York.
Ray, Debraj (1998) Development Economics, New
Jersey, Princeton University Press.
Videos:
See ‘Conversation with History’ website of the University of California,
Berkely in the USA (Institute of International Studies, interviews hosted by
Harry Kreisler). Search and watch Nial Ferguson’s video on ‘The Ascent of
Money: A Financial History of the World’ and ‘Money and Power’. You can also
search the videos database for other topics such as:
·
International economy
·
Political economy
·
Globalization, etc.
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