Course Description. Course Prerequisites

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Dwight Phelps
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1 Rutgers University Economics 01:220:362:01 (Fall 2011) Comparative Economic Systems Lower Level Elective Course Lectures: Wed (11:30 12:50pm) and Fri (1:10 2:30pm) (Campbell A5, CAC) Instructor: Dr. Basanta Chaudhuri Office: New Jersey Hall (NJH-425) Tel: (Dept Office) Office Hours: Wed 10-11am and Thurs 2 3pm IMPORTANT: Read this syllabus very carefully. You are responsible for all information and materials in it. Information on the Web: The Department of Economics maintains a comprehensive web site at This should be your first stop for virtually all of your economics inquiries. On the web site you will find information about the major, job opportunities, career choices, the faculty, library resources, and internet resources. My web page is Log on to sakai for important info on the class, announcements, posted materials, grades, etc. Course Description Course Prerequisites This course focuses on the nature of different economic systems, different organizational structures/arrangements with varied policies in varied country settings, and impact of these organizational differences on resource allocation, income distribution and economic growth (i.e., focusing on efficiency, equity, growth, stability, and sustainability) in an institutions-systems-economic outcomes framework. Traditionally, the study of comparative economic systems has focused on a comparison of market economy and planned economy. The collapse of the Soviet and neighboring command economies and the process of transition to markets have broadened the focus of this field to include mixed systems and systemic change. The focus of this course will be: (i) the nature of economic systems; (ii) different economic systems (capitalism, planned socialism and market socialism); (iii) systemic change; (iv) the worldwide performance of different systems and the collapse of the command economies; (v) the process of transition and the performance during the 1990s (the first decade and beyond) and; (vi) assessment of transition and the performance of transition economies through Course Prerequisites Prerequisites are designed to protect you from taking courses that you are unprepared to successfully complete. You should follow the recommended prerequisites closely. The following courses are prerequisites for this course. You are expected to have mastered the material covered in these courses before taking this course. 220:102, Introduction to Microeconomics 220:103, Introduction to Macroeconomics

2 Learning Outcomes: In this course students will learn how to assess the relative efficacy of a decentralized, market-based capitalist economic system and a centralized, non-market socialist/communist economic system. Students will understand the key pillars of both a capitalist system and a socialist/communist system. Students will be able to explain the mechanisms of resource allocation, institutional arrangements, macro-stabilization policies and income distribution in both a capitalist system and a socialist/communist system. Students will also be able to articulate the various factors that contributed to the breakdown of socialist/communist system in such countries as Russia, Eastern European economies and former Soviet Socialist Republics. Required Textbook Rosser, J. Barkley and Rosser, Marina V. Comparative Economics in a Transforming World Economy, 2 nd edition, 2004 MIT Press (Rosser & Rosser or R&R) (You may buy a copy of the TEXT from e-bay at a bargain price.) Reference Books (optional): H. Stephen Gardner, Comparative Economic Systems, 3 rd, 2012, Routledge (forthcoming but unpublished Chapters Notes from the author may be available at cost price). (Note: Gardner s 2 nd Edition (1998) may be available in used book stores.) David Kennett: A New View of Comparative Economics, 2 nd Edition, 2004, Cengage Paul R. Gregory and Robert C. Stuart (GS), Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century, Seventh Edition, 2004 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin/Cengage) I strongly recommend that you attend all lectures. My lectures will blend in materials around the text and, therefore, attending lectures is necessary to keep up with the materials and to deepen your understanding. Attending lectures is not a substitute for reading the book, nor is attending the lectures sufficient to fully understand the material. To get the most from this course you should both attend lectures and read the assigned chapters. Unless you attend lectures on a regular basis you will miss relevant discussions and materials covered in class and periodical announcements related to this course. You cannot just send an to find out what is going on in the classroom. NOTE: Rutgers has implemented (beginning Fall 2011) a Self-Reporting Absence Website ( Students are expected to attend all classes. If you expect to miss one or two classes because of illness or a family emergency, please use the University Absence Reporting Website ( to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An is automatically sent to me.

