ECON 3509 - International Economic History III

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2016

The course surveys the evolution of the international economy from the industrial revolution until today, focusing on topics which are relevant to an understanding of current economic issues. The distinguishing feature of the course is analysis of long-run phenomena such as sustained economic growth or the impact of economic institutions which have long-lasting effects. The topics covered typically include international trade, finance and migration, differences in national rates of economic growth, economic and financial crises as well as globalisation.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ECON 3509
    Course International Economic History III
    Coordinating Unit Economics
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Incompatible ECON 3030
    Assumed Knowledge ECON 2506 & ECON 2507
    Course Description The course surveys the evolution of the international economy from the industrial revolution until today, focusing on topics which are relevant to an understanding of current economic issues. The distinguishing feature of the course is analysis of long-run phenomena such as sustained economic growth or the impact of economic institutions which have long-lasting effects. The topics covered typically include international trade, finance and migration, differences in national rates of economic growth, economic and financial crises as well as globalisation.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Florian Ploeckl

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
    1 Understand the main concepts used to explain the historical development of the global economy and the factors affecting growth in the short and long-run
    2 Select and apply the appropriate economic tools and methods to analyse historical episodes and understand the main advantages and disadvantages of the respective approaches
    3 Identify and analyse historical developments relevant to a deeper understanding of contemporary economic conditions
    4 Identify and critically review the relevant literature, synthesize the central arguments and critically evaluate their relative merits
    5 To discuss and communicate, in particular present, economic topics in a clear, concise and competent manner
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1,2,3
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    3,4,5
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    5
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    4,5
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    3
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    3,4,5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    This is a reading-intensive course, and you are expected to read widely following your own initiative. All of the required readings are available from the Barr-Smith Library either electronically or in hard copy. If you are uncertain about how to access online articles, e-books or other materials you should take the BSL Online Discovery Tour at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/guide/tutorials.html. If a book is on loan, place a recall and the book should be available within a week http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/tutorials/tut08/demo8.html. This is important for BSL staff to judge demand; if there are multiple requests for a book, the library will take action to increase availability.

    There is no official text book for this course. A list of required reading material as well as recommendations will be made available on MyUni.
    Recommended Resources
    The following readings are intended as references, especially if you are concerned about gaps in your background.

    Historical Background:
    Richard Pomfret: The Age of Equality: the Twentieth Century in Economic Perspective (Belknap 2011)
    Jeffry Frieden: Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century (Norton, 2006)

    Economics Background:
    This is a level III subject and background in intermediate micro and macro theory is assumed. The course also has a strong emphasis on international themes. If you are not familiar with the following analytical tools, these readings will help:

    Economic Growth:
    o less technical -- R. Pomfret: Development Economics, (Prentice Hall 1997, U of Adelaide 2000)
    o more advanced -- R. Barro and X. Sala-i-Martin Economic Growth (McGraw Hill, 1995; 2nd ed. MIT Press, 2003)

    International Trade and Finance:
    o R. Feenstra and A. Taylor, International Economics or P. Krugman and M. Obstfeld, International Economics
    o R. Pomfret, Lecture Notes on International Trade Theory and Policy (World Scientific Publishing Company, Singapore, 2008).


    Online Learning

    This course will make use of MyUni. Lecture slides, recordings and additional material will be posted through this system.

  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This is a reading-intensive Economics course which focuses on communicating economic ideas in written, visual and oral forms.

    There are two main teaching activities, a weekly lecture and biweekly workshops:
    The lectures focus on key issues and ideas, introducing the main concepts used in Economic History.
    The workshops build upon the material introduced in the lectures as well as readings and deepen the understanding through a focus on the communication the central ideas, concepts, arguments and evidence. Various forms of communicating and presenting economic material will be covered.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that, for this course, you are expected to commit approxmately 12 hours per week including lectures and workshops
    Learning Activities Summary
    Lecture                                        Topic
    Week 1 Industrial Revolution
    Week 2 First Globalization (Trade & Migration)
    Week 3 First Globalization (Technology & Money)
    Week 4 Interwar Economies
    Week 5 The Great Depression
    Week 6 Post-War Reconstruction and International Integration
    Week 7 Development strategies and the shocks of the 1970's
    Week 8 Midterm
    Week 9 (Post-) Communisms: Rise, Fall, Transitions and Reunification
    Week 10 China & Asian development
    Week 11 The conservative revival of the 1980's
    Week 12 Special Topic
    Although this list of lecture topics is preliminary, no major changes are expected
    Small Group Discovery Experience
    The workshops are designed to be Small Group Discovery sessions. The focus of these sessions is for students to practically focus on communicating outcomes of the research process. Each workshop will be dedicated to one particular form of communication (for example posters, wikis, maps, etc). A central part of these sessions is a practical experience, students will be asked to cooperate in small groups (app. 5 students per group) to apply a particular communication method to the material covered in the lectures prior to the workshop.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Midterm 30%
    Project work 30%
    Final Essay 30%
    Workshop Participation 10%
    Assessment Related Requirements
    Due to the nature of Economic History and the reading/writing/communication intensity of this course the quality of English expression is considered to be an integral part of the assessment and may affect the mark.
    Assessment Detail

    Midterm Exam
    The midterm exam is currently scheduled as an in-class exam during the lecture in week 8 and will cover the material of the preceding weeks.


    Project Work
    Students have to complete one individual assignment relating to the group projects during the workshops.


    Final Essay
    This essay is a written assignment/paper covering the material of the whole course.


    Workshop Participation
    There are six biweekly workshops. The first is an introductory meeting which will be used to familiarize students with the format and expectations of the workshops. The following five workshops are each covering the material introduced during the lectures in the preceding weeks and focus on one particular method of communicating research.

    Student participation will be graded starting with the second workshop. The final participation mark is then based on the best 4 out of 5 workshop participation grades.


    Optional Paper
    Students are given the option to write a long research essay, which can be counted instead of the Project, Midterm or Final essay.


    Plagiarism
    Plagiarism is a serious act of academic misconduct. The School adheres strictly to the University’s policies on examination and assessment. The University’s Policies on Assessment, including plagiarism and other forms of cheating, can be found at:
    http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/230/ - Plagiarism
    http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/1963/ - Cheating
    Help on avoiding plagiarism can be found at: http://www.adelaide.ed.au/clpd/plagiarism/students/ 

    Submission
    Submission of the Project work and the Final Essay will be done through MyUni
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Additional Assessment

    If a student receives 45-49 for their final mark for the course they will automatically be granted an additional assessment. This will most likely be in the form of a new exam (Additional Assessment) and will have the same weight as the original exam unless an alternative requirement (for example a hurdle requirement) is stated in this semester’s Course Outline. If, after replacing the original exam mark with the new exam mark, it is calculated that the student has passed the course, they will receive 50 Pass as their final result for the course (no higher) but if the calculation totals less than 50, their grade will be Fail and the higher of the original mark or the mark following the Additional Assessment will be recorded as the final result.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.