ECON 380: Economies in Transition George Mason University ...
ECON 380: Economies in Transition George Mason University Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 10:30am – 11:20am Fall 2015, Planet 127
Professor: Miss Julia Norgaard Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Thursdays 10:00am – noon, outside the Starbucks in the JC
Course Description: This course covers the basics of economic development with respect to economies in transition. It explores the question of why some countries are rich and others are successful with regards to formerly socialist countries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the countries that were previously part of the Soviet Union have transitioned away from socialism and experienced radically different economic development, some more dramatically than others. The goal of this course is to investigate the question: Why have some countries been more successful in their transition than others?
Required Course Texts: Hayek, Friedrich A. 2007. The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents -- The Definitive Edition. Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press. De Soto, Hernando. 2003. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. New York, NY: Basic Books. Åslund, Anders. 2007. How Capitalism Was Built: The Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Important Dates: First Day of Class: August 31 Midterm Exam: October 14 Debate: November 11 and 13 Last Day of Class: December 11 Final Exam: December 16 (10:30 am – 1:15 pm) Grading Distribution: Midterm Exam: 20% of total grade Final Exam: 30% of total grade
Class Presentation: 5% of total grade Quizzes: 15% of total grade Short Papers: 15% of total grade Debate: 15% of total grade Short Papers: Papers will be due at the beginning of class as a hard copy; no electronic copies will be accepted. The papers will be one page, either single or double-spaced. You are required to write a short summary and analytical piece for each paper. The paper will cover all of the readings for that week, including the readings for the day it is due. The paper grading rubric can be found on blackboard, please make sure to read through the rubric when writing your paper to make sure you are including all the requirements. Quizzes: There will be five quizzes throughout the semester; they will cover what is in the readings and will be 10 points each. When studying for the quizzes, make sure you understand the main points of each reading and their contribution to the economic literature at large. The quizzes will be a variety of short answer, multiple choice and fill in the blank There will be no make-up quizzes. The quizzes will cover all of the readings for that week, including the readings for the day it is due. Debate: We will be having a class-wide debate about factors that contribute to development, on September 4th you will choose your groups, 4 groups of roughly 7 students each. Each group will be randomly assigned a position and will be expected to debate from that perspective. Groups will be expected to have met multiple times before the debate to prepare their group’s position and arguing points. Students will be individually graded on their contribution to their group, the strength of their arguments, and the evidence they provide for their position. Bonus points will be given to the group that most strongly represents their position. Keep in mind logical fallacies when debating. Debate Groups: - Political Structure/Political Actors - Institutions - History/Culture - Outside Intervention Students need to attend the debate to get credit for debating. Class Presentations: Each student will sign up for a day when they will present a development issue. Students are required to choose a modern development issue from a credible news source and present on its relevance from an economic perspective. Students will be assessed on their ability to present the issue from an analytical economics lens. Each presentation will be 5 minutes, with 2 minutes for Q and A. The presentation grading rubric can be found on blackboard, please make sure to read through the rubric when preparing your presentation to make sure you are including all the requirements.
Grading criteria include: - Dressing business casual - Overall presentation (spoke clearly, faced the audience) - Summarize the main points of the topic (article) - Addressed a relevant economic development issue - Analyzed the issue from an economic lens - Applied the concepts that we have been learning in class to their issue Example topics include: - Obama’s trade agreement with Asia - Foreign aid - “Exporting democracy” - Carbon emission legislation (carbon tax) - Inflation Class Schedule and Readings: All readings should be done prior to specified date, students will be expected to have read the readings and be ready to discuss. (Ex: September 2nd readings will be discussed on September 2nd, therefore the reading must take place before that date). There will be focus questions posted on blackboard for each reading, keep these questions in mind in order to focus your critical reading. Week 1: Introduction and Background August 31: Introduction and Syllabus - Sign up for presentation days September 2: Prices Matter - Friedrich Hayek, 1945, "The Use of Knowledge in Society," The American Economic Review 35:4, 519-530, http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw1.html September 4: Battle of Ideas - Quiz #1 - Choose debate groups - The Commanding Heights, "Part I: The Battle of Ideas," http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/ Week 2: The Road to Socialism September 7: NO CLASS – LABOR DAY September 9: - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 1 and 2 September 11: - Short Paper #1 Due - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 5 and 6
Week 3: Property Rights September 14: - Harold Demsetz: "Toward a Theory of Property Rights - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 7 September 16: - Simon Johnson, John McMillan, and Christopher Woodruff: "Property Rights and Finance" - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 9 September 18: - Quiz #2 - Claudia Williamson and Carrie Kerekes: "Propertyless in Peru, Even With a Government Land Title" Week 4: Interventionism September 21: - Sanford Ikeda: "The Dynamics of Interventionism" September 23: - Kevin Murphy, Andrei Shleifer, and Robert Vishny: “The Transition to a Market Economy: Pitfalls of Partial Reform.” September 25: - Short Paper #2 Due - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 10 Week 5: The Mystery of Capital September 28: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 1 September 30: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 3 October 2: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 4 Week 6: The Mystery Continued October 5: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 5 October 7: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 6 October 9:
-
Quiz #3 Heller, M. A. (1998). ”The Tragedy of the Anticommons: Property in the Transition from Marx to Markets”. Harvard Law Review, 111(3):621–688.
