GV441 Half Unit
States and Markets
This information is for the 2020/21 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr David Woodruff
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Comparative Politics, MSc in Development Studies, MSc in Global Politics, MSc in Political Science and Political Economy, MSc in Public Administration and Government (LSE and Peking University) and MSc in Public Policy and Administration. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
This course is capped at 3 groups. Priority will be given to MSc Comparative Politics students. The deadline for applications is 17:00 on Tuesday 29 September 2020. You will be informed of the outcome by 17:00 on Wednesday 30 September 2020.
Course content
To introduce politics students to basic economic theorising; to discuss the nature of markets; review contemporary discussions regarding the role of the state in the economy; provide a comparison of the relationship of states and markets in different political settings and historical contexts. Indicative topics: The state and the institutional foundations of markets; states and markets in the Great Depression; domestic and international monetary institutions; varieties of capitalism and change in varieties of capitalism; economics and politics of market bubbles; politics and policy in the financial crisis of 2007-2009; the Eurozone crisis.
Teaching
This course is delivered through a combination of seminars and lectures totalling a minimum of 28 and a half hours in the Michaelmas Term. Some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online and on-campus lectures and seminars. Lectures are very likely to be exclusively online. Online seminars, if required, will involve a mix of virtual meetings and other forms of online engagement.
There will be a reading week in Week 6 of the MT.
Formative coursework
All students are expected to submit one non-assessed essay, in addition to any smaller pieces of writing that may be required attendant to online seminars.
Indicative reading
Block, Fred. “The Roles of the State in the Economy.” The Handbook of Economic Sociology, edited by Neil J Smelser and Richard Swedberg, Princeton University Press, 1994, pp. 691–710.
Keynes, John Maynard. “The Means to Prosperity.” The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, edited by Elizabeth Johnson and Donald Moggridge, vol. VI, Cambridge University Press, 1978, pp. 335–66, doi:10.1017/UPO9781139524162.
Fourcade-Gourinchas, Marion, and Sarah L. Babb. “The Rebirth of the Liberal Creed: Paths to Neoliberalism in Four Countries.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 108, no. 3, 2002, pp. 533–79, doi:10.1086/367922.
Tooze, Adam. Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World. Allen Lane, 2018.
Assessment
Essay (35%, 1500 words) in the MT.
Online assessment (65%) in January.
Important information in response to COVID-19
Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.
Key facts
Department: Government
Total students 2019/20: 45
Average class size 2019/20: 15
Controlled access 2019/20: Yes
Value: Half Unit
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Problem solving
- Communication
