Globalization

Discussion on International Issues II: Globalization/Neoliberalism

In this course we try to understand the idea of free market capitlaism (neoliberalism) as opposed to controlled capitalism (Keynsianism) against the backdrop of globalization. To understand these two economic ideas, we read our textbook and view parts of The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy.

Textbook:

Vocabulary List:

expenditure	spending	income	stagflation	deregulate
regulate	deficit	surplus	fiscal	monetarism
liberal	neoliberal	conservative	neoconservative	progressive
recession	depression	hard power	soft power	speculation
interest rates	inflation	ideology	GDP	NAFTA
WTO	GATT	transnational corporation (TNC)	IMF	nationalization
proliferation	assumption	global integration	inevitable	privatization
controlled capitalism	Keynesianism	free market	competition	effectiveness/efficiency
laissez-faire	liberalization	egalitarian	fiscal	Reaganomics
Thatcherism	supply side economics	trickle down economic	authoritarian

Writing your Papers

1) You should all look at the information for Japan at the CIA World Factbook, so you can use it for comparison.

2) When writing your paper, you should explain how "neoliberal" the economy is. That is, consider how much government control of the economy there is. Neoliberals in the United States often think of Europe as "socialist" because of the strong government role in the economy. The USA is perhaps the most "neoliberal" economy in the world, even though the government there plays a strong role. Therefore, the degree to which an economy is "neoliberal" is relative. Look at the size of the public sector vs. the private sector, for example. Are there any state run economic entities? Also, look at how much the goverment regulates the economy. Look at the tax system. How much are corporations taxed?

3) When you look at the Wikipedia page, you will see that there is a Japanese translation. Of course, you should read that, but you should also read as much of the English page as you can.

4) In your paper you should try to find out how successful the economy of the country you are studying is. You can measure this with GDP growth, but other criteria are more useful. Try to find a measure of the equality in the economy the GINI coefficient), a happiness index (Gross National Happiness, GNH), or a Satisfaction With Life index. Also, perhaps environmental health is an important measurement. Just GDP growth may not show how healthy an economy is.

5) Many European countries are members of the EU. Look at the size of the EU's economy and the size of the country's economy to see how important that country is in the EU. Look at the political situation, too.

Links for Information for Papers

China:

Brazil:

Italy:

France:

The EU :

Greece:

Thailand:

Turkey:

Germany:

NAFTA:

Film: The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy

Transcript of the film with vocabulary links:

Triumph of the Market　

Articles/Radio Programs on Global Economic Issues:

Jeffrey Sachs on the Nordic Example

The Nepalese Insurgency (with Slide Show of Nepalese conflict)--NPR report