Seminar in Current Economic Issues

The objective of this seminar in Current Economic Issues is to help students connect what they learn in their first year theory courses to current issues of economic problems and policy. Economic developments and policy issues in the post-World War II period, including the Golden Age of Capitalism, the demise of the Fordist technological paradigm, recent trends in productivity, profitability and distribution, the stagnation of wages in the United States, neoliberalism, trade and investment patterns, the globalization of capital and currency crises in emerging markets will be among the topics that will be covered. Depending on recent faculty research and interests, other possible topics of emphasis might also include the monetary union in Europe, the economic integration of the Americas, changes in the world division of labor, the economics of race and gender, the changing role of the modern state, contemporary macro policy, financial instability, and technological change.