After I mentioned to Eric Nilsson over pen-l the course I am now
teaching on economic issues, several people have written in asking me about
the syllabus. So I am posting it now, for anyone interested. By the way,
this is the first time I have taught the course, so I would welcome suggestions.
Bob Pollin
ECONOMICS 118: THE CONTEMPORARY U.S. ECONOMY
Fall 1996
COURSE SYLLABUS
This course examines many of the major real and perceived economic problems
confronting the United States. Have average living standards been falling?
If so, why? Is the Social Security System about to bankrupt the country?
Is the government's involvement in the economy excessive? Are immigrants
taking jobs from native-born workers? Is the country's health care system
the best that we can afford? These and related questions will form the core
of the course. Of course, these are the issues that one reads and hears
about every day in the media. But we will address these questions from a
much more sophisticated perspective than one can get from the media, since
we will be relying systematically on the tools and literature of economic
analysis to formulate questions and pursue answers. There are at least two
sides, and usually more on any given issue; and our primary aim will be to
explore alternative perspectives. This will allow you to make informed
judgments on your own.
READINGS
The only required purchase for the course is the bound collection of
articles and book chapters available at the campus Printing and
Reprographics Office, adjacent to the Bookstore. In addition to these, I
have ordered four books that are available at the bookstore. We draw on
substantial parts of each of these books; and while the required readings
are included in the bound collection, you may find it enlightening and
useful to purchase one or more of the complete books. These suggested books
are:
Susan Feiner ed., Race and Gender in the American Economy: Views from
Across the Spectrum, Prentice-Hall, 1994.
David M. Gordon, Fat and Mean: The Corporate Squeeze of Working Americans
and the Myth of Managerial "Downsizing", The Free Press, 1996.
Paul Krugman, The Age of Diminished Expectations: U.S. Economic Policy in
the 1990s, MIT Press, 1994.
Todd Schafer and Jeff Faux eds., Reclaiming Prosperity: A Blueprint for
Progressive Economic Reform, M.E. Sharpe, 1996.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. Introduction and Overview of Questions at Hand [Sept. 27]
II. The Postwar Macroeconomic Experience [Sept. 30-Oct. 18; 3 weeks]
A. The "Golden" and "Leaden" Ages of the Postwar Economy
Samuel Bowles, David Gordon and Thomas Weisskopf, After the Wasteland, pp.
3-46.
Paul Krugman, The Age of Diminished Expectations, pp. 9-17.
Dean Baker, Robert Pollin and Elizabeth Zahrt, "The Vietnam War and the
Political Economy of Full Employment," Challenge, May-June 1996, pp. 35-45.
Lester Thurow, "The Crusade That's Killing Prosperity," The American
Prospect, March-April 1996, pp. 54-60.
B. The Role of Government, The Federal Deficit and "NAIRU"
Michael Boskin interview, "Free Markets: The Way to Sustainable Growth,"
Challenge, May-June 1990, pp. 12-21.
Robert Pollin, "Is Big Government Really the Problem? Dollars and Sense,
March-April 1995, pp. 12-13, 40-42.
Paul Krugman, The Age of Diminished Expectations, pp. 27-32, 63-78.
Robert Eisner, "Deficits and Unemployment: Dogmas Blocking Economic Policy,
in Reclaiming Prosperity, pp. 27-36.
Additional Reading on Reserve:
Robert Pollin and Elizabeth Zahrt, "Expansionary Policy for Full Employment
in the United States: Retrospective on the 1960s and Current Period
Prospects," manuscript.
C. The Role of Business and Work Organization
Paul Krugman, The Age of Diminished Expectations, pp. 153-68.
Eileen Appelbaum and Peter Berg, "Financial Market Constraints and Business
Strategy in the USA," in Jonathan Michie and John Grieve Smith eds.,
"Creating Industrial Capacity," pp. 192-221.
David Gordon, Fat and Mean, pp. 33-94.
III. The U.S. and the World Economy [October 21-November 4; two weeks with
midterm]
A. Trade Relations
Paul Krugman, The Age of Diminished Expectations, pp. 35-50; and 89-114.
Robert Blecker, "The Trade Deficit and U.S. Competitiveness," in Blecker
ed., U.S. Trade Policy and Global Growth, pp. 179-214.
PAPER OUTLINES DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25; MIDTERM EXAMINATION, MONDAY OCTOBER 28
B. Movement of People: U.S. Immigration
Gregory DeFreitas, "Immigration, Inequality, and Policy Alternatives,"
manuscript.
Norman Matloff, "How Immigration Harms Minorities," The Public Interest,
Summer 1996, pp. 61-71.
Vernon Briggs, "Immigration Policy: Political or Economic?", Challenge,
September-October 1991, pp. 12-18.
Bob Sutcliffe, "Freedom to Move in the Age of Globalization," manuscript.
IV. Sources of Individual Well-Being [November 6-December 6; four weeks
with Thanksgiving]
A. Labor Market Discrimination and the 'Culture of Poverty'
Krugman, Age of Diminished Expectations, 19-25.
Feiner, Race and Gender in the American Economy, pp. 5-21; 28-65.
Gordon, Fat and Mean, 115-43.
William Spriggs and John Schmitt, "The Minimum Wage" in Reclaiming
Prosperity, pp. 163-70.
B. Social Spending and Economic Growth
Richard Sutch, "Has Social Spending Grown Out of Control?" Challenge,
May-June 1996, pp. 9-16.
Peter Lindert, "Does Social Spending Deter Economic Growth?" Challenge,
May-June 1996, pp. 17-23.
C. Health Care
Feiner, Race and Gender in the American Economy, pp. 307-48.
Edith Rassell, "Health Care Reform," in Reclaiming Prosperity, pp. 61-79.
Additional Reading On Reserve:
Alain Enthoven and Sara Singer, "Managed Competition and California's
Health Care Economy," Health Affairs, Spring 1996, pp. 39-57.
D. Social Security
Barry Bosworth, "Putting Social Security to Work," The Brookings Review,
Fall 1995, pp. 36-39.
Dean Baker, "Social Security," in Reclaiming Prosperity, pp. 51-60.
Additional Reading on Reserve:
Peter G. Peterson, "Will America Grow Up Before It Grows Old?" The
Atlantic Monthly, May 1996, pp. 55-86.
E. Welfare Reform
Jared Bernstein and Irwin Garfinkel, "Welfare Reform," in Reclaiming
Prosperity, pp. 173-92.
Douglas Besharov and Karen Gardiner, "Paternalism and Welfare Reform," The
Public Interest, Winter 1996, pp. 70-84.
Sheldon Danziger and Jeffrey Lehman, "How Will Welfare Recipients Fare in
the Labor Market?" Challenge, March-April 1996, 30-35.
********************************************
Robert Pollin
Department of Economics
Univesity of California-Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521-0427
(909) 787-5037, ext 1579 (office); (909) 788-8106 (home)
(909) 787-5685 (fax); [EMAIL PROTECTED] (e-mail)
