World Economy

Module Code: EC4020

Module Title: World Economy

• ECTS Weighting: 15
• Semester/Term Taught: Michaelmas + Hilary Term
• Contact Hours: TBC
• Module Personnel: Lecturer - Ronan Lyons / Lecturer - Fadi Hassan

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Outline the development of the world economy from the late 1700s to the early 1900s
• Explain the importance of political economy and trade policy in shaping global economic outcomes
• Critically assess the historical evidence for different models of trade and growth
• Outline the causes and economic consequences of the flows of capital and labour in the 19th Century world economy

Module Content

Part A will focus on the Economic History of the World Economy.  The aim is to provide an introduction to the history of the international economy from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. The world economy at this time provides a rich environment in which to examine economic questions such as the link between politics, technology and globalization. The course also examines the impact, in particular on growth and inequality, of the flows of goods, capital and labour associated with globalization, themes of interest to this day. It concludes by looking at the deglobalization experienced in the Interwar years and the concurrent Great Depression.
Structure:

1. 19th century globalization: introduction
2. The political economy of trade policy: Britain’s move to free trade
3. Were Heckscher and Ohlin right?
4. The political economy of trade policy: late 19th century European protectionism
5. Mass migrations: causes and consequences
6. Global capital market integration in the 19th and 20th centuries
7. International capital flows in the 19th century: causes and consequences
8. Imperialism: costs and benefits
9. Globalization backlash and World War I
10. The Great Depression: Trade
11. The Great Depression: Capital

Part B will focus on Contemporary Topics in the World Economy. 
This is a macro-orientated topics course.

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Recommended Reading List

Part A: Detailed readings to follow. Core texts will be O’Rourke and Williamson, Globalization and History: The Evolution of a 19 Century Atlantic Economy (MIT Press, 1999); and Findlay and O’Rourke, Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium (Princeton University Press, 2007).

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Module Pre Requisite

EC2010

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Assessment Details

Michaelmas term paper of no more than 25 pages, identifying an original research topic, based on the student’s readings (15% TBC)

Part B (15% TBC)

A final examination (70% TBC)

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Module Website

TBC

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