Module Identifier IP32720  
Module Title THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GLOBAL FINANCE  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Dr Randall D Germain  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Pre-Requisite IP37220  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   18 Hours (9 x 2 hour)  
  Lecture   4 Hours (2 x 2 hour)  
Assessment Semester Assessment   Major Project:   70%  
  Semester Assessment     30%  
  Supplementary Exam   Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics.    

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be:

- familiar with different approaches to the study of global finance
- aware of how the global financial system has been organised in different historical epochs
- conversant with the changing role of public authorities in the construction and maintenance of international financial stability
- knowledgable about some current global financial issues

10 ECTS credits

Brief description

This module is a research-led seminar that explores the structural characteristics of the global financial system and examines some issues currently under debate. It will be of interest to those students capable of independent work and who are interested in either IPE broadly construed or questions of global economic governance. Students who take this module will both gain an appreciation of current financial issues and equip themselves for further research into the political economy of global finance.

Aims

This module aims to provide students with a working knowledge of the organisation and structure of the global financial system through the use of analytical tools derived from the tradition of political economy.

Content

The module begins with several introductory lectures that explore the basic concepts, issues and history of global finance. It then considers, in seminar format, the principal structural features of the contemporary era, current issues such as global finance versus the nation-state, the problems of global financial regulation, the nature of international financial crises, and recent efforts to reform the international financial architecture. The exact content of these issues will vary from year to year in line with topical developments. The final four seminars are devoted to student presentations of their research papers.

Transferable skills

By taking this module students can develop two different sets of skills. As a result of preparing for and participating in seminar discussions, they will have an opportunity to extend their capacity to comprehend and analyse ideas and arguments, improve time management skills, work to deadlines, build teamwork skills via small-group work, and practise oral debating and presentation skills. As a result of writing and researching their essays, they will be expected to employ recognised social science methods of inquiry, develop their library and IT skills, practise good writing techniques, demonstrate solid time management capabilities, and display sound analytical capacity. Developing these skills throughout the module will assist students in achieving the module's principal aim of enabling them to understand the structural characteristics of the global financial system.

Reading Lists

Books
Barry Eichengreen. Globalizing Capital: A history of the International Monetary System. (ISBN: 0691002452)
Geoffrey Underhill, ed.. The New World Order in International Finance. (ISBN: 033363876X)
Susan Strange. Mad Money. (SIBN: 0719052378)
Eric Helleiner. States and the Re-emergence of Global Finance. (ISBN: 0801428599)
Randall Germain. The International Organisation of Credit. (ISBN: 0521598516)