This course is separated into two parts, where the first part focuses on classical political economy taught by Armon Rezai (Sessions 2-7), the second part on other heterodox schools taught by Manuel Scholz-Wäckerle (Sessions 8-13).
The first part provides a brief introduction to the concepts of economic growth, national accounts, and sustainability. It introduces students to alternative theories of economic growth and the role of the environment in them. Social institutions and their implications for innovation and ultimately economic growth are also discussed. Students will be given opportunity to specialize in one of these topics by studying canonical texts in more detail.
The second part introduces students to heterodox approaches on evolutionary patterns of world capitalism in historical and geographical perspective, institutions, technology and economic evolution, with an emphasis on Veblen and Schumpeter as well as on intellectual monopoly capitalism (e.g. platforms). Furthermore, capitalism's relation to nature and its biophysical foundations are explored along the work of Georgescu-Roegen and others.
The course is structured in a frontal lecture for all students to be held on Mondays, three student-led ‘seminars’ of 20 people each on Tuesdays. Each student is required to attend the Monday lecture and one seminar group, for a weekly total of 3 hours.
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Session 1, Course overview and introduction
Session 2, GDP and growth: the basic concepts
Session 3, Development theory and policy
Session 4, The beginnings on Smith, Ricardo, and Malthus
Session 5, Innovation, Competition, and Growth: Schumpeter, Marx, Keynes
Session 6, Economic Growth, Sustainability, and the Environment
Session 7, Mid-term exam
Session 8, Evolutionary patterns of world capitalism and production of space
Session 9, Technological change, innovation and economic evolution (Schumpeter and beyond)
Session 10, Intellectual monopoly capitalism and the platform economy
Session 11, Institutional economics and evolutionary political economy (Veblen and beyond)
Session 12, Biophysical foundations of economic evolution (Georgescu-Roegen and beyond)
Session 13, Final exam.