SO4005 - Economic Thought and International Politics

1. Module Code SO4005 2. Module Title Economic Thought and International Politics
3. Module Level 4 4. Module Credit 20 CC   10 ECTS
5. Delivery Site(s) Chester Parkgate Road Campus
6. Available to / Restrictions None
7. Expected Student Learning Activity and Contact Hours including Key Information Set (KIS) data

Notional learning hours are 200 in total with 48 hours contact time across 24 weeks of delivery managed
flexibly to include a wide variety of learning, teaching and delivery methods appropriate to the learning
outcomes.
Scheduled hours Placement Hours Independent Guided study

48 0 152

8. Attendance Guidance

It is expected that all students attend all sessions, unless there are clear mitigating circumstances which indicate
otherwise. Much of the work undertaken in class is formative and contributes to the achievement of the learning
outcomes.
9. Module Content

This module is designed with both theoretical and applied approaches. The first part introduces students to the
way economic thought and theories have been developing in relation to historical change, giving students the
ability to situate the development of Economics as a discipline in relation to social and historical changes
associated with industrialization and modernity and how those developments have influenced political
relationships between countries across time. It will provide students with the critical and reflective skills to be
able to appreciate the social, political and ideological nature of contemporary debates within Economics.

The second part will situate students into the political interactions that different economic systems have
nowadays and they will undertake the analysis of different countries with regard to how their view of economic
policies have been affecting their relationships with other economies.

To these ends students will be introduced to some of the most renowned thinkers in the history of economic
thought and the more up to date debates on international politics and economic policies:    

 Mercantilism, the Physiocrats and early modern economic thought

 Political Economy and modern economic thought: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Stuart
Mill, Jeremy Bentham, Thomas Malthus, etc
 World War I and the Great Depression
 Explanations for (and solutions to) the crisis of the 1920s/30s – Schumpeter, Keynes, Neoclassical
Economics, The New Deal
 Post WWII - Keynesian consensus, Marshall Plan, US hegemony
 The Bretton Woods system
  Crises of the 70s, Monetarism, from neo-classical economics to neoliberalism
 The current international economic crisis and post-crash/post-growth economic thought - Joseph
Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, Neo-Keynesianism etc
 Different economic systems (Anglo-saxon, European, Asian) in practise (UK, US, Japan, China, Soviet
Command)
 The opposition of capitalism and socialist/communist economic ideals. Examples of current countries
 Austerity and interventionism in times of crisis vs. free market. France and Germany.
 The end of Western economic domination. BRIC countries and new ways of dealing with economic
issues

10. Aims

The aims of the module are to:

 Understand the reasoning behind different currents of economic thought

 Appreciate the relevance of early contributions to economic analysis
 Evaluate the extent to which the contributions of the past influence those of the present
 Reflect on contemporary economic and political situations in light of earlier positioning towards
economic policy views
 Ensure an appreciation of interdisciplinarity and start building critical thinking
 Reflect on current debates within the existing economic and political systems

11. Methods of Learning and Teaching and Formative Assessment

Contact time will be used creatively to enable the students to achieve the learning outcomes. The emphasis will
be on formative activities and assessment as part of the development towards summative assessment. There will
be support in place before, during and after the summative assessments. The teaching team will use Sharepoint
to support the learning process, working with LIS to ensure appropriate learning resources are accessible on the
Moodle pages. Students will be encouraged to develop independent study skills. 
12. Learning Outcomes

On completion of the module, students should be able to:

1. Evaluate the ways in which early contributions to economic thought have been refined (or rejected) in light
of empirical experience 

2. Appreciate the great economic theorists without taking their views as rule and recognising the possibilities of
alternative approaches 

3. Evaluate the debates and controversies of the discipline

4. Be able to analyse across disciplines in order to make intellectual connections between practical international
and political issues of the present and economic rationale of the past

5. Begin to develop a basic level of criticality in understanding the debates of current economic and political
points of view
 

 
13. Assessment and Reassessment Components and Weighting
 13a. Assessment

Component Weighting Learning outcome(s) KIS category

% assessed

1 Written essay- 1600 words 40% 1, 2 and 3 Coursework

Presentation and report-2400 words
2 60% 4 and 5 Coursework
equivalent
 13b. Reassessment

Reassessment will be of failed component(s) or equivalent.

14. Key References

Basic readings:

Foreman-Peck, J. (1994) A History of the World Economy: International Economic Relations Since 1850, 2nd
edition. Canada: Pearson

Gilpin, R. (2002) The Challenge of Global Capitalism: The World Economy in the 21st Century. Princeton
University Press

Gregory, P.R. and Stuart, R. C. (2014) The Global Economy and Its Economic Systems. 1st Edition. South-
Western, United States: Cengage Learning

Ravenhill, J. (2014) Global Political Economy.  Fourth Edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University
Press

Rosser, J.B. and Rosser, M.V. (2003) Comparative Economics in a Transforming World Economy. Second
edition. Cambridge (Mass.), United States:The MIT Press

Vaggi, G. and Groenewegen (2014) A concise history of economic thought. From Mercantilism to Monetarism.
Revised edition. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan

Thinkers:

Keynes, J. M. (2008) The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. New York, United States:
Classic House Books

Marx, K (2008) Capital. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press

Polanyi, K. (2001)  The Great Transformation. Boston, United States: Beacon Press

Smith, A (2009) The Wealth of Nations. Blacksburg, United States: Thrifty Books

Stiglitz, J.E. (2010) Freefall: America, Free Markets and the Sinking of the World Economy. New York, United
States: Norton

Journals:

Cambridge Journal of Economics

History of Political Economy

Journal of Economic Issues

15. Module Leader

Dr. Rosa Fernandez

16. Module Assessment Board

Social and Political Science

17. Approved by

Validation Panel for BSc Economics and Business (SH)

18. Date of Approval

Mon, 27 Apr 2015

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