Contemporary Political Economy Du Notes
Peppin Kishore
The term "political economy" refers to a branch of social sciences that focuses on relationships between individuals, governments, and public policy. It is also used to describe the policies set by governments that affect their nations' economies.
The main concerns of political economy are the relationship between governments and individuals, and how public policy affects society. These are determined through the study of sociology, politics, and economics.
Some of the characteristics or themes of a political economy include the distribution of wealth, how goods and services are produced, who owns property and other resources, who profits from production, supply and demand, and how public policy and government interaction impact society.
Adam Smith is generally considered the father of economics and of the political economy. But the term is generally ascribed to French economist Antoine de Montchrestien, who wrote the book "Trait de l'conomie politique," which translates to the treaty of the political economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic strikingly illustrates the intersection of politics,economics, and other considerations. Public health experts have long warnedthat the world was likely to face a major pandemic and called for greaterpreparedness. Yet policymakers who have to focus on the next election findit difficult to invest the time, money, and political capital to addressthe abstract possibility of a future crisis. And so most of the world wasunprepared for a global public health threat of the magnitude posed by thenovel coronavirus.
This hotly contested policy response to a universal threat is no surpriseto political economists. It happens all the time. For example, just aboutevery economist believes that small countries would be better off if theyremoved all barriers to trade. Yet unilateral free trade is practicallyunheard of, and no country in the world today pursues it. Why not? Moregenerally, why do governments have so much trouble getting economicpolicies right? Why does the advice of independent observers, analysts, andscholars go so often unheeded?
Two trends divided the political from the economic analysis. First,governments began to reduce their direct control over the economy. Second,different political forms emerged: Europe went from almost exclusivelymonarchical to increasingly representative, and highly varied, forms ofgovernment. By the early 20th century economics and political science wereestablished as separate disciplines.
It analyzes how political forces affect the economy. Voters and interest groups have a powerful impact on virtually everypossible economic policy. Political economists strive to identify therelevant groups and their interests, and how political institutions affecttheir impact on policy.
It uses the tools of economics to study politics. Politicians can be thought of as analogous to firms, with voters asconsumers, or governments as monopoly providers of goods and services toconstituent customers. Scholars model political-economic interactions inorder to develop a more theoretically rigorous understanding of theunderlying features driving politics.
Even in democracies, plenty of citizens might agree that politics obeys thegolden rule: those with the gold make the rules. Special-interest groups doseem to play an outsize role around the world, democratic or not. Theseinclude wealthy individuals, powerful industries, big banks andcorporations, and formidable labor unions.
Special interests as well as voters on different sides of every issue fighttheir battles in the political arena. But the rules of politics vary a lotfrom country to country. The way a political economy is organized affectswho wins the battle over policy.
Electoral institutions affect the identity of the people politicians needto attract to win an election. The US Electoral College makesmiddle-of-the-road voters in the Midwestern industrial states pivotal inpresidential elections, driving the emphasis on protection formanufacturing. In a multiparty parliamentary system, the pivotal voters maybe the supporters of a small party that can swing back and forth betweencoalition partners, such as the fringe parties for the formation of Israeligovernments. Whichever voters the electoral system makes pivotal are likelyto have outsize influence over politics and policy.
These institutions matter because they affect the weights that politiciansgive to different groups in society. Some sociopolitical institutions givelabor unions a great deal of influence; others privilege farmers; stillothers are dominated by business associations. Political economists analyzethe interests in play and how the institutions of society transmit andtransform them into government policy.
The Political Economy major is designed to study the relationship between government, society, and the economy in a holistic manner from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Political Economy majors investigate how real-world market systems are embedded in both politics and society. They graduate with a mastery of a broad range of contemporary analyses as well as a deep understanding of classic works of political economy.
The study of Political Economy is both scientific, with its rigorous attention to social science methodology, and normative, with its concern for the big questions of how best to organize politics, society, and the economy. Political Economy seeks to examine the role of the state in the economy and to assess which government policies and market institutions can move us toward a better society.
The major focuses on contemporary problems while building on a strong historical foundation. Students can choose to study such topics as economic development, trade and investment, global inequality, climate change, resource distribution, gender relations, financial systems, information technology, or health policy.
To graduate with honors from the group major in PE, students must enroll in the two-semester honors seminar, GLOBAL H102 (fall only) and POLECON H195 (spring only) and must obtain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.6 in the major and 3.5 in overall UCB coursework. All upper-division major courses will be used to calculate the major GPA. A student MUST have completed and received a grade for at least FOUR upper-division major courses to be considered for the Honors Program. The honors seminar (POLECON H195) is taken in addition to a student's regular course work for fulfilling requirements for the major and culminates in the writing of a senior thesis. To qualify for POLECON H195, students must be recommended by the GLOBAL H102 instructor. The thesis is read by the POLECON H195 instructor and at least one other faculty member who is selected by the student in consultation with the thesis instructor. Please consult a program advisor about honors eligibility.
There is no guarantee that students accepted into the honors program will graduate with honors. Honors recommendations are made after graduation and are based on a number of factors including (but not limited to) major GPA, grades received for GLOBAL H102 and POLECON H195, and faculty adviser recommendations.
Political Economy (PE) offers a five-course minor that is open to all undergraduates except PE majors. In addition to the POLECON 100 and POLECON 101 courses, students must choose a concentration topic and take three courses aligned with that topic. A list of pre-approved concentration courses and the application to declare the minor can be found on the Political Economy Minor Webpage. Students must declare the minor at least one semester before their expected graduation term. Students must email the completed and signed Completion of L&S Minor Form to the PE minor advisor in their final semester of undergraduate work.
Political Economy (PE) majors must demonstrate proficiency in a modern language other than English by the last semester of their senior year. Proficiency is equivalent to the ability achieved in four college-level semesters (or two years). Language courses taken in high school do not satisfy this requirement. See below for details on how to fulfill the foreign language requirement.
The concentration is made up of four courses. Within the concentration, only two courses may be taken from the same department. Up to three courses taken abroad may count, provided they conform to the concentration topic, they are upper-division, at least three semester units, and are taken for a letter grade. A syllabus in English must be submitted to the PE advisor for faculty review.
The PE concentration is the theoretical focal point in the major. It is meant to give students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of political economy around an area of particular interest to them. The concentration is perhaps the greatest benefit of the Political Economy major because it allows students to apply the theoretical and methodological knowledge they have gained to a topic about which they feel particularly drawn or curious. Students spend four courses focusing on this material, so it is important for students to be thoughtful and develop a topic about which they enjoy learning.
To get started on the concentration, students should think about an existing or potential issue or question in political economy. Then they should choose four courses that will inform or increase their understanding about that issue. These courses should all relate to the topic as well as to one another. Students are encouraged to be imaginative in defining a concentration. A concentration issue is formulated by the student with the assistance of a PE advisor who can help to explain, clarify, or perhaps challenge that issue. Students having a difficult time formulating a concentration should think about the classes they have taken which they enjoyed the most and consider what topics they learned about in those courses. Also, topics covered in GLOBAL 45 (GLOBAL N45), POLECON C45, POLECON 100, and POLECON 101 are a good place to start.
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