[PEN-L:9900] Political Economy Principles Supplement
Hey folks, Charles Sackrey, Janet Knoedler and I have recently completed a manuscript entitled "Essays in Political Economy." The manuscript is intended to be used as a supplement to a principles of economics course. The supplement includes chapters on Marx, Veblen, Keynes, and Sweden (the chapter is framed so that students see the practical application of the ideas of Marx, Veblen and Keynes in Sweden's economic system), and a chapter that explains to students the importance of studying political economy. Here is the table of contents: Chapter 1: The Marxist System Chapter 2: Thorstein Veblen on the Predatory Nature of Capitalism Chapter 3: John Maynard Keynes Chapter 4: The Middle Way: Swedish Democratic Socialism Chapter 5: A Political Economy Critique of Mainstream Economics If you would like a copy, please send me your snail mail address. We have used the chapters on Marx, Veblen and Sweden successfully in the classroom and we believe the other chapters should also work. The manuscript came about because of our general dissatisfaction with the textbooks out there. It is our hope that, with the help of others (many thanks to Jim Craven for sharing his classroom exercises), we can develop a significant body of teaching materials that can be used to offset the drivel that passes for economics texts in most courses today . Cheers, Geoff Schneider Geoffrey Schneider Assistant Professor of Economics Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA 17837 Phone: (570) 577-3446 Fax: (570) 577-3451 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web page: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/gschnedr/
[PEN-L:4049] AFEE/Levy Summer school in Institutional Economics
Hey folks, In an era in which fewer and fewer graduate schools are teaching heterodox economics, AFEE and the Levy Institute are trying to provide an alternative venue for people to get training. Hence the note below about the summer school in Institutional Economics to be held at the Levy Institute on the campus of Bard College. Please distribute this message to any graduate students or recent PhDs that you think might be interested. Thanks, Geoff Schneider Dear Colleagues: I am writing on behalf of the AFEE (Association for Evolutionary Economics) Graduate Education Committee. We are currently in the process of finalizing plans for the AFEE/Levy Summer school in Institutional Economics, the inaugural session of which will be held this coming summer. AFEE is working with the the Jerome Levy Institute of Economics, located at Bard College, to develop this short summer school in Institutional Economics. It is aimed at graduate students and recent PhDs seeking instruction in Institutional Economics. The summer school will run from June 20-23 and will be located at Bard College. Courses will be taught by leading American Institutionalists, including Marc Tool, Anne Mayhew, Bill Dugger, Bill Waller, and other AFEE members, as well as by scholars from the Levy Institute and prominent Guest Lecturers. Below you will find the tentative program for the Summer School and information on how to apply. We urge you to pass this information on to any graduate students or junior faculty who might be interested in such a program. Furthermore, we ask that you write us to tell us of possible candidates, wherever they may be, for the summer school so that we can speak to them and urge them to participate. As a selling point, please remind them that AFEE will be able to offer travel stipends to a substantial number of attendees for this institute and that Levy will fund room and board for all attendees. Thus it is a golden opportunity for those who are interested in institutional economics to learn some fundamentals and some important applications, while residing in the pleasant setting of Bard College. Please contact any of us on the AFEE GEC if you have questions or suggestions for participants. The Grad Ed committee is comprised of the following: Charley Clark, [EMAIL PROTECTED] George DeMartino, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Janet Knoedler, [EMAIL PROTECTED] John Harvey, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dell Champlin, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sincerely, The Graduate Education Committee The text of the brochure follows. AFEE/Levy Institute Economics Summer School June 20-23, 1999 Asian Flu! Economic Collapse in Russia! Financial Uncertainty in Latin America! Volatile Stock and Currency Markets! Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor! Microsoft's Monopoly! Global Warming! Possible World Wide Recession/Depression! Not since the 1930's has there been such a need for economic theory to be grounded in economic reality. Institutional Economics is the tradition that explains (and foresaw) these economic catastrophes. The AFEE/Levy Summer School will introduce students to this exciting and relevant body of economic theory. The AFEE/Levy Institute Economics Summer School, sponsored jointly by the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE) and the Jerome Levy Institute of Bard College, will provide participants an introduction to the ideas and useful modern applications of institutional economics. Taught by leading Institutional Economists and Scholars of the Levy Institute, 1999's Summer School will concentrate on the following topics: Introduction to Institutional Economics; Income Inequality; Financial Fragility; and Corporate Capitalism. The Summer School will be held on the scenic Bard College Campus, located in the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (2 hours from New York City). The dates of this year's summer school are June 20-23, 1999. .. Admission is open to graduate students and recent Ph.D.'s. Tuition and room and board will be provided to all participants. AFEE also will make available a number of travel stipends that will cover most of the costs of travel to and from the workshop, if participants take advantage of advance airfare bookings and Saturday stayovers. Anyone interested should send four copies of a written statement of interest (which will serve as the application for both the summer school and for the travel stipends) to Professor Janet Knoedler at the address below. Deadline for applications is April 10, 1999. AFEE's Graduate Education Committee will screen all applicants and notify participants no later than May 10, 1999. For more information contact: Professor Janet Knoedler Department of Economics Coleman Hall 168 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA 17837 FAX (717) 524-3451 Voice Mail (717) 524-3447 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Principles Text
