Political Economics

Course Description
This course examines the relationship between politics and economics in modern and contemporary societies, focusing on major issues of both domestic and international policy. Adopting a sound historical perspective, it analyses the role of the government and/orpower relations in allocating economic resources in different economic systems (liberal-capitalist, socialist, Marxist, or mixed), the impact of economic relations in international relations as well as the use of economic models in generating change in different societies. After a study of the different scholarly perspectives on political economy, students may also study planning and problem solving, environmental issues, resource distribution, and the challenges of institutional adaptation, and changing political systems as in the cases of Central and Eastern European countries.

Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
–Have a clear understanding of the classical, Marxist, Keynesian, Neoliberal perspectives of political economy;
–Understand the moral and political underpinnings of wealth generation and distribution, as well as their environmental impact;
–Lend perspective to the increasing role of political economy in national, regional and global contexts;
–Clearly identify and analyze the contemporary predominance of neoliberalism and its interactions with other political economic perspectives in national and regional contexts as well as globally.