Learning objectives
At the end of the course students are expected of being able to:
acknowledge and comprehend the economic, social and cultural processes that led in the long run to the integration of global markets;
- apply such learning to critically tackle issues deriving from the complex structure of the current framework of global economy;
- being able to evaluate the international economy in a multilateral perspective, bypassing the idea that the Western world is the main player of processes that are currently developing on a global scale;
- convey all the acquired concepts to discuss and interact with private and institutional subjects, including international ones, about issues related to globalization.
Prerequisites
A basic knowledge of economic history.
Course unit content
The course takes into analysis the globalization of economy in a long term historical perspective (from the 15th c. up to today) and using a broad geographical angle (Europe, America, Asia and Africa). To do so, a set of crucial topics will be considered: the “economy-worlds” before globalization (Europe, China, and India); the integration of commodities and capital markets; the impact of developments in transportation and communication; the process of economic convergence; the dialectical interaction between markets regulation and deregulation; global and local crises.
Bibliography
- Mandatory readings:
(a) R. B. Marks, The Origins of the Modern World Economy. A Global and Ecological Narrative from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-first Century, (3rd edition) Oxford, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015, pp. 1-197;
(b) R. Findlay, K.H. O’Rourke, "Commodity Market Integration, 1500–2000," in Globalization in Historical Perspective, ed. by M.D. Bordo, A.M. Taylor, and J.G. Williamson, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 35-57 [i.e. only § 1.5 e 1.6];
(c) S. Dowrick, J.B. de Long, "Globalization and Convergence," in Globalization in Historical Perspective, ed. by M.D. Bordo, A.M. Taylor, and J.G. Williamson, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 191-218.
- Supplementary readings (choose 1 among the 3 listed below):
(1) N. Crafts, A.J. Venable, "Globalization in History: A Geographical Perspective," in Globalization in Historical Perspective, ed. by M.D. Bordo, A.M. Taylor, and J.G. Williamson, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 323-358;
(2) L. Neal, M. Weidenmier, "Crises in the Global Economy from Tulips to Today: Contagion and Consequences," in Globalization in Historical Perspective, ed. by M.D. Bordo, A.M. Taylor, and J.G. Williamson, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 473-507;
(3) B. Eichengreen, H. James, "Monetary and Financial Reform in Two Eras of Globalization," in Globalization in Historical Perspective, ed. by M.D. Bordo, A.M. Taylor, and J.G. Williamson, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 515-542.
Reading (a) is a book that can be bought online.
Readings (b), (c), (1), (2), (3) are opensource and can be downloaded at the following link
http://papers.nber.org/books/bord03-1
Teaching methods
In revision, please contact the professor.
Assessment methods and criteria
In revision, please contact the professor.