Hey folks, For those of you who are struggling with what book to use for your Principles of Economics course, I suggest you take a look at the new edition of underlineEconomics, A Tool for Critically Understanding Society/underline by Riddell, Shackelford and Stamos. This book contains all of the standard neoclassical stuff, but supplements it nicely with short sections on economic history and the history of economic thought (even a chapter on Marx and a brief section on Veblen!). Furthermore, the authors consistently offer contending theoretical perspectives on various issues. In short, it's a lot better than the books out there that offer nothing but contemporary neoclassical theory. You can read about the book and request a desk copy at Addison Wesley's website: http://hepg.awl.com/AWBookCatalog/Book/book.asp?BOOK_ID=153 Cheers, Geoff Geoffrey Schneider Assistant Professor of Economics Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA 17837 Phone: (717) 524-3446 Fax: (717) 524-3451 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web page: http://www.bucknell.edu/~gschnedr
[PEN-L:10495] Labor Films
Hey folks, We show a number of labor-related documentaries to our students. Below are some that work well along with brief comments on the material. If any of you have films that you like to use, I would appreciate a reply. Hope these references are useful, Geoff BATTLE OF THE TITANS (New York : Filmakers Library [distributor], c1993, 54 minutes) Reviewer: Geoff Schneider. Comments: Superb documentary showing US workers losing their jobs due to less expensive foreign competition. Explores labor market issues in LDCs where unionization and strikes are brutally crushed. MADE IN BROOKLYN New Day Films, 1993. Reviewer: Charles Sackrey. Comments: This film argues that the decline in manufacturing that is occurring in New York City, and which has been brought about in part by city planners, is both unnecessary and, over the long term, disastrous. The film focuses on a number of light manufacturing plants that have emerged in Brooklyn in the past few years that have brought much needed jobs to locals, one third of whom are immigrants. The film points out that in NYC the move to a service economy means that almost all living-wage jobs will be in the upper end of the service economy, where, in light manufacturing plants in Brooklyn almost all jobs produce living wages. In its own way, the film is a paean to skilled manual labor, quite refreshing in this informational world. RED CAPITALISM. Filmakers, 1994. Reviewer: Charles Sackrey. Comments: This concerns the free enterprise zone in Southeast China, how it is affecting the Chinese there, and its rippling effects on the rest of the country. A central focus is on highly trained people, like physicists or other scientists, who come from the rest of the country to the enterprise zone because they can make better money there doing low-skilled wage work. Has persuasive bits on how children are being acculturated according to the new "capitalist" rules in the enterprise zone, how much income disparity there is, how rapidly the zone is growing compared to the rest of China, and so on. I think it is a very good film, indeed, about capitalism, in general, and about how it is developing in China. I came away ever more inclined to think that the 21st century will be dominated by China. ZONED FOR SLAVERY (Crowing Rooster Arts, 1996. 23 minutes.) Reviewer: Geoff Schneider. American LDCs. Countries are engaged in a race to the bottom to see who will accept the lowest wages and poorest working conditions to attract the most foreign investment. Companies in these free trade zones pay absurdly low wages, but the exploitation goes much further. Teenage girls often work 23 hour shifts; they are forced to take birth control pills and pay for abortions if they get pregnant. Unions are prohibited, and each company has armed guards. These free trade zones are supported by US AID funds, yet the US is losing out: the US loses jobs and income at home, and doesn't gain a trading partner, since the LDC workers earning $0.38/hour cannot afford to buy US goods. CLOCKWORK (San Francisco, CA: California Newsreel, c1981, 25 minutes) Reviewer: Geoff Schneider. the workplace during the industrial revolution in the US. Illustrates the profound effects mechanization and monitoring had on workers. MODERN TIMES (Key Video, c1989,1936, 87 minutes). Comments from film box: This movie is a devastating satire on the effects of mass production on the lives of factory workers. Charlie Chaplin plays a factory worker who cracks under the strain of his job, and is forced to take jobs as a night watchman and a singing waiter. Excellent companion piece for Clockwork. THE FUTURE OF WORK (25 minutes) Reviewer: Geoff Schneider. Comments: Jeremy Rifkin discusses a future which computers have eliminated most traditional occupations. To Rifkin, the only solution to the dilemma of modern technological progress is to reorient the way we distribute goods and services. Rifkin advocates paying people for public service and volunteerism. Not the most exciting of movies, but an interesting topic which provokes a reaction from students. GREAT DEPRESSION: MEAN THINGS HAPPENING (PBS Video, c1993, episode 5, 57 minutes) Reviewer: Geoff Schneider. explores labor strife during the depression. Begins with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union in the South, which was crushed with the help of local government. Moves on to the fight in the steel industries in the north. Discusses the Wagner Act and its impact. Excellent documentary footage of the brutality which strikers faced at the time. Contains some great lines from Roosevelt. LIVING ON THE EDGE (PBS Video, c1995, 57 minutes) Reviewer: Geoff Schneider. Comments: Excellent documentary (from the PBS series Frontline) tracing the lives of two Milwaukee families. Both families are devastated when the fathers lose their jobs because their employer, Briggs and Straton, moves its operations overseas. Demonstrates how ha