Week 7: Midterm Week October 12: - No Readings October 14: - Midterm Exam October 16: - No Readings Week 8: Development Tools October 19: - Olson, M. (1993). ”Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development”. The American Political Science Review, 87(3):567–576. October 21: - North, D. (1991). ”Institutions”. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1):97– 112. October 23: - Short Paper #3 Due - North, D. (1994). ”Economic Performance Through Time”. American Economic Review, 84(3):359–368. Week 9: Development Tools Continued October 26: - Gorodnichenko, Y. and Roland, G. (2011). ”Which Dimensions of Culture Matter for Long-Run Growth?”. The American Economic Review, 101(3):492–498. October 29: - Quiz #4 - Boettke, P. J., Coyne, C. J., and Leeson, P. T. (2008). ”Institutional Stickiness and the New Development Economics”. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 67(2):331– 358. October 30: - No Readings Week 10: What Causes Development? November 2:
-
Acemoglu, Daron, and Simon Johnson. 2005. “Unbundling Institutions.” Journal of Political Economy.
November 4: - Tabellini, Guido. 2010 “Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe” Journal of the European Economic Association. November 6: - New York Times “Can the Cell Help End Global Poverty?” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13anthropologyt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Week 11: Debate November 9: - No Readings November 11: - Debate November 13: - Debate Week 12: How Capitalism Was Built November 16: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 1 November 18: - Short Paper #4 Due - - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 2 November 20: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 3 and 4 Week 13: NO CLASS Week 14: How Capitalism Was Build Continued November 30: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 5 and 8 December 2: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 9 December 4: - Quiz #5
-
- “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 11
Week 15: Economies in Transition December 7: - Djankov, S., McLeish, C., Nenova, T., and Sheifer, A. (2003). ”Who Owns the Media?”. Journal of Law and Economics, 46(2):341–382. December 9: - Short Paper #5 Due - Benson, B. L. and Baden, J. (1985). ”The Political Economy of Governmental Corruption: The Logic of Underground Government”. The Journal of Legal Studies, 14(2):pp. 391–410. December 11: - Review Finals Week: December 16: Final Exam (2 hours)
Course Policies: George Mason University Honor System and Code: George Mason University’s Honor Code requires all community members to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity. Cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing are all prohibited. Honor Code violations will be reported to the Honor Committee. Plagiarism is not accepted (statements from Macon web site). http://mason.gmu.edu/montecin/plagiarism/htm#plagiarism The use of electronic devices is prohibited during an exam or a quiz; failure to comply with this will result in your failure of the assignment and potentially the failure of the class. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the GMU Honor Code, which is stated in the George Mason University Undergraduate Catalog
GRADING SCALE A+ 98+ | A 93-97 | A- 90-92 | B+ 88-89 | B 83-87 | B- 80-82 | C+ 78-79 | C 73-77 | C- 7072 | D+ 68-69 | D 60-67 | F 0-59
Class Registration: Students must verify their summer class schedule and make sure they are officially registered for this class through Patriot Web. Students can exercise a selective withdrawal, see schedule of classes for selective withdrawal procedures. Last Day to Add/Drop (No tuition penalty): September 8, 2015 Last Day to Drop (33% tuition penalty): September 15, 2015
Last Day to Drop (67% tuition penalty): October 2, 2015
Accommodations for students with disabilities: Please contact my self the Office of Disability Resources at 703-993-2474 prior to the first exam. All accommodations are to be arranged ahead of time through the Office of Disability Resources. The professor does not have the power to provide accommodations to the students on their own.