3 Reading List (to be adjusted according to exam dates) Table of Contents I. OVERVIEW OF COMPARATIVE ECONOMICS 1. How Do We Compare Economies? 2. The Theory and Practice of Market Capitalism 3. The Theory and History of Marxism and Socialism 4. Islamic Economics and the Economics of Other Religions II. VARIETIES OF ADVANCED MARKET CAPITALISM 5. The United States of America: The Market Capitalist Leader 6. Japan: A Planned Market Economy with Traditional Elements 7. Whither Indicative Planning? The Case of France 9 8. Sweden: Crisis and Reform of the Social Market Welfare State 9. The Unification of Germany and the Unification of Europe III. VARIANTS OF TRANSITION AMONG FORMER SOCIALIST ECONOMIES 10. The Former Soviet Union: The Myth and Reality of the Command Economy and Russia's Economic Transition 11. Alternative Paths of Transition in the Former Soviet Union 12. Poland: The Peril and Promise of Shock Therapy 13. Hungary: Gradualism and the First Successful Completed Transition? 14. Worker-Managed Market Socialism: The Collapse of Yugoslavia and the

4 Success of Slovenia 15. China's Socialist Market Economy: The Sleeping Giant Wakes IV. ALTERNATIVE PATHS AMONG DEVELOPING ECONOMIES 16. India: The Elephant Walks 17. Iran: The Struggle for a New Traditional Islamic Economy 18. Revolution and Reform in the Mexican Economy 19. North and South Korea: The Lingering Shadow of the Cold War 20. Evolving Trends of the Transforming World Economy Course Requirements and Grades Your grade in the course will be based on three exams (each weighing between 30-40%). The dates for the exams are as follows (with weights in the parentheses): First Midterm Exam (Fri, September 30 th ) (30%) Second Midterm Exam (Fri, November 4 th ) (30%) Final Exam (Tues, Dec 20 th, 8-11am) (40%) Each exam will consist of multiple-choice questions. Exams are not cumulative but you must comprehend important terms and concepts introduced earlier and have a good knowledge of it. All exams are closed-book and closed-notes. You may be allowed to use a simple calculator (if needed). You must have a #2 pencil to darken ( bubble ) the SCANTRON and a good eraser. Note that there are no other extra credit assignments. Make-up Policy: There will be no opportunity to make up an exam. However, for emergency and special circumstances, alternative arrangements may be made based on a valid document (doctor s note, police report, etc.). Contact me immediately. Use Rutgers self-reporting absence website (as cited above).

5 Grading Scale: A (88 100%), B+ (85 87%), B (78-84%), C+ (75-77%), C (60-73%) D (50 - below 60%) and F (below 50%) Note also that grades are not available via the phone or . Sample Questions in the Web (if available) Many students find it useful to review questions available in other web sites. I will refer to those web sites where several sample questions are available for your review. Re-grade Policy All requests for re-grades must be submitted in writing within 7 days of the date when the exam is first returned to the class. Except in the case of mistakes in addition, I reserve the right to re-grade the entire exam if it is submitted for a re-grade. Academic Honesty Cheating is totally unacceptable and highly risky for your academic life/career. The University has established rather severe penalties for cheating. You are strongly advised to review Rutgers' policies on cheating (read the Undergraduate Catalog). Students must turn off all electronic devices during lectures/exams/quizzes (cell phones, beepers, i-pods, i-phones and other devices). IMPORTANT DATES of FALL 2011 Spring semester starts September 1 (Thurs) Labor Day (Mon, Sept 5) No Classes Last Day to Drop with a W grade (October 26, Wed) Designation of Class Days (Thurs/Sept 8/Mon Classes (no Thurs classes); Mon/Nov 21/Wed Classes (no Mon classes) and Tues/Nov 22/Thurs Classes (no Tues classes)) Last Day of semester: Dec 13 (Tues) Reading Days Dec (Wed-Thurs) 1st Midterm (Fri, Sept 30 th ), 2nd Midterm (Fri, Nov 4 th ) and Final Exam (Tues, Dec 20 th, 8-11am; I give a 2-hour, 8-10am, final exam)

POLITICAL SCIENCE 315 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

POLITICAL SCIENCE 315 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Professor Harvey Starr University of South Carolina Office: 432 Gambrell (777-7292) Fall 2010 starr-harvey@sc.edu Office Hours: Mon. 2:00-3:15pm; Wed. 10:30-Noon