Chris Adolph

Political Economy of the Great Recession and its Aftermath

POLS/ECON 409

We consider contemporary comparative political economy and macroeconomics through the lens of the past decade and a half, in which advanced industrial economies experienced massive technological change, speculative bubbles, financial crises, prolonged recessions, and widening inequality, as well as renewed debate on the appropriate role of government in managing the business cycle. Emerging from this period, these countries face deep questions about the future of work in an era of automation, globalism in a time of xenophobia, and democracy under the rise of populism. Through discussion and papers on a mixture of popular and academic readings, we tackle three key questions: What happened during the financial crisis, what political economic changes followed in its wake, and what's next?

POLS/ECON 409

Political Economy of the Great Recession and its Aftermath

Offered occasionally at the
University of Washington

Syllabus

Readings

Spring 2017

Class meets:
MW 10:30 am–12:20 pm
Mechanical Engineering Building 102

Lectures PDFs of slides are best viewed in Adobe Acrobat, rather than in your browser.

Day 1

Course Introduction

Day 2

Contours of Change

Day 3

Economics of the Financial Crisis, Part 1

Day 4

Economics of the Financial Crisis, Part 2

Day 5

Politics of the Financial Crisis, Part 1

Day 6

Politics of the Financial Crisis, Part 2

Day 7

Stimulus, Austerity, and Recovery in the US

Day 8

The Euro, Austerity, and Crisis, Part 1

Day 9

The Euro, Austerity, and Crisis, Part 2

Day 10

Automation, Skills, and Inequality

Day 11

Capital’s Return, Part 1

Days 12 & 13

Capital’s Return, Parts 2 & 3

Day 14

Democratic Responsiveness and Economic Change, Part 1

Day 15

Democratic Responsiveness and Economic Change, Part 2

Day 16

Democratic Responsiveness and Economic Change, Part 3

Day 17

Solutions to 21st Century Problems, Part 1

Day 18

Solutions to 21st Century Problems, Part 2

Day 19

Solutions to 21st Century Problems, Part 3

Student Assignments

Reaction Papers

Due on Pre-arranged Dates

For three pre-arranged class meetings, students will turn in a 2 page “reaction paper” addressing that day's readings. To receive full credit, this paper must be more than a summary of arguments from the readings. A good reaction paper can take several forms: you might choose to critique one or more readings closely, to compare and contrast the arguments and findings of several readings, or to place the readings in a broader context, including earlier readings in the course. Reaction papers are due at the beginning of class; late papers will not be accepted.

Final Paper

Due 7 June 2017, 3 pm, 101 Gowen Hall

Students will write a longer (approximately 10–12 page) paper drawing on the course readings to answer an assigned question. Papers that clearly develop an argument and support that argument with well-sourced and explained evidence will receive the highest marks. Papers that fail to make a clear argument, that provide only weak, poorly explained, or poorly sourced evidence, or that suffer from serious deficits in writing will be marked down accordingly.