Brandeis International Business School

Econ 253a, Fall 2013

Asia: Center of the World Economy

Syllabus (January 12, 2014, subject to change)

CONTACT INFORMATION

Professor Peter A. Petri

Sachar 203, Tel: 781-736-2256,

Office hours: Mondays, 3:00-5:00.

Emailis the most efficient means of communicating with me outside of class or office hours.

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

With half the world’s population, one quarter of its output, and twice its growth rate, Asia is becoming the center of the world economy. The course examines what is “different” about the economics of Asia, and the companies, investmentsand policies that account for its dynamism. This course is offered once every two years.

LEARNING GOALS

Why is studying Asiaimportant?

  • As aglobal citizen, you will gain insight into how this extraordinary economic machine works and interacts with the rest of the world.
  • As a prospective investor or manager, you will analyze Asian business practices, the opportunities Asia offers, and the competition it brings to world markets.
  • As a prospective policy maker, you will assess how Asia’s rise is shaping the rules of world tradeand finance. Global cooperation will be essential in many areas, yet Asia and the West disagree on issues such as intellectual property rights, environment, agriculture, labor, finance, and the regulation of sovereign wealth funds.

The class will address these topics withlectures by the professor and visiting experts andcase discussions of “real world” decisions. Readings will be eclectic, including business school case studies, academic papers, reports from international organizations, think tanks and investment banks, and news articles. Studentswill be expected to attend every class well prepared and class participation will be part of the grade.

Most importantly,each student will prepare assignments and presentations that involve “country work,” similar to analysis carried out by key public and private institutions in Asia. These exercises will result in presentations that address the goals of different institutions and use their preferred format, data sources, and methods of argument. Each studentwill focus on a single country, so by the end of the semester he/she will also know how to become an “instant expert” on a particular economy.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Students are expected to be honest in all academic work. The University policy on academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilitieshandbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. If you have any questions about these expectations, please ask. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be rigorously prosecuted.

LAPTOPS AND SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

There will be no open laptops or other electronic communications devices allowed during lectures, discussions and exams. Exceptions must be negotiated with the professor directly, based on a letter from the University’ Coordinator of Disabilities Services and Support.

If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and if you wish to have a reasonable accommodation for this class, please see the professor immediately. Accommodations will not be provided retroactively.

GRADING

  • Midterm exam (35%)
  • Country projects (30%)
  • Blogs (10%)
  • Class participation/preparation (25%)

ASSIGNMENTS

Students will participate in writing a joint blog, with each student required to contribute two short pieces (roughly 500-800 words) during the course of the semester. (See brandeisear.wordpress.com for previous work by students in the class.)

Students will complete three short projects involving a country selected at the beginning of the semester:

  1. Case statement for a public sector project, similar to what an ADB official would prepare to justify a loan for the project (based on a short country profile, country policy priorities, and modeled on an actual ADB loan).
  2. Proposal for aprivate-sector investment to an equity fund, similar to what would be submitted to the International Finance Corporation or a private investor (based on an actual or plausible hypothetical company,comparable to past investments).
  3. Growth projection and risk analysis similar to the short report that the economist of a bank, international organization, or consultant would periodically prepare for a country (based on historical data and a growth model).

Each assignment will result in two power point presentations: a full “horizontal” report, and a scaled-down version suitable for a short presentation. Details will be provided online.

READINGS

The course website is on LATTE system and will be used extensively for communicating assignments, readings and changes in schedule or the syllabus. Studentsshould checkthe site frequently. Readings will be often in PDF form, typically with several shorter readings collected into a packet to accompany a lecture or case.

The main readings not provided online are casesfor purchase and download from the Harvard Business School Publishing website. The LATTE site for the course has a link to the HBS page.

The first case, those that will be covered before the Midterm Exam, is available at the start of the semester. A second batch will be made available at the time of the exam for the second half of the semester. (This permit us to adjust the content of the course due to unexpected events or student interest.) Instructions for purchasing the cases are on LATTE.

