Contemporary Issues in the Global Economy

Rationale and Purpose of the Module: An understanding of the main issues confronting the international economy is a pre-requisite to finding solutions to global problems. The recent financial and banking crisis and the attendant severe budgetary and fiscal problems facing many countries (especially Ireland and the peripheral EU countries) has led to some significant re-appraisal of what had become mainstream thinking in relation to economic policy and indeed in some circles market capitalism. Increasingly, much debate in the international economy is polarised between two camps: those who see globalisation as the panacea for solving economic and social problems and the anti-globalisation movement that views the process of 
globalisation as the main cause of problems. This module seeks to provide the student with a balanced and objective analysis of the main issues confronting the world economy and through the use of economic theory, empirical evidence and objective analysis seeks to distinguish between fact and fiction.

Syllabus: The module will have as its main objective an exploration of the main issues that confront the world economy. While it would be unreasonable to expect one module to cover all the issues in depth the following will be analysed and discussed:
Topic 1: (i) The identification of the causes of the financial crisis and fiscal crises in the world economy and in Ireland. (ii) The current state of the world economy; an overview of the current and future economic challenges facing the globalised economy. (iii) Review of history of the global economy.
Topic 2: (i) Foreign trade and protectionism: stylised facts about trade and review of gains from trade. (ii) Trade policy rules and evolution of international trade regime; the Doha Round and the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Topic 3: (i) The evolution of international monetary and financial system. The role of the multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IFM) and the World Bank. (ii) Changing hegemonic role of the US economy in international political economy and the rise of the BRIC economies. (iii) The European integration; why many EU countries formed a monetary union; macroeconomics in the Eurozone.
Topic 4: The economic performance and problems confronting less developed countries; The development prerequisites, the development history: 1945-1980 and the development policy since 1980; The importance of aid from rich countries.
Topic 5: (i) The policy role, challenges and opportunities of international migration; recent trends and the EU single labour market. (ii) Changing facets of international production; analysis and policy implications of outsourcing; trends in the patterns of offshoring and outsourcing.