Undergraduate Course: Markets and Crises: The Study of Political Economy (LLLJ07019)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course is for students on the CAHSS International Foundation Programme.
This course will give students an opportunity to develop their understanding of economics and economic policy by introducing them to the theories and concepts of both contemporary and classical political economists, and how these relate to modern positions on the nature of market crises. |
| Course description |
This course will give students an opportunity to develop their understanding of economics and economic policy by introducing them to the theories and concepts of both contemporary and classical political economists, and how these relate to modern positions on the nature of market crises. The course works from first principles by following the manner in which theories developed, from the earliest Mercantilist ideas, through the Physiocrats, Adam Smith and the other Classical political economists, into the modern era. Students will develop and understanding and appreciation of the different approaches taken towards market economics, the process of accumulating capital, and why markets are prone to periodic 'cyclical' crises. The aim is to develop students' conceptual vocabulary and their critical understanding of how different positions observe the real world through varying economic categories or 'discourses'.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- 1. Investigate and differentiate between key concepts in political economy, such as capital, labour power, the labour theory of value, theory of production costs, theory of subjective utility (in price determination), class, profit, rent, wages, capital accumulation.
- Analyse the different historical and social contexts in which writers researched and published (Smith, Ricardo and Malthus, Marx, Hayek, Keynes).
- Contextualise the works and legacies of key thinkers, and display knowledge of their personal lives.
- Appraise and critique the approaches and concerns of classical political economists, and indicate how they differ from later 'neo-classical' schools.
- Understand and evaluate the development of production processes and why they change so rapidly under capitalism.
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Reading List
Indicative Reading List
Allen, R. C., 2011, Global Economic History Oxford: OUP
Dasgupta, P., 2007, Economics: A Very Short Introduction Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Marx, K., 1867, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol. 1. London: Penguin.
Rubin, I., A History of Economic Thought, London: Pluto Press.
Smith, A., 1776, The Wealth of Nations, Vol. 1. (Books I-III) London: Penguin.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
By the end of the course students should have strengthened their skills in: critical analysis; comparative study; participation in group discussion and practical tasks. |
| Keywords | politics,economy,economics,markets,crises,introduction,beginning,Adam Smith |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Maximillian Jaede
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr John Ethcuit
Tel: (0131 6)50 3409
Email: |
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