POL 386 Dr. Alice Cooper

Spring 2011 Deupree 333; 915-5608

Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 11:00-12:30

EUROPEAN POLITICAL ECONOMY

After the double tragedies of the Great Depression and World War II, most European countries achieved unparalleled levels of economic prosperity. Why, however, did the various countries choose quite different political strategies and policies to deal with shared challenges? This course will examine the political and economic institutions which underlie postwar prosperity. We will also look at how well these countries adapted to the new challenges of globalization since the 1970s.

Students will learn to read analytically, organize information from multiple sources, and evaluate scholarship in relation to previously discussed readings.

Course Requirements

There will be four tests, including the final exam. None of the tests will require any additional reading beyond the assignments on the syllabus. Each test will count 20% of the grade. The remaining 20% will be based on a review essay.

Note: A grade of C or above must be earned to count this course toward a major or minor in Political Science.

Assignments

PART I: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

I INDUSTRIALIZATION IN EUROPE

Thurs. Jan 27: Tom Kemp, Industrialization in 19th Century Europe, Longman, 1985, Ch. 1-2 (Britain)

Tues. Feb 1: Kemp, Ch. 3 (France)

Thurs, Feb 3: Kemp, Ch. 4 (Germany)

II. CRISES AND CHOICES – POLITICS OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLICY MAKING

Tues Feb 8: Peter Gourevitch, Politics in Hard Times, Cornell UP, 1986. Chapter 3 (1890s -- International Trade)

Thurs Feb 10: Gourevitch, Ch. 4 (1930s and Keynesianism)

Tues Feb 15: Film and review

Thurs. Feb 17: TEST ONE

PART II: COORDINATION OF POSTWAR ECONOMIES: INSTITUTIONS AND OUTCOMES

III. AMERICAN FORDISM AND THE CORPORATION

Tues Feb 22: Michael Piore and Charles Sabel, The Second Industrial Divide, Basic Books, N.Y., 1984. CH. 3.

IV. BUSINESS ORGANIZATION AND COMPETITIVENESS: JAPAN

Thurs Feb 24: Michael Best, The New Competition, Harvard UP, 1990. Ch. 5. (Japanese corporations)

V. INDUSTRIAL POLICY IN JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES

Tues March 1: Best, Ch. 6 (Japan)

Thurs March 3: Jeffrey Hart, Rival Capitalists, Cornell UP, 1992, Ch. 6. (US)

Tues March 8: Film on Japan and review

Thurs March 10: TEST TWO

VI. STATE-LED DEVELOPMENT IN FRANCE

Tues March 22: Peter Hall, Governing the Economy, Oxford UP, New York, 1986, Chapter 6

VII. CORPORATISM: GERMANY’S COORDINATED ECONOMY

Thurs March 24: Jeffrey Hart, Ch. 5 AND Stephen Padgett, “Political Economy: the German Model under Stress,” in Stephen Padgett, William Paterson and Gordon Smith, eds., Developments in German Politics 3, Duke UP, 2003, pp. 121-142 (part).

Tues March 29: Wolfgang Streeck, “Successful Adjustment to Turbulent Markets,” in Peter Katzenstein, ed., Industry and Politics in West Germany, Cornell UP, 1989, Ch. 5

VIII. BRITAIN: NEITHER OF THE ABOVE

Thurs March 31: Peter Hall, Ch. 2-3

IX. COORDINATED AND UNCOORDINATED ECONOMIES IN COMPARISON

Tues April 5: David Soskice, “Divergent Production Regimes: Coordinated and Uncoordinated Market Economies in the 1980s and 1990s.” In Herbert Kitschelt et. al., eds, Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism. Cambridge, UP, 1999, pp. 101-134.

Thurs April 7: Review

Tues April 12: TEST THREE

PART III: GLOBALIZATION, EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, AND ECONOMIC ADAPTATION

Thurs April 14: Stewart Wood, “Business, Government and Patterns of Labor Market Policy in Britain and Germany,” in David Soskice and Peter Hall, Varieties of Capitalism, 2001.

Tues April 19: Vivien Schmidt, The Futures of European Capitalism, Oxford UP, 2002, Ch. 2(pp. 59-79) and Ch. 4(part—on Britain)

** Thursday, April 21: NO CLASS, PROFESSOR AT CONFERENCE **

Tues April 26: Padgett, “Political Economy: the German Model under Stress,” (part) and Richard Deeg, “The Comeback of Modell Deutschland?” German Politics, 14:3, Sept. 2005, pp. 332-53.

Thurs April 28: Japan Robert Garran, Tigers Tamed, U. of Hawaii Press, 1998, Ch. 2 and 4.

Tues May 3: Review

Thurs May 5: TEST FOUR

REVIEW ESSAY DUE AT FINAL EXAM: WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 AT 4:00 PM