An Introduction to political economy and economics
This highly popular nine-week course (which is about to enter its 24rd iteration) will help you understand, and evaluate, the diverse ideas that exist in political economy and economics. This course offers a pluralist introduction to economics in that it introduces nine (9) schools of thought, each of which offers a unique and distinctive illumination of economic and social reality.
Evolution of the World Economy
Learn about major changes to the world economy from the emergence of capitalism up the present and in the process be introduced to some of major ideas, concepts and debates in political economy and economics. This ten-week course covers the emergence of capitalism, the Great Depression, World War Two, the rise and fall of the USSR, the establishment of the Bretton Woods system, the long boom (1950-73), the stagflation of the 1970s, the rise of neoliberalism (70’s, 80’s to the present), the rise of Japan, underdevelopment in the Global South, and the Global Financial Crisis.
Comparative Economic Systems
This nine-week course offers a well structured introduction to the analysis of different types of economic systems in both theory and practice including social-democratic (welfare state) capitalism, neoliberal capitalism, command socialism, market socialism and local self-governance systems. Applied case studies include Sweden, Yugoslavia, China and Australia. The final section of the subject looks at both capitalist and socialist economic systems might best adapt themselves to the lessons of the past, and also better respond to the environmental, economic and social challenges of the present and future.
MACROECONOMICS
Macroeconomics takes a system-view of the economy. If microeconomics is looking at the individual trees, macroeconomics is looking at the forest. This subject looks at macroeconomics from an explicitly Post-Keynesian perspective. As such, it recognises the importance of fundamental uncertainty, the significance of a monetary economy, institutions, realism of assumptions, historical path-dependence, and political power. Nonetheless, the Post-Keynesian approach is regularly contrasted with rival approaches so that students can make an informed judgement between competing ideas.