Economics

CIEE supports qualified students who wish to pursue an academically rigorous independent research project while abroad. In order to enroll, students must submit a research proposal including a clearly defined research topic,
explanation of research plans, description of preparation in the planned area of study, list of resources, tentative outline of a final paper, and suggested schedule of progress. Students complete a total of 100-120 hours of
research and meet regularly with an advisor to complete an academically rigorous, ethically sound, and culturally appropriate research project and final research paper. Approval for participation in Directed Independent Research
must be obtained from CIEE and the student's home institution prior to arrival on the program.

Where do the current beliefs - theories, doctrines, postulates and attitudes - of modern economics come from? If current theories and doctrines have a definite historical beginning, what schools of thought did they supplant? Are there alternative or dissident views which subsisted alongside mainstream economics in the twentieth century - and if so, what are they and where did they originate from? This course seeks to answer these questions, as well as others. It provides an overview of the development of economic ideas from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, combined with a more intensive focus on the thought of certain key figures in that history. The particular topics covered include: the formation of economics to 1776; Adam Smith; classical economics from Smith to J.S. Mill; the rise of marginalist economics; John Maynard Keynes; and orthodox and heterodox currents in twentieth century economics.

This course introduces the highly dynamic economic transformation of the city of Berlin since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The course examines how Berlin has tried to turn its weakness (i.e., lack of financial capital) into a strength (i.e., wealth of cultural capital) by focusing heavily on "creative industries," tourism, and its world-famous club and art scenes. This course studies the transformation in all its economic and cultural ramifications: from the vibrant start-up culture and precarious employment patterns to the city's rapid growth and discontent with gentrification.

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

The course aims to give students the analytical skills to compare and contrast the multiple paths to prosperity and critically assess the prospects and challenges for Asian economies and their citizens to thrive in the future. It moves beyond the mainstream approach to assessing country-level economic performance by incorporating seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist, as explained in the book Doughnut Economics, in a holistic exploration of the economic growth and development patterns in the dynamic Asian region. These include shifting the goal beyond GDP to broader measures of sustainable development and human wellbeing; understanding the importance of economic and political systems beyond the textbook 'free market'; recognizing the critical role of governments in supporting equitable and regenerative development; and questioning whether the 20th-century obsession with economic growth is compatible with 21st-century development challenges.

This course covers global social problems and policies and develops competencies to respond to human needs emerging from interdependence between countries and societies. It introduces the broad field of global social policy by analyzing theory, social policy change, and social policy outcomes. Structurally, the course is divided in four parts. The first introduces classic social policy, discussing the main concepts and theories developed in the Western world during the 19th and 20th century. It also illustrates the main explanations proposed in the literature to investigate welfare state development and Esping-Andersen's welfare regime typologies (and the main critiques to his comparative framework). The second introduces social policy in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and East Asia. It combines a general understanding of welfare regimes in these continents with a more specific appraisal of some national case. The third highlights the main challenges (namely new social risks, family changes, economic crises) for welfare states in the Post-Fordist era and analyzes how different countries are coping with social change. The fourth and last part of the course considers welfare states as an independent variable: alternative welfare state configurations have different effects on redistribution and the economic competitive advantage of countries.

This course provides an opportunity to rediscover classics, to explore contemporary economic and business issues, and to consider and discuss different approaches to anthropological work in economy and business. It provides classic and new knowledge within economic and business anthropology, develops a curiosity, overview, and understanding of the field and related fields, allows and encourages use of economic and business anthropology in the analysis of student's own empirical data, planned fieldwork, theoretical debates, or current issues. Topics include markets, capitalism, exchange, money, debt, leadership, organization, design, and consumption, as well as additional concepts of interest to students.

This course examines the processes of political and social changes and their impact on economic institutions and processes. Topics include: how to make collective decisions for a group of individuals with heterogeneous needs and preferences; typical failures of different voting rule; designing a voting rule that makes rational decisions and satisfies some minimal democratic requirement; how governments and electoral competition work; why economic competition and electoral competition are so different in nature; the role and influence of interest groups in the political process.

There is wide consensus that Asia is a major engine of recent global economic growth. Does this mean that Asia is a new economic power, or that the current growth indicates the resurgence of Asia? The answer to this question requires good historical knowledge of Asian economy in a global perspective. This course aims to provide such knowledge. 

The course focuses especially on Southeast Asia from the early time to the mid-twentieth century, discussing the following themes: natural environment; economic foundation of early states; changing demands in the global markets where consumption cultures were constantly changing; production development of particular products; regional and global trade; movement of labor; economic and social impacts of colonization, and struggles for economic decolonization. 

To prepare for this course, it is recommended to enroll in the course offered in the fall semester, "Economic History of Southeast Asia," which focuses more on the developments in the post-WWII period.

Consultants offer their professional advice to client organizations by leveraging their knowhow in the fields of management. Consultants often assist clients in the change process, and in some cases act as key characters in the implementation phase. Today, more than in the past, consultancy has become a viable professional development alternative, typically offered to young students from graduate or undergraduate degrees. The course focuses on the process side of the relationship between clients and consultants. The course also deals with the characteristics of the industry and with some key features of the profession.