Discussion topics include the effects of inflation, the causes of business cycles, the determination of economic growth, the impacts of monetary policy, and the effects of government taxation, spending, and the national debt. Comparative Economic Systems Cr. Understanding of the role and impacts of alternative allocation systems, including markets, socialization, and central planning. Analyze the structure and performance of historical and contemporary economic systems. Discussion of the implications for the emerging world economy.
Examples covered include Russia, China, Asia, Western Europe, and Latin America.
Evolution, structure, and performance of the economy during the Soviet period and after 1991. Transformation of the former Soviet Union to a market economy, including the role of the international community, and the alternative paths taken by various republics. American Economic Growth Cr. Applications of economic analysis to American economic history and how that history has shaped modern economic institutions, including the experience of the Colonies, the American revolution, Industrialization, the Civil War, and the Great Depression. The Economics of Development Cr.