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Government 90au
Fall 2007
Tuesday 2-4
(CGIS N-108)
Political Economy
This course is a survey of topics and theories in comparative political economy
(=the interplay of politics and economics in different countries) with a focus on
advanced democracies (North America, Western Europe, and East Asia). Why do
some governments and institutions generate better economic performance than
others? Why are some economies more egalitarian than others? Why do some
governments redistribute more than others?
To facilitate in the preparation for each week's class, I will post reading notes online
that highlight some of the central themes and issues for a class and occasionally
provide some background theory or history. The notes can (only) be accessed from
the course web site athttp://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/colgsas/8213
Requirements:
Two critical essays of 6-7 pages each, one take-home final exam, and active
participation. The essays must highlight a problem, theory, or theme in the readings
for one week (but with references to previous weeks where appropriate), and each
essay should cover a different part of the course. Papers are due at noon the day
before class (i.e., on Monday). The take-home final (9-10 pages) will cover the
materials for the entire class. See online syllabus for further instructions on writing
papers. Since this course is a seminar, it is essential that students come prepared for
class and participate actively.
Grading:
Readings:
- Books available for purchase at the Coop:
Mancur Olson. The Rise and Decline of Nations. Yale University Press (1982)
Dani Rodrik, Has Globalization Gone Too Far? Institute for International
Economics (1997)
Jonas Pontusson, Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe Vs. Liberal America.
Cornell University Press, 2005.
Alberto Alesina and Edward Glaeser, Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe.
Oxford University Press, 2003.
- All other readings are available online by using the links on the electronic
syllabus.
Barry Eichengreen, "Institutions and Economic Growth: Europe after World War
II.. In Nicholas Crafts and Gianni Toniolo, eds.,Economic Growth in Europe since
1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Mancur Olson, The Rise and Decline of Nations. New Haven: Yale U. Press (1982),
chs. 2-3.
Peter Lange and Geoffrey Garrett, "The Politics of Growth: Strategic Interaction
and Economic Performance, 1974-1980." Journal of Politics 47 (1985), 792-27.
Peter A. Hall and David Soskice, eds., Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional
Foundations of Comparative Advantage (2001): Introduction.
Vittorio Grilli, Donato Masciandoro and Guido Tabellini. "Political and Monetary
Institutions and Public Financial Policies in the Industrialized Countries," Economic
Policy 13 (1991).
Alberto Alesina and Edward Glaeser, Fighting Poverty in Europe and the U.S. New
York: Oxford University Press, ch. 1
Allan H. Meltzer and Scott. F. Richard, "A Rational Theory of the Size of
Government” Journal of Political Economy 89 (1981), 914-17 (Read only first 3
pages).
Torsten Persson and Guido Tabellini, The Economic Effects of Constitutions. MIT
Press, 2003, [Read only Chapter 2, plus pp. 129-34 and 140-44]
Boix, Carles, “Setting the Rules of the Game: The Choice of Electoral Systems in
Advanced Democracies.” American Political Science Review 93 (1999), 609-24.
Torben Iversen and David Soskice, “Distribution and Redistribution: The Shadow
from the Nineteenth Century“ [if you are interested in more detail on the argument
about PR and redistribution, click here. If you interested in seeing more about the
historical argument, click here]
Torben Iversen and Anne Wren, “Equality, Employment, and Budgetary Restraint:
The Trilemma of the Service Economy.” World Politics, 50 (1998), 507-46.
Alberto Alesina, Edward Glaeser, and Bruce Sacerdote, “Work and Leisure in the
U.S. and Europe: Why so Different? Harvard Institute of Economic Research
Discussion Paper No. 2068
(2005).
John R. Lott and Lawrence W. Kenny, "Did women's suffrage change the size and
scope of government?" Journal of Political Economy 107 (6), 1163-1198 (1999).
James Alt, Jeffry Frieden, Michael J. Gilligan, Dani Rodrik and Ronald Rogowski,
"The Political Economy of International Trade - Enduring Puzzles and an Agenda
for Inquiry, " Comparative Political Studies 29 (6), 1996.
Dani Rodrik, Has Globalization Gone Too Far? (Washington DC: Institute for
International Economics, 1997), chs. 3-4.
Torben Iversen and Thomas Cusack "The Causes of Welfare State Expansion:
Deindustrialization or Globalization?" World Politics, April 2000.
Ronald Inglehart and Paul R. Abramson, "Economic Security and Value Change."
American Political Science Review 88 (1994), 336-54 .
Torben Iversen, “Class Politics is Dead. Long Live Class Politics.” Comparative
Politics Newsletter, 2006.
Thomas Cusack, Torben Iversen, and Philipp Rehm, “Risk at Work: The Demand
and Supply Sides of Government Redistribution” Prepared for the Oxford Review of
Economic Policy.
Paul Pierson, “The New Politics of the Welfare State.” World Politics (1996), 143-
79.
Nolan McCarty, Keith Poole, and Howard Rosenthal, Polarized America. Ch. 1; 3.