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Course Schedule

Date / Topic / Readings / Assignments
I. The Asian Miracle: what was it, will it continue?
M 13-Jan / LECTURE: A bird’s eye view of Asia
W 15-Jan / LECTURE: The Asian Miracle I / The miracle debate (PDF packet)
-ADB, Emerging Asian Regionalism, Ch. 2, 2010.
-Petri, “Growth accounting,” 2010.
M 20-Jan / No class
W 22-Jan / LECTURE: The Asian Miracle II / The miracle debate (PDF packet)
-Krugman, “The Myth of Asia’s Miracle,” 1994.
-Stiglitz, “From Miracle to Crisis to Recovery,” 2001. / .
M 27-Jan / DISCUSSION: Asia today / ADB, Asian Development Outlook 2013 (Highlights, Chapter 1)
ADB, Asian Development Outlook Supplement, December 2013
W 29-Jan / CASE: Finding the center of Asia / The Women’s Tennis Association in Asia (Ivey 910M26)
-Wikipedia, “Economy of Asia,” 2012
M 3-Feb / LECTURE: Is Asia a bubble? / Asia looking forward (PDF packet)
-Kaiman, “China’s Debt Bomb,” 2012.
-Krugman, “Will China break?” 2011.
-Petri, “Can Asia grow fast on its own?” 2012.
W 5-Feb / LECTURE: Current issues / World Bank and DRC, China 2030,2012.
Lieberthal and Wang, “U.S.-China Strategic Distrust,” 2012.
Bloomberg Brief, “China’s Reform Plans”
II. How Asian economies work
M 10-Feb / LECTURE: Analytics of Asian economies / Relationships (PDF packet)
-Rajan and Zingales, “Which capitalism? Lessons from the East Asian crisis,” 1998.
-Fukuyama, “Social Capital and Development,” 2002.
-Wang et al., “Dangerous Liaisons,” 2012.
W 12-Feb / CASE: Relationships in Korea / Daewoo and the Korean Chaebol (HKU143)
M 17-Feb / No class
W 19-Feb / No class
M 24-Feb / CASE: Selling people / Peoplepower in the Philippines (HBS 9-706-052)
W 26-Feb / CASE: Investing in resources / NFC in Mongolia (Tsinghua-Ivey 909M09) / #1Loan project
M 3-Mar / STUDENT PRESENTATIONS / Country policy loans (Assignment #1)
W 5-Mar / CASE: Building infrastructure / Financing the Theun-Hinboun Hydro (HKS183)
M 10-Mar / CASE: Contract manufacturing / Foxconn v BYD (HKU908)
W 12-Mar / CASE: Getting everything wrong / North Korea (PDF packet)
-Haggard and Noland, “Pyongyang attacks the market,” 2010.
-Lim, “Kim plans economic change,” 2012.
-Wolf and Akramov, “Costs of reunification,” 2005.
M 17-Mar / DISCUSSION: Engineering an Asian takeoff / Review cases, project 1
Reread Stiglitz section on “Industrial Policy” (from Sep 6)
W 19-Mar / EXAM (based on section I topics)
III. Regional economic integration
M 24-Mar / CASE: Innovative Asia / Remaking Singapore (HBS 9-710-483)
W 26-Mar / CASE: Aging Asia / Japan: Deficits, Demography, Deflation (HBS 9-706-004)
M 31-Mar / To be scheduled / #2 Investment project
W 2-Apr / STUDENT PRESENTATIONS / Country investment projects (Assignment #2)
M 7-Apr / CASE: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
W 9-Apr / CASE: Trans-Pacific Partnership / Trans-Pacific Partnership1 (PDF Packet)
-Barfield, “A Model for 21st Century Trade Agreements?” 2011.
-Bhagwati, “America’s Threat to Trans-Pacific Trade,” 2012.
M 14-Apr / VISITOR / Trans-Pacific Partnership 2 (PDF Packet)
-Petri and Plummer, “The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Policy Implications,” 2012.
-Xue Lei, “US role in TPP,” Global Times 2012.
W 16-Apr / No class
M 21-Apr / No class / -
W 23-Apr / DISCUSSION: An Asian century? / #3 Growth project
M 28-Apr / STUDENT PRESENTATIONS / Country growth projects (Assignment #3)

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