Political Economy of Asia

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This seminar examines the political determinants of various economic outcomes in Asia. Throughout the semester, we will examine the determinants of growth, the importance of institutions, the role of states in markets, strategies of development, the effects of political regime types, the interactions between bureaucrats, labor, and the private sector, rent-seeking, crisis, and the management of trade. The course will build the substantive, theoretical, and empirical background of students. In particular, students will become familiar with the roots of the transformation of Asian economies, gain a background in major theories from the literature on international political economy, and learn to critically and analytically assess the empirical evidence for theoretical arguments on topics of political economics. This course is open to undergraduate students only. Students are expected to have a basic background in economics.