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2013/2014  BA-HA_HU3B  Contemporary political economy: Lessons from Brazil

English Title
Contemporary political economy: Lessons from Brazil

Course information
Language English
Exam ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration Summer
Course period Summer
Please check www.cbs.dk/summer for the course schedule.
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Course instructor - Rodrigo Mariath Zeidan, Fundação Dom Cabral
    Patricia Plackett - Department of Operations Management (OM)
Main academic disciplines
  • Political leadership, public management and international politics
  • Economics, macro economics and managerial economics
  • Economic and organizational sociology
Last updated on 22-07-2013
Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
  • Develop critical perspectives on fundamental arguments about economic and social policies.
  • Understand how and why Brazil has emerged over the last two decades.
  • Rethink critically economic policies such as social safety nets, public pensions and other reforms for the future of developed and developing countries.
Course prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course aside from undergraduate standing.
Prerequisites for registering for the exam
Requirements about active class participation (assessed approved/not approved)
Mandatory Mid-term Assignments: For the mid-term assignment, students will work in groups (of four or five) and answer three questions regarding the topics of the course at the end of the 4th week. A sample question follows below.

1.Should European countries (and Denmark in particular) enact a version of the Brazilian Fiscal Responsibility Law?
Examination
4 hour written exam:
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer Term
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Limited aids, see the list below and the exam plan/guidelines for further information:
  • Additional allowed aids
  • Allowed calculators
  • Allowed dictionaries
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Description of the exam procedure
Notes, books, dictionaries are allowed. It will be possible to upload electronic files from USB BEFORE the exam.
Course content and structure
This course invites undergraduate students to delve into political economy and the recent evolution of the Brazilian economy and its international context. The beginning of the XXI century marked a transition period for the Brazilian economy. The previous decade was one of the most turbulent in the country’s history, first with hyperinflation looming and then with the beginning of reforms that took the economy from an inflationary cliff to a period of low inflation, low growth and many policies that reshaped the economy and prepared it for the future. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, we will analyse the social-economic transformation of Brazil into a regional beacon of growth and a relevant international player. The course goes beyond simple economic data analysis (and internal politics), also presenting a focus on different international movements that helped shape the path of the Brazilian economy during the last two decades, alongside a solid political economics framework. Readings for every class meeting present students with a variety of contemporary analysis of political economy, from capital movements, poverty policies, the Financial Crisis and its impact on developing countries.
 
The course is structured to provide students with a series of coherent modules. The first module introduces concepts in development economics and economic policy, the social-economic data of Brazil and some aspects of Brazilian culture that influenced the recent development of the country. The second module relates the most important political and economic reforms in the Brazilian economy (such as the Fiscal Responsibility Law, Bolsa Família program, and Exports growth) and relate it to major events in the international scenario, such as the Asian Crisis, the ascension of China, the boom period of 2003-2007, the Financial Crisis, and the following world recession. The final module presents some perspectives on the future, exploring the bottlenecks of development and the evolution of the Global Economy, focusing on some aspects that are common to developing and development countries alike.

The course's development of personal competences:
 
Students will learn critical thinking with a solid economic foundation, learning how to determine costs and benefits of economic and social policies. Students will be able to think more systematically about development policies and the role of international context. They will be introduced to a variety of major conceptual and theoretical approaches to understanding political economy, economic and social development, and policy creation.
Teaching methods
Classes usually begin with a lecture and are followed by discussion to ensure that students are able to interpret and critique the readings.

Preliminary Assignment: To help students get maximum value from ISUP courses, instructors provide a reading or a small number of readings to be read before the start of classes with a related task or tasks in the first two classes in order to 'jump-start' the learning process.
Prior to the first class, students will be asked to answer the following questions in a very short essay (1-3 pages). How much do you know about Latin America? How reliable is your information? Is it anecdotal or systematic? Below are the main macroareas in transcultural studies. What do you expect the differences to be between your own culture and the Brazilian culture:
Economics
Politics
Social Structure
Roles of Men and Women
Religion and Beliefs
Music and Art
Food
Education
Communications
Health and Welfare
Reports will form a basis for class discussion..
Expected literature
The course will not make use of a textbook. Instead, students will read excerpts and articles. All reading will offered in a compendium. The following is a provisional schedule.
 
Module 1. Economic and Social Development
Development Economics (Debraj Ray, 2007). Prepared for the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics.
Modern Economic Theory and Development (Karla Hoff and Joseph E. Stiglitz)
The New Development Economics: We shall experiment, but how shall we learn? (Dani Rodrik, 2008)
Development Economics and Social Entrepreneurship: A Recursive Social Capital Accumulation Model. (Rodrigo Zeidan, 2009).
The New Economics of Sustainable Development: A Briefing for Policy Makers.
Development Economics: An Overview (Christopher B. Barrett, 2007)
 
Module 2. Brazilian Recent Development
Why is Brazil an Emerging Market Economy? (by Sean Willians, 2011).
Brazil: A Tale of Two Countries (Rodrigo Zeidan and Michele Bagella, 2013).
Pro- and Anti-Market Reforms in Democratic Brazil (Armando Pinheiro et al, 2008)
How Brazil's Economic Reform Is Paying Off In The Crisis (BNY Mellon, 2009)
 
Module 3. Bottlenecks and Reforms for the Future: Lesson to Brazil, Europe and the World.
 Macroeconomic Effects of Public Pension Reforms (Phillipe Karam et al, 2010)
 Rethinking Macroeconomics (Jeffrey D. Sachs, 2009)
Last updated on 22-07-2013