EUR2810

Comparative economic systems: Europe in the world context

Ian Ward

8 points
* Two 1.5-hour classes per week
* First semester
* Clayton
* Prerequisite: ECO1000 or ECO1020 or ECO1100 or the approval of the lecturer

Objectives On completion of this subject students should: understand what is an economic system and how the study of economic systems fits into an overall study of economics; be able to distinguish between capitalist, socialist and communist economic systems as well as different variants of capitalism and socialism; be able to analyse and predict whether or not a particular economic system will survive and to explain why certain systems failed during the twentieth century; understand the relationship between economic analysis and economic systems and be able to apply the analysis to economic policy issues within an economic systems context.

Synopsis A study of economic systems; the differences between them, based on their property, organisational and motivational relations together with the prevailing ideology; how they make choices; how they can be evaluated; and why they change over time. The method of comparative systems will be applied to a number of societies including Australia under Keating and Howard, New Zealand, China under Mao and Deng, Japan, Malaysia, Russia (including why China achieved a successful reform and Russia is in severe crisis), the former Soviet Union, Poland, the Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Sweden and the European community.

Assessment Essay (1000 words): 10%
* Assignment (500 words): 10%
* Class participation: 20%
* Mid-semester test (2 hours): 10%
* Examination (2.5 hours): 50%

Prescribed texts

Ward I Comparative economic systems: Theory and practice Department of Economics, Monash U, 1993