"Economics in political decision-making"
University of Warsaw Institute of International Relations
Three policy-related articles:
(OPTIONAL) "Rosja Putina: Moskwa jeszcze nie wzięta"
"Venezuela: How paradise got lost"
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/21/americas/venezuela-crisis-explained/
"Do-Nothing Central Bank Boxed In as Poland's Economy Booms"
Some relevant academic articles:
Acemoglu and Robinson (2013), Economics versus Politics: Pitfalls of Policy Advice
https://economics.mit.edu/files/10403
Buchanan, Public Choice: Politics Without Romance
https://asp.mercatus.org/system/files/Buchanan-%20Politics%20without%20Romance.pdf
Bernanke, Monetary Policy in a World of Mobile Capital (2005)
http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2005/1/cj25n1-1.pdf
Recommended textbooks for Economics background:
Chiang: CoreEconomics or Economics: Principles for a Changing World (Worth Publishers)
O’Sullivan, Sheffrin and Perez: Economics: Principles, Applications, and Tools (Pearson)
Krugman and Wells: Economics (Macmillan)
http://www.macmillanlearning.com/catalog/Product/economics-fourthedition-krugman
Study Questions:
1) Explain Economic thinking, including such terms as diminishing marginal returns, efficiency, optimization, opportunity cost, and welfare.
2) Explain how Economists calculate costs, and how costs enter into political decision making.
3) Describe various schools of economic thought (classical, etc.) and specific examples of their application in today’s political system.
4) Explain economic welfare and efficiency, and how these goals might conflict with political goals.
5) Describe macroeconomic policies and how they affect governments and individuals.
6) Explain various market failures and how the government might step in to correct them.
7) Explain how countries are connected internationally through fiscal and monetary policy.
8) Describe the principles of taxation (why taxes are collected), as well as their effects on prices and welfare.
"Economic Challenges during the Trump Administration Worldwide"
Relevant News Articles:
"Why working class Americans voted with their middle finger"
http://nypost.com/2017/05/13/why-working-class-america-voted-with-their-middle-finger/
"Donald Trump sours on Canada over ‘very unfair’ milk policy"
"What Donald Trump's Presidency Means for Africa"
http://www.theafricareport.com/International/what-donald-trumps-presidency-means-for-africa.html
"US fails to reassure Europe, Japan over 'Trumponomics'"
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2017/05/13/g7-us-fails-to-reassure-europe-japan-over-trumponomics.html
"Mexican peso almost recovered from Trump plunge"
http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/31/news/economy/mexico-peso-recovers/
"Hungary's Viktor Orban finds ally with 'black sheep' Donald Trump"
http://www.dw.com/en/hungarys-viktor-orban-finds-ally-with-black-sheep-donald-trump/a-36520316
Krugman, Obstfeld, and Melitz: International Economics: Theory and Policy (Pearson)
Feenstra and Taylor: International Economics (Macmillan)
http://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/internationaleconomics-fourthedition-feenstra
Study Questions:
1) Describe how U.S. politics and interest groups have helped lead to the “Trump Phenomenon.”
2) Explain how similar political processes have led both to “Brexit,” Trump, and other global events.
3) Explain how economic, military, and “soft” power arrangements might change under the new administration.
4) Describe how economic and political goals might conflict, using microeconomic concepts such as efficiency and welfare, as well as macroeconomic concepts such as net exports, growth, and inflation.
5) Explain how potential changes in U.S. policy might affect movements in goods, services, labor, and capital worldwide.
6) Describe the welfare effects of a tariff, and explain specific individuals whom the graphs represent.
7) Explain the effects of U.S. fiscal and monetary policy changes on international variables such as exchange rates, commodity prices, interest rates, and GDP.
8) Describe potential impacts on Europe, Latin America, and other world regions.