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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Kent State University/POL 30003 Political Economy (Fall)

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Course name
POL 30003 Political Economy
Institution
Kent State University
Instructor
Mark Cassell
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Course dates
2018-08-23 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-12-13 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
40


Few relationships are as important and complicated as the connection between politics and economics. Students, in particular, know this each time they write a check to the university. State legislatures’ priorities affect the cost of university. The federal governments’ priorities affect the type and level of financial aid students receive. Politics also affects whether there is a job for you when you graduate, the type of job and whether the job offers benefits and overtime. Nearly every area of your life – health, education, employment, transportation – is shaped by the intersection of economics and politics. The objective of this class is to learn how politics and economics intersect to influence our lives. The course is structured around empirical, theoretical and normative questions.

By empirical, I mean that we look at the what: as in, what is the relationship between politics and economics? How does the government or what might be called “the state” shape the behavior of individuals and firms? For example, if we privatize prisons and public schools, does it change how we incarcerate and educate? Empiricism also means asking how we measure a successful economy or a successful policy? Is Gross Domestic Product the right measure? What about employment or inequality? Should stress or mental health be included in the calculation?

We also explore why things are the way they are by studying the major competing theories in political economy including: classical and neo-classical political economy; Marxism, institutional economics, and Keynesianism. Theories matter. They provide a lens through which to understand causes and solutions. If you think some empirical measures like unemployment or inequality are a problem, theories provide the tools and prescriptions to solve those problems. We study the theories on their own terms, consider the historical context in which the theories developed, and the theories relevance today.

Finally, normative questions are also key to understanding the intersection of politics and economics. By normative means debating what should be the relationship between the politics and economics. Is government best which governs least? Should public policies resemble markets as much as possible? If there is a role for regulation what should be the criteria for regulating a firm or individual? These are questions that will come up again and again in the class.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Skrainov
Mcanessa1 Economic history of the United States
Zdp3
Kcline14 Adoption in the United States
Mdonal12
Malaniabirney Cadiz, Ohio
Blue2gold Space Age
Bendotf
Anna.tonoyan Impacts of Recent Climate Change on Diatom Extirpation from the Great Lakes
JohnSam07
Royo322
BrookeStrausbaugh Mary Bowman Crime in Ohio, LGBT
DougGirard19 United States ex rel. Gerald Mayo v. Satan and His Staff
Ttheiss4 Military–industrial complex
Wesley J 17
Ekisiday South Carolina v. Katzenbach
Gbutkovi Women in Economics
NiaSavon LGBT, LGBTQ psychology, LGBT symbols, LGBT community
Mmckin4
Rstewa28 New Castle, Pennsylvania
Clairejking Crime in Ohio
Kflynn12 9th Connecticut Regiment
Ssmit216
Cantoncic Prize-linked savings account
Amanda Jarus Strongsville, Ohio
Blakec25 Territory of Hawaii, Cadiz, Ohio, Space Age
Ahodgson21
Bricci13 Me Too movement, Fant v. The City of Ferguson
NeWiley Legal aid in the United States
Dbattis3 Iran- Iraq War
Dwolfor3 Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado
Gavinbbly
Jaredbawner Adam Smith
JSUMMERV
Bselle
Ericngros
NateFlauto
Seth Fangman
Theelkisinthekitchen
Bernice Matos
Matthewdrago Military–industrial–media complex

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Thursday, 23 August 2018
Topic
Introduction to the Course
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment

Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2

Course meetings
Tuesday, 28 August 2018   |   Thursday, 30 August 2018
In class - Topic
What is Political Economy

Readings:

·      Sackrey and Schneider. 2002. “Political Economy Critique of Mainstream Economics” in Introduction to Political Economy (Washington DC). (Blackboard Learn)
·      Charles Lindblom. 1984. “The Market as Prison” in The Political Economy (eds.) Thomas Ferguson and Joel Rogers. (Blackboard Learn)

Questions to consider:

1.     What is political economy?
2.     Why does Lindblom view the market as a prison? How is a market a prison?
3.     What’s the difference between political economy and economics?