Professor: Miss Julia Norgaard Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Thursdays 10:00am – noon, outside the Starbucks in the JC
Course Description: This course covers the basics of economic development with respect to economies in transition. It explores the question of why some countries are rich and others are successful with regards to formerly socialist countries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the countries that were previously part of the Soviet Union have transitioned away from socialism and experienced radically different economic development, some more dramatically than others. The goal of this course is to investigate the question: Why have some countries been more successful in their transition than others?
Required Course Texts: Hayek, Friedrich A. 2007. The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents -- The Definitive Edition. Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press. De Soto, Hernando. 2003. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. New York, NY: Basic Books. Åslund, Anders. 2007. How Capitalism Was Built: The Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Important Dates: First Day of Class: August 31 Midterm Exam: October 14 Debate: November 11 and 13 Last Day of Class: December 11 Final Exam: December 16 (10:30 am – 1:15 pm) Grading Distribution: Midterm Exam: 20% of total grade Final Exam: 30% of total grade
Class Presentation: 5% of total grade Quizzes: 15% of total grade Short Papers: 15% of total grade Debate: 15% of total grade Short Papers: Papers will be due at the beginning of class as a hard copy; no electronic copies will be accepted. The papers will be one page, either single or double-spaced. You are required to write a short summary and analytical piece for each paper. The paper will cover all of the readings for that week, including the readings for the day it is due. The paper grading rubric can be found on blackboard, please make sure to read through the rubric when writing your paper to make sure you are including all the requirements. Quizzes: There will be five quizzes throughout the semester; they will cover what is in the readings and will be 10 points each. When studying for the quizzes, make sure you understand the main points of each reading and their contribution to the economic literature at large. The quizzes will be a variety of short answer, multiple choice and fill in the blank There will be no make-up quizzes. The quizzes will cover all of the readings for that week, including the readings for the day it is due. Debate: We will be having a class-wide debate about factors that contribute to development, on September 4th you will choose your groups, 4 groups of roughly 7 students each. Each group will be randomly assigned a position and will be expected to debate from that perspective. Groups will be expected to have met multiple times before the debate to prepare their group’s position and arguing points. Students will be individually graded on their contribution to their group, the strength of their arguments, and the evidence they provide for their position. Bonus points will be given to the group that most strongly represents their position. Keep in mind logical fallacies when debating. Debate Groups: - Political Structure/Political Actors - Institutions - History/Culture - Outside Intervention Students need to attend the debate to get credit for debating. Class Presentations: Each student will sign up for a day when they will present a development issue. Students are required to choose a modern development issue from a credible news source and present on its relevance from an economic perspective. Students will be assessed on their ability to present the issue from an analytical economics lens. Each presentation will be 5 minutes, with 2 minutes for Q and A. The presentation grading rubric can be found on blackboard, please make sure to read through the rubric when preparing your presentation to make sure you are including all the requirements.
Grading criteria include: - Dressing business casual - Overall presentation (spoke clearly, faced the audience) - Summarize the main points of the topic (article) - Addressed a relevant economic development issue - Analyzed the issue from an economic lens - Applied the concepts that we have been learning in class to their issue Example topics include: - Obama’s trade agreement with Asia - Foreign aid - “Exporting democracy” - Carbon emission legislation (carbon tax) - Inflation Class Schedule and Readings: All readings should be done prior to specified date, students will be expected to have read the readings and be ready to discuss. (Ex: September 2nd readings will be discussed on September 2nd, therefore the reading must take place before that date). There will be focus questions posted on blackboard for each reading, keep these questions in mind in order to focus your critical reading. Week 1: Introduction and Background August 31: Introduction and Syllabus - Sign up for presentation days September 2: Prices Matter - Friedrich Hayek, 1945, "The Use of Knowledge in Society," The American Economic Review 35:4, 519-530, http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw1.html September 4: Battle of Ideas - Quiz #1 - Choose debate groups - The Commanding Heights, "Part I: The Battle of Ideas," http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/ Week 2: The Road to Socialism September 7: NO CLASS – LABOR DAY September 9: - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 1 and 2 September 11: - Short Paper #1 Due - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 5 and 6
Week 3: Property Rights September 14: - Harold Demsetz: "Toward a Theory of Property Rights - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 7 September 16: - Simon Johnson, John McMillan, and Christopher Woodruff: "Property Rights and Finance" - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 9 September 18: - Quiz #2 - Claudia Williamson and Carrie Kerekes: "Propertyless in Peru, Even With a Government Land Title" Week 4: Interventionism September 21: - Sanford Ikeda: "The Dynamics of Interventionism" September 23: - Kevin Murphy, Andrei Shleifer, and Robert Vishny: “The Transition to a Market Economy: Pitfalls of Partial Reform.” September 25: - Short Paper #2 Due - “The Road to Serfdom” Chapter 10 Week 5: The Mystery of Capital September 28: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 1 September 30: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 3 October 2: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 4 Week 6: The Mystery Continued October 5: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 5 October 7: - “The Mystery of Capital” Chapter 6 October 9:
-
Quiz #3 Heller, M. A. (1998). ”The Tragedy of the Anticommons: Property in the Transition from Marx to Markets”. Harvard Law Review, 111(3):621–688.
