Economics

This course introduces a set of analytic tools and conceptual frameworks through which to assess the origins and evolution of the institutions that constitute modern capitalism. It takes an interdisciplinary political economy approach that draws insights from economics, sociology, political science, history, geography, science and technology studies, and law. The course critically assesses the rise of what Karl Polanyi and Albert O. Hirschman have referred to as "market society," a powerful conceptual framework that views the development of modern capitalism not as an outcome of deterministic economic and technological forces, but rather as the result of contingent social and political processes. The material covers various theoretical perspectives that illustrate alternative conceptions of rationality, which in turn produce competing ways of seeing and making sense of the complexities of our social world. Ultimately, the course exposes a range of critical conceptual tools and frameworks through which to interrogate the current relationship between states and markets, and to consider the extent to which social actors can challenge its limits and imagine alternative possibilities.

This course is offered by the Faculty of Economics and is designed to help students improve their oral, presentational and academic writing skills in English. The topics to be considered in class will vary slightly depending on the students' interests and academic orientation. The actual work will consist of student presentations; reading and analyzing student essays and short academic papers, and class discussions. Specific advice will be given to each participant on how to approximate their writing and oral presentation to more natural patterns of speech.

This course is designed to deepen students' understanding of the history of economics after the Marginal Revolution. The purpose of these lectures is to encourage participants to look at the development of economics from the viewpoint of history and theory, in order to understand modern economics from a different perspective. This course covers the Marginal Revolution and the historical development of microeconomics. Students are required to have basic knowledge of micro- as well as macroeconomics. Some mathematical reformulations are introduced in the lectures, but they are elementary and can be understood easily. Evaluations will be based on midterm and final papers.

This course has been designed to provide students with an introduction to a range of important concepts, theories and principles that underpin the study of economics. Lectures take the form of lectures, case studies, and problem-solving exercises. The aims of the course are to: Provide students with an introduction to a number of essential economic concepts, principles and models, explain the functioning of markets, demand, supply, and government economic policies, and provide students with some analytical tools to tackle economic problems.

This course provides an overview of the development of the Japanese economy from the end of World War II to the present. Compared with other courses on Japanese economic history, this course emphasizes the application of basic economic theory to review the postwar history of the Japanese economy and then discusses current issues for the Japanese economy.

The course examines the successes and failures of British business and industry, with an emphasis on the post-World War II period. It assesses many of the hypotheses on why the UK economy grew more slowly than other OECD nations during this period. Explanations of relative economic decline are examined in the context of comparisons with other European nations and with the US, Japan and more recently China. The course is organized to combine major economic and political themes, such as de-industrialization, globalization, education and training, management organization and practices, labor relations, and Britain’s relationship with the EEC/EU, with case studies of industries as diverse as textiles, motors, banking, pharmaceuticals, and steel. By interacting themes and case studies, students get a sense of how national policies can affect business opportunities, and how governments can both aid and harm business. The impact of government policies such as nationalization/privatization, regional policy and competition are also examined in this context. The primary focus is on the post-World War II period, including current changes in performance, but the historical roots of Britain's recent performance are also considered.

This course covers the economics of financial institutions and markets as well as the role of central banks. It begins with an overview of the financial system and introduction to money and its role in the economy. The course then focuses on: (i) the behavior of interest rates; (ii) basic theories for stock prices; (iii) banks and bank management; (iv) the money supply process, and (v) the conduct of monetary policy.

This course focuses on the modern socioeconomic history of agriculture in China and the relationships between rural and urban; farm and industry; traditional and modern, and communism and capitalism.

The course aims to:

1. Understand the political economy of a non-industrial and non-western social system.
2. Learn how to distinguish between historical facts and present values.
3. Learn how to make meaningful comparisons between different societies and economies.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the transformation of the Japanese economy in the late early-modern and modern times, while at the same time acquiring a multifaceted view of historical facts. The course introduces the characteristics of the transformation process of the Japanese economy in the late early modern period and the modern period (19th century to 20th century). In addition to macroscopic perspectives such as industry, distribution, and trade structures, the course also focuses on microscopic perspectives such as the way people worked and lived at the time and the transformation of society.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a basic knowledge of the nature and workings of modern capitalist economies (welfare states), particularly in the West European and Anglo-Saxon countries.  The course focuses on government policy and its effects on countries’ economic performance, as measured by economic efficiency and growth; employment (or unemployment); income inequality, and poverty. The course seeks to answer the questions: What kind of policies do governments employ to promote economic performance? Are government policies effective in achieving positive economic outcomes? Is it possible to achieve economic growth and income equality simultaneously? If the answer is yes, what policy mix is instrumental? If the answer is no, why?