Not available in 2018/19
GV309 Half Unit
Politics of Money and Finance in Comparative Perspective
This information is for the 2018/19 session.
Teacher responsible
Prof Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey
Availability
This course is available on the BSc in Government, BSc in Government and Economics, BSc in Government and History, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics, BSc in Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics and History, BSc in Politics and International Relations and BSc in Politics and Philosophy. This course is not available as an outside option nor to General Course students.
This course is capped at two groups. The deadline for enrolments is 12:00 noon, Friday 29 September, 2017.
Pre-requisites
A background in political economy would be advantageous.
Course content
The course focuses on the role of institutions, ideas and interests in the process and formulation of both (a) monetary policy, and (b) financial stability & regulation. We examine in particular the causal influences of institutions, ideas and interests in independent central banking, financial stability and financial regulation (including times of financial crisis), and the oversight and accountability of independent financial agencies, as well as relevant aspects of Brexit. Focusing predominantly on OECD countries, we draw on theories from economics and political science to analyse both decision making and policy outcomes, using both contemporary and historical perspectives. The course adopts a comparative country perspective, rather than an international relations perspective.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the MT.
There will be a reading week in week 6 of the MT for private study and assessment preparation.
Formative coursework
Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT.
Indicative reading
The full reading list for this course is currently available on Moodle for GV309. This new course will take the readings from the introductory weeks, along with all the weeks covering issues of money and finance.
Blinder, A., The Quiet Revolution: Central Banking Goes Modern (Yale Univ Press, 2004)
M. Artis and F. Nixson, The Economics of the European Union, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007 4rd ed)
Blinder, A., After the Music Stopped: The Financial Crisis, the Response, and the Work Ahead (Penguin, 2013)
Reinhart, Carmen & Rogoff, Kenneth, This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly (Princeton University Press, 2009)
McCarty, N., et al, Political Bubbles: Financial Crises and the Failure of American Democracy (Princeton, 2013)
Schonhardt-Bailey, C., Deliberating American Monetary Policy: A Textual Analysis (MIT Press, 2013)
King, M., The End of Alchemy (Little Brown, 2016)
Assessment
Presentation (10%) and essay (90%, 3500 words).
Student performance results
(2015/16 - 2017/18 combined)
Classification | % of students |
---|---|
First | 30.6 |
2:1 | 56.5 |
2:2 | 11.3 |
Third | 1.6 |
Fail | 0 |
Key facts
Department: Government
Total students 2017/18: 29
Average class size 2017/18: 14
Capped 2017/18: Yes (30)
Value: Half Unit
PDAM skills
- Self-management
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Specialist skills