1 (Version 1: 03/26/08) POLI 227: Comparative Political Economy Spring 2008 Megumi Naoi Monday 12 - 2:50 PM Office Hours: Wed 2-4 SSB 114 SSB 373 [email protected] This graduate seminar for Ph.D. students examines the interaction between politics and the economy. This seminar will focus on how politics—in particular, political institutions—shapes economic outcomes and how the economy affects politics. We will examine both developed and developing countries and ask how development is affected by politics. The relative importance of domestic politics and international economic forces is also a theme. The course builds on 200C States and Markets. Readings are chosen not only to represent important debates in CPE but also to showcase works on different regions and countries using diverse methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, historical, formal, and experimental). The trade-off for the breath and diversity of this course is that few articles can be assigned on any given topic. My goal, however, is to introduce you to the seminal and current ideas in CPE and to help you identify research questions that you can pursue in your own work. Students will be encouraged to pay close attention to how these studies speak to each other and discuss how we can advance the literature. In addition to the readings and class participation, two major requirements for the course are presentations (see the end of this syllabus for details) and papers. REQUIREMENTS A. Two “Referee Reports” (All the participants in the class) A two-page, single-spaced “referee report” reviewing an article either (i) chosen from this syllabus, (ii) chosen by you (please consult with me beforehand), or, (iii) I was/am assigned to review (please request). Please turn in this referee report at the beginning of the class from which your article is assigned. I will go over how to write a referee report using actual examples during the first class.2 B. Presentation Each class participant is required to do one presentation during the course—a “data report” (explained in detail below) or presentation on your own work. Your own work can be one of the following three: (i) Research paper or research paper idea (ii) Seminar paper or seminar paper idea (iii) Dissertation prospectus, chapter or idea If you choose to do the data report, you will need to distribute a hand-out in class. For the research presentation, please send something written (minimum five pages) to the class e-mail list by Friday 5pm. C. Papers Please choose one of the following three tracks. Track I. Two 5-7 page double-spaced, typed papers critically examining the readings due during the course. Please complete the two “referee reports” before you start working on the 5-7 page essay. You may submit your essay anytime after the completion of referee reports and the final deadline for these 5-7 page essays is June 11 (Wednesday) at noon. Examples of how these critical literature reviews should be done are Ben-Ross Schneider’s review on political coalitions and economic policy and Michael Ross’s review on resource curse both published in World Politics (both will be available at the course website). Track II. One 15-page research proposal that proposes a research project that would resolve some of the limitations of the literature we have discussed. The proposal should identify a specific question or puzzle (“dependent variable”), discuss how you would try to answer that question (preliminary argument, hypotheses, and research design), lay out the necessary steps of the project, and suggest how this project would advance the literature. Track II students should present their draft proposals for the requirement B. Seminar participants will provide feedback, which should be incorporated into the written proposal. Track III. You can use your dissertation chapter or seminar/conference paper you are currently writing to fulfill the 15 page proposal requirement (no need to shorten the paper to 15-pages). If you decide to choose this track, you need to (i) present this3 chapter or paper in the class and get comments, (ii) submit the revised version incorporating these comments. You are also required to do an additional (third) “referee report” reviewing another student’s dissertation chapter or paper presented in the class. Grade Class participation will count for 20% of your grade; referee reports will count 10% each, your presentation or data report will count 10%, and 5-7 page essay papers will count for 50% and 15-page proposal will count for 60% of your final grade. Students are required to attend class and have done the readings in advance. March 31 Week 1: Debates in Comparative Political Economy Boix, Carles (1999), “Setting the Rules of the Game: The Choice of Electoral Systems in Advanced Democracies,” American political science review, vol:93 iss:3 pg:609 Cusak, Thomas, Torben Iversen, and David Soskice (2007), “Economic Interests and the Origins of Electoral Systems.” American Political Science Review 101, August 2007. Also Recommended: Dahl, Robert, 1959. “Business and Politics: A Critical Appraisal of Political Science.” APSR, Vol. 53, No.1. (Mar., 1959), pp.1-34. Workshop I: How to write a referee report (i.e., evaluate the contribution of your work and others) April 7 Week 2: Economic Growth (NOTE: need to reschedule) Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson and James Robinson. 2001. “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation. ” American Economic Review 91 (5): 1369-1401. Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. 2002. “Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 117 (4):1231-94.4 Rodrik, Dani, Arvind Subramanian, and Francesco Trebbi. 2002. “Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions over Geography and Integration in Economic Development.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper # 9305. Keefer, Philip. 2004. “What Does Political Economy tell us about Economic Development and Vice Versa?” Annual Review of Political Science. V. 7, 247-72. “From settler mortality to patrimonialism: weaving the dynamics of political competition into the political economy of development,” Political Economists (APSA