 

Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

Week 3

Course meetings
Tuesday, 4 September 2018   |   Thursday, 6 September 2018
In class - Topic
Features of Capitalism

Reading:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 1, pp. 14-29
·      Eli Cook. 2017 “How Money Became the Measure of Everything” The Atlantic Magazine (Oct. 19).

Questions to consider:

1.     What is Adam Smith’s contribution to understanding capitalism?
2.     What are the elements that make up capitalism?
3.     When did was measure our well-being using money?

 

Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

Exercise

Evaluate an article

Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Political Science

Week 4

Course meetings
Tuesday, 11 September 2018   |   Thursday, 13 September 2018
In class - Topic
Classical Economics

Reading:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 1, pp. 30-43
·      Stilwell. 2012. “Chapter 8: Capitalism Emerging,” pp. 66-72.

Questions to consider:

1.     Where do corporations come from? Why were they created?
2.     What are Malthus and Ricardo’s contributions?
3.     What is the Theory of Comparative Advantage?

 

Week 5

Course meetings
Tuesday, 18 September 2018   |   Thursday, 20 September 2018
In class - Topic
Critiques of Classical Economics

Readings:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 2, pp. 44-66
·      Stilwell. 2012. “Chapter 15: Labour, Value and Exploitation” pp. 115-125.

Questions to consider:

1.     What explains the booms and busts of the market economy?
2.     What is fractional reserve banking?
3.     What are Marx’s criticisms of capitalism?

 

Assignment - Add to an article

Exercise

Add a citation

Week 6

Course meetings
Tuesday, 25 September 2018   |   Thursday, 27 September 2018
In class - Topic
Finishing discussing Classical economics and review for midterm.

Midterm is September 27th

Week 7

Course meetings
Tuesday, 2 October 2018   |   Thursday, 4 October 2018
In class - Topic
Neoclassical Economics

Readings:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 2, pp. 67-71
·      Stilwell, 2012. “Chapter 18: Free-market Economics,” pp. 150-160.

Questions to consider:

1.     What are the assumptions underlying neo-classical economics?
2.     How does neo-classical economics differ from Marxism and Classical?
3.     What is a supply and demand “curve”? 
4.     What is elasticity?

 

Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 8

Course meetings
Tuesday, 9 October 2018
In class - Topic
Growth of Corporations as Economic and Political Players

Readings:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 3, pp. 73-93
·      Adam Winkler, 2018. “’Corporations Are People' Is Built on an Incredible 19th-Century Lie” The Atlantic Magazine (March 5, 2018).

Questions to consider:

1.     What does elasticity mean?
2.     What did the 14th amendment do?
3.     What factors contributed to the growth of private firms?
4.     How did firms use their power?

 

Week 9

Course meetings
Tuesday, 16 October 2018   |   Thursday, 18 October 2018
In class - Topic
Rise of Institutional Economics

Reading:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 4, pp. 95-132

Questions to consider:

1.     What indicator should we use to assess the economy?
2.     What did FDR do to prevent another depression?
3.     Where do banks’ power come from?

 

Assignment - Peer review two contributions in student sandboxes and complete training.

Guiding framework

Week 10

Course meetings
Tuesday, 23 October 2018   |   Thursday, 25 October 2018
In class - Topic
Keynesianism and Shared Prosperity

 

Reading:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 5
·      Sackrey and Schneider “John Maynard Keynes” in Introduction to Political Economy (Cambridge, MA: Dollars and Sense).

Questions to consider:

1.     How did wars affect the economy?
2.     What policies helped to create America’s middle class?
3.     How did media change in the post-war period?
4.  What is fiscal policy?
5.  What does Keynesianism mean?

Week 11

Course meetings
Tuesday, 30 October 2018   |   Thursday, 1 November 2018
In class - Topic
Inflation, Stagflation, and Monetarist Economics

Readings:  

·      Goodwin, Chapter 6
·      Milton Friedman, excerpts from Free to Choose.

