POLITICAL ECONOMY (POLEC)

POLEC 200 - FOUNDATIONS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

Prerequisite: None

An introduction to the fundamental alternative ways of thinking about the relation between government and economic life and to the main concepts necessary for thinking about this relation.

Credit: 3

POLEC 310 - THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF A FREE SOCIETY

Prerequisite: None

Examines the fundamental change that occurred in political economy in the 17th and 18th centuries. Emphasis will fall on the Enlightenment impetus towards freedom and the rise of classical liberalism. An examination of the original arguments for classical liberal political economy found in the works of thinkers such as Smith, Ricardo, Bastiat, Cobden, and others.

Credit: 3

POLEC 320 - 20TH CENTURY POLITICAL ECONOMY: THE WELFARE STATE AND BEYOND

Prerequisite: None

Examines the most important and influential thinkers on political economy in the 19th and 20th centuries such as Marx, von Mises, Keynes, Hayek, and Friedman.

Credit: 3

POLEC 410 - AMERICAN POLITICAL ECONOMY I: FOUNDING THROUGH CIVIL WAR

Prerequisite: None

Examines the theory and practice of government’s role in the American economy through the Civil War. May include the arguments of Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Clay, and Lincoln as well as topics such as assumption of Revolutionary debt, slavery, the National Bank, government funding of internal improvements, the development of railroads, and the opening of Western lands.

Credit: 3

POLEC 420 - AMERICAN POLITICAL ECONOMY II: RECONSTRUCTION THROUGH THE GREAT SOCIETY

Prerequisite: None

Examines the theory, practice, and consequences of government’s role in the American economy from Reconstruction through the Great Society. May include the arguments of Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, FDR, Dwight Eisenhower, and LBJ as well as topics such as trust-busting, creation of the Federal Reserve, the impact of World War, the New Deal, the federal highway system, and the Great Society.

Credit: 3

POLEC 430 - INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND GLOBALIZATION

Prerequisite: None

Examines the attempts to develop, preserve, and regulate an international economy based on the principle of free trade. Considers questions such as what political institutions are required for free trade as well as specific issues such as the World Bank, the dollar standard, exchange rates, national borrowing and lending, and sovereign debt.

Credit: 3

POLEC 440 - TOPICS IN POLITICAL ECONOMY

Prerequisite: None

An intensive examination of an important topic, text, or controversy in political economy. Topics will change from year to year. May be taken twice with department approval.

Credit: 3