Idea Transcript
COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF CITY UNIVERSITY CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG Information on a Course offered by Division of Social Sciences
Course Title:
(English) International Political Economy (Chinese)
Course Code: Credit Units: Level:
DSS20678 3 A2
Medium of Instruction: Pre-requisites: Pre-cursors:
English Nil Nil
Equivalent Courses: Exclusive Courses: Course Duration:
Nil Nil One semester
Course Aims: This course aims to provide an introduction to theories and issues in international political economy. In particular, it will discuss analytical tools to investigate the interaction of firms, labour, governments, and international organizations in the global economy.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs) Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Describe the basic concepts and theories in international political economy 2. Apply their knowledge to comprehend various issues in international political economy 3. Demonstrate greater awareness to the international political and economic issues discussed or debated in the media
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Alignment of the CILOs with the Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs) of ASocSc Applied Social Studies: CILOs (Please if the CILO(s) is/are aligned with the PILO Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs)
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I.
Demonstrate civic and social awareness, cultural and historical awareness, and explain their relationships with real world issues;
II.
Apply the main perspectives, orientation and methods in the discipline of social sciences in a wide variety of professional contexts;
III.
Apply interpersonal, communication (in English and Chinese), information technology, quantitative and analytical, critical thinking, problem solving and self-directed lifelong learning skills in their personal and professional work settings;
IV.
Identify their interest and ability in a specific field in the discipline of applied social studies;
V.
Relate the major ideas in arts and humanities, science and technology to their own field in the discipline of applied social studies.
Keyword Syllabus: (a brief description of the syllabus of the course)
What is International Political Economy (IPE)? Different from international politics and international economics; three ideologies of IPE: liberalism, Marxism, and economic nationalism/mercantilism; realist, theoretical perspectives of IPE: liberal and historical-structural.
International Trade Historical account of international trade; embedded liberalism; import-substitution versus export-led development; comparative advantage and international competitiveness; the new trade theory or the strategic trade theory; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO); regionalism and global trade regime.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Transnational Corporations (TNCs) FDI and economic development; competitive strategies of TNCs; Porter’s Diamond perspective; FDI and technology transfer; FDI, intra-industrial trade and the new international division of labour; TNCs from advanced and developing countries.
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International Politics of Money and Finance Balance of payments, current and capital account; Great Depression and Keynesianism; currency regime: from fix- to floating-exchange rates; debt crises in developing countries; a balance sheet approach to financial crisis; Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis; the role of states in financial crises; Asian financial crisis; the global financial tsunami
Unipolarity, Bipolarity and Multipolarity The rise and fall of the US hegemony after the World Wars; unilateralism, bilateralism and multilateralism; capitalism and new imperialism in the post-Cold War era; from G7 to G20 in the global economic governance?; US hegemony and China.
Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs): (designed to facilitate students’ achievement of the CILOs) a. Lectures focus on the introduction and explanation of key concepts and theories of international political economy, with illustrations by referring to current international economic issues whenever b.
appropriate. Occasional in-class discussions might be organized. Tutorials provide students with the opportunity to apply the concepts and theories acquired in lectures to real-life international economic issues. Activities may include student presentations and discussion of cases and problems.
Teaching Schedule: Lecture (hr/week): 2
Tutorial (hr/week): 1
Other (please specify) (hr/week):
Assessment Tasks/Activities: (designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs) Type of assessment tasks/activities
%
Brief Description of assessment tasks/ activities
i.
20%
Give class presentation on a group basis (15%) to discuss assigned topics or real-life international political economic issues by using appropriate concepts, theories, or perspectives. Individual students will also be assessed in terms of the quality of their comments on the presentation (5%).
ii. Written assignment
30%
Prepare a group essay that describes and analyses certain international issues by using appropriate IPE perspectives.
iii. Examination
50%
Attempt a 2-hour examination (with essay type questions) to assess abilities to describe and apply the IPE concepts,
Topic discussions in tutorials
theories, and perspectives.
Assessment Schedule (on the basis of Assessment Tasks/ Activities identified above) Examination (%): 50%
Duration (Hrs): 2
Coursework (%): 50%
Participation (%):
Grading Mode: Standard or Pass/Fail* (delete as appropriate)
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Alignment of TLAs and Assessment Tasks/Activities with the CILOs: TLAs (Please if the TLA(s) Assessment (Please if the is/are aligned with the CILO Assessment(s) is/are aligned with the CILO CILOs
a.
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Describe the basic concepts and theories….
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Apply their knowledge to comprehend…
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Demonstrate greater awareness….
b.
i.
ii.
iii.
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