PO 352 - Comparative Political Economy

Min Units: 3
Max Units: 3
Wealth, poverty, economic growth, and development are deeply political. Political decisions affect people’s access to economic opportunities, their quality of life, and the magnitude of inequality within countries and across the world. Public policies structure capitalist markets, affecting whether and how economies grow and influencing the distribution of gains and losses across places and social groups. This seminar will examine the politics of wealth, poverty, and inequality across the world. We will delve into the classical and contemporary political economy literature; look closely at the factors shaping states, markets, and public policy and analyze their distributional effects; and explore how people have navigated, responded to and challenged political economic injustice. (U) Occasionally
Prerequisite(s): PO 151 / SW 243-PO; 2 PO, HST, or IS courses or Sophomore or Higher