Week 7: Midterm Week October 12: - No Readings October 14: - Midterm Exam October 16: - No Readings Week 8: Development Tools October 19: - Olson, M. (1993). ”Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development”. The American Political Science Review, 87(3):567–576. October 21: - North, D. (1991). ”Institutions”. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1):97– 112. October 23: - Short Paper #3 Due - North, D. (1994). ”Economic Performance Through Time”. American Economic Review, 84(3):359–368. Week 9: Development Tools Continued October 26: - Gorodnichenko, Y. and Roland, G. (2011). ”Which Dimensions of Culture Matter for Long-Run Growth?”. The American Economic Review, 101(3):492–498. October 29: - Quiz #4 - Boettke, P. J., Coyne, C. J., and Leeson, P. T. (2008). ”Institutional Stickiness and the New Development Economics”. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 67(2):331– 358. October 30: - No Readings Week 10: What Causes Development? November 2:
-
Acemoglu, Daron, and Simon Johnson. 2005. “Unbundling Institutions.” Journal of Political Economy.
November 4: - Tabellini, Guido. 2010 “Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe” Journal of the European Economic Association. November 6: - New York Times “Can the Cell Help End Global Poverty?” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13anthropologyt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Week 11: Debate November 9: - No Readings November 11: - Debate November 13: - Debate Week 12: How Capitalism Was Built November 16: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 1 November 18: - Short Paper #4 Due - - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 2 November 20: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 3 and 4 Week 13: NO CLASS Week 14: How Capitalism Was Build Continued November 30: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 5 and 8 December 2: - “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 9 December 4: - Quiz #5
-
- “How Capitalism Was Built” Chapter 11
Week 15: Economies in Transition December 7: - Djankov, S., McLeish, C., Nenova, T., and Sheifer, A. (2003). ”Who Owns the Media?”. Journal of Law and Economics, 46(2):341–382. December 9: - Short Paper #5 Due - Benson, B. L. and Baden, J. (1985). ”The Political Economy of Governmental Corruption: The Logic of Underground Government”. The Journal of Legal Studies, 14(2):pp. 391–410. December 11: - Review Finals Week: December 16: Final Exam (2 hours)
Course Policies: George Mason University Honor System and Code: George Mason University’s Honor Code requires all community members to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity. Cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing are all prohibited. Honor Code violations will be reported to the Honor Committee. Plagiarism is not accepted (statements from Macon web site). http://mason.gmu.edu/montecin/plagiarism/htm#plagiarism The use of electronic devices is prohibited during an exam or a quiz; failure to comply with this will result in your failure of the assignment and potentially the failure of the class. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the GMU Honor Code, which is stated in the George Mason University Undergraduate Catalog
GRADING SCALE A+ 98+ | A 93-97 | A- 90-92 | B+ 88-89 | B 83-87 | B- 80-82 | C+ 78-79 | C 73-77 | C- 7072 | D+ 68-69 | D 60-67 | F 0-59
Class Registration: Students must verify their summer class schedule and make sure they are officially registered for this class through Patriot Web. Students can exercise a selective withdrawal, see schedule of classes for selective withdrawal procedures. Last Day to Add/Drop (No tuition penalty): September 8, 2015 Last Day to Drop (33% tuition penalty): September 15, 2015
Last Day to Drop (67% tuition penalty): October 2, 2015
Accommodations for students with disabilities: Please contact my self the Office of Disability Resources at 703-993-2474 prior to the first exam. All accommodations are to be arranged ahead of time through the Office of Disability Resources. The professor does not have the power to provide accommodations to the students on their own.