Questions to consider:

1.     What do we mean by market failures? What’s an example?
2.     What is monopolistic competition?
3.     What is a monetarist?
4.     What is Milton Friedman’s argument?
5.     What does Goodwin mean by the rise of the management class?

 

Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 12

Course meetings
Tuesday, 6 November 2018   |   Thursday, 8 November 2018
In class - Topic
Market Failures and Regulatory Capture & Midterm 2

Reading:  

·      James Q. Wilson. "The Politics of Regulation" in (eds.) Ferguson and Rogers, The Political Economy (Blackboard)

Questions to consider:

1.     How is a public agency “captured”? What does that even mean?
2.     What types of regulations are the most likely to pass?
3.     What types of regulations are the least likely to pass?

 

=== Midterm 2 will be held November 8.
 ===

 

Assignment - Continue improving your article

Exercise

Add links to your article

Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Week 13

Course meetings
Tuesday, 13 November 2018   |   Thursday, 15 November 2018
In class - Topic
Rise of the Conservative Movement and Wallstreet

Reading:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 7, pp. 198-251.
·      Jordan Weissmann. 2012. “America's Dumbest Tax Loophole: The Florida Rent-a-Cow Scam” The Atlantic Magazine (April 17, 2012)

Questions to consider:

1.     What is deficit spending and what causes it in the 1980s?
2.     What factors contributed to the S&L crisis?
What role does the Federal Reserve play in shaping the economy?
Assignment - Polish your work

Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 14

Course meetings
Tuesday, 20 November 2018
In class - Topic
The US Financial Crisis and Global Debt Crisis (Part 1)

Reading:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 8, pp. 251- 291
·      Krugman, Paul, 2009. "How Did Economists Get it So Wrong?" New York Times Sunday Magazine, September
·      Gosling, J. J., & Eisner, M. A. (2013). “The Great Recession” Economics, Politics, and American public policy. Armonk, N.Y.: Sharpe.

Questions to consider:

1.     What factors contributed to the financial crisis?
2.     What is the new Cold War?
3.     Why did economist advocate for more austerity in Greece?
4.     How did money and financial interests shape the US and global financial crises?

 

Week 15

Course meetings
Tuesday, 27 November 2018   |   Thursday, 29 November 2018
In class - Topic
The US Financial Crisis and Global Debt Crisis (Part 2)

Reading:

·      Goodwin, Chapter 8, pp. 251- 291
·      Krugman, Paul, 2009. "How Did Economists Get it So Wrong?" New York Times Sunday Magazine, September
·      Gosling, J. J., & Eisner, M. A. (2013). “The Great Recession” Economics, Politics, and American public policy. Armonk, N.Y.: Sharpe.

Questions to consider:

1.     What factors contributed to the financial crisis?
2.     What is the new Cold War?
3.     Why did economist advocate for more austerity in Greece?
4.     How did money and financial interests shape the US and global financial crises?

 

Assignment - Final article

It's the final week to develop your article.

  • Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
  • Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Week 16

Course meetings
Tuesday, 4 December 2018   |   Thursday, 6 December 2018
In class - The Politicsl of the Current Economic Policies in the United States

Readings:

·      Thomas Edsall 2018. In Our ‘Winner-Take-Most’ Economy, the Wealth Is Not Spreading New York Times. (July 26th)
·      Jim Tankersly. 2018. How the Trump Tax Cut Is Helping to Push the Federal Deficit to $1 Trillion New York Times. (July 25)
·      John Cassidy. 2018. What Is Donald Trump’s Trade Policy? Nobody Knows. The New Yorker (May 1). (Blackboard)
·      Trump’s Economic Policy (Wikipedia Article)

Questions to consider:

1.     How do Donald Trump’s economic policies differ from his predecessors' policies?  How are they similar?
2.     What is the logic underlying the current administration’s policies?
3.     What type of political economic theory informs his policies?

 

Assignment - Reflective essay

Guiding questions

Week 17

Course meetings
Tuesday, 11 December 2018   |   Thursday, 13 December 2018
In class - Final Exam
December 13 @ 7:45 - 10am
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