International Political Economy (Spring 2009)

We should be up to date on the audio and slides.

Keep it real.

The Keynes lecture is available via:

http://s09.middlebury.edu/PSCI0304A/Audio/IPES09-3-5Thu-Keynes.m4a

I’ve posted the slides for this past Thursday. They’re available under “Course Materials.”

I thought all of you might be interested in the following event:

April 10 – Friday

Does Democracy Promote Development?
4:30 p.m. – Robert A. Jones ’59 House conference room
A lecture by Strom Thacker, Associate Professor of International Relations at Boston University, and Director of Latin American Studies Program. He is a Faculty Affiliate of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University and a Fellow at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Rage Future at Boston University. He is author of Democracy and Development: A Historical Perspective (with John Gerring, forthcoming), A Centripetal Theory of Democratic Governance (with John Gerring, 2008), and Big Business, the State, and Free Trade: Constructing Coalitions in Mexico (2008).  Sponsored by the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs, the International Politics and Economics Program, the Department of Economics, and the Department of Political Science

More information is available via: http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/rcfia/events/#Apr%2009

I’ve extended the reservation for our normal room (MBH 530) to 3:40 PM. So, section two will now meet on Thursdays, 2:50-3:40 in the normal room. If you’re scheduled for that section but can’t make that new time slot, then just plan to attend Section 1, 1:30-2:20 (in the same room). If that doesn’t work, please contact me ASAP.

Here’s another interesting BusinessWeek story. This one is about the stimulus bill and its (problematic) relationship to our trade agreements.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2009/db20090216_920561.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

I’ve posted the discussion questions for tomorrow.

I’ve created the “Slides” page, under “Materials.”

http://sites.middlebury.edu/ipespring09/materials/slides/

In recent years, China has adopted a version of “export-led growth” (ELG or EOI–export oriented industrialization). Largely by manipulating the value of its currency (which we’ll discuss later in the term), the Chinese government has encouraged exports to the “West.” This strategy has largely worked, powering tremendous economic growth; but it also has some costs.

Before the current economic crisis, I wondered about several things:

(1) How would the Chinese fare if foreign demand declined? At the time, I feared political backlash, that Western export-competing producers might secure protection from Chinese imports. But the current economic crisis has served to produce the same result: skittishness on the part of consumers in the West has decreased demand for Chinese exports.

(2) How long could the Chinese government continue to encourage exports at the cost of increased domestic consumption? Simply put, when would the Chinese consumers begin clamoring to keep more of their products at home for their own use?

I just ran across an article in BusinessWeek that addresses some of these issues. In response to decreased foreign demand, Chinese manufacturers appear to be reorienting production towards the home (Chinese) market.

The competition there, however, is fierce. This latter insights sheds some light on my second question. The answer seems to be that the margins in China are much, much thinner. Simply put, there are more producers chasing less demand; and the demand is low, I presume, because incomes are low.

Here’s the article:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_08/b4120026074539.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

Thoughts?

I’ve put the Irwin and Schonhardt-Bailey readings for next Thursday on E-Res.

Thanks to those of you who emailed.