In particular, the course evaluates the role of government in addressing current economic and social problems. The roles of culture, religion, education, history, and politics in the economic transformation of this region are examined. Contemporary issues such as the environment, labor practice, and public policy are also covered. This course will focus on the history of economic development in the People's Republic of China since 1949. Macroeconomic and microeconomic performances as well as policy issues related to central planning and economic reform will be analyzed.
Special emphasis is placed on the present economic reform and the reform in the last decade.
The economic reforms in Eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union will be compared accordingly. The development of economic thought from medieval times to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the ideas of the great economists, such as Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Alfred Marshall, Thorstein Veblen, and John Maynard Keynes. Related sociological, psychological, economic, and political aspects will be considered. The course seeks to make students aware of the richness of these studies and their impact on American society.