module specification

The basic aim of the module is to provide a rigorous but accessible introduction to the main developments in the world economy over the last century and a half, as well as to introduce students to a long run perspective.

Level 5 Microeconomics, Level 5 Business Economics, or Level 5 Competition and the international Economy or equivalent

The module aims to provide students with:
1. a systematic knowledge and understanding of international economic history since 1870, including a critical awareness of how past events have influenced  current policy;
2. an ability to apply economic principles and analysis in a variety of contexts relevant to the development of the world economy over the period covered;
3. a range of transferable and subject-specific skills that will be of value in employment and self-employment.

It also aims to develop students' skills, in particular: communication, including oral presentation; self assessment and reflection; subject research; interpersonal and team-working; academic study skills;
applied analysis; and critical thinking;

Introduction to the module. The world economy in 1870.  Principal developments since 1870.
Theories of development: cyclical explanations, `stage’ theories, agriculture.
Trade and growth.
Capital mobility, population, migration and its impact. Technological progress in the world economy
The international monetary system since 1870: Gold Standard, Bretton Woods.
The crisis of capitalism in the 1920s and 1930s: causes, policy responses and lessons.
Post WWII economic development and structures: reconstruction, `Keynesian boom’, neo-liberalism, communist command economies.
Globalisation, regional economic integration
The developing world, the Asian Tiger Economies, China.
The crisis of 2008: causes, policy responses, lessons from the past.
Conclusions and revision.

Students’ learning is organised around direct contact time with the teaching team, and refective independent learning. The direct contact time takes place through lectures and . Students are expected to complement this 'formal' learning activity with further reading of the material suggested in the teaching sessions, research, writing, planning and preparation for group presentations, and the final exam.

Student contact time will normally be 3 hours per week. Lectures will typically be around 2 hours duration and will deliver core subject knowledge. In the 1 hour seminar the emphasis is on student learning through participation, formative feedback and active learning.

The contact time with teaching teams will be organised around a range of learning activities including active learning to acquire knowledge and understanding, problem solving, problem based learning, presentations, analysis of case studies, group reading and analysis of research papers, discussion of policy issues and debate.

The module makes extensive use of blended learning  through use of virtual learning environment platforms (WebLearn, Publisher E-resources) in which module lecture material, course handbooks, test questions, previous assessment with feedback, and other material is placed.  Other ICT resources include links to key web resources such as Government departments, and research institutes.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. have an advanced understanding of the workings and development of the international economy over the last 150 years;
2. have a long-term perspective in the study of economics and of the development and the evolution of national economies within the context of what has happened in the international economy;
3. have some insight from history into current economic issues and developments;
4. marshal evidence and assimilate, structure, analyse and evaluate qualitative and quantitative data to understand and critically evaluate policy issues in the subject.

The examination will require students to write answers to questions addressing the underlying principles or issues of the subject matter. The essay and final exam will assess the student’s: knowledge and understanding of international economic history covering theory, issues, policy and application; ability to apply and to critically assess what they have learned; ability to marshal evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, to understand and critically evaluate issues in the subject.

The group presentation will enable students to further develop their ability to work effectively in groups, undertake team activity, plan and allocate functions, seek to resolve any conflict, communicate effectively, work under binding time constraints, and undertake a presentation.

Attendance data is collected by lecturers and tutors which is added to Evision and this information will constitute the main element of the attendance/participation mark. However there will also be a reward for active and constructive class participation which is be assessed in discussion with the seminar group.

Aldcroft, D. (2004) The European Economy 1914-2000, 4th ed.. London: Routledge.
Alford W, Britain in the World economy since 1880, Longman 1996
Baldwin & Wyploscz, The Economics of European Integration, 3rd ed McGraw-Hill 2009
Dore, R. (2000) Stock Market Capitalism: Welfare Capitalism - Japan and Germany versus the Anglo-Saxons. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Edye D & Lintner V, Contemporary Europe, Prentice-Hall 1996
Foreman-Peck J, A History of the World Economy: International Economic Relations Since 1850, FT Prentice-Hall, 1995
Graham, A and Seldon, A. (1990) Government and Economies in the Post-war World, London: Routledge.
Hall, P. and Soskice, D. (2001) Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kenwood A G & Loughhedd AL, The Growth of the International Economy 1820-2000, 4th ed Routledge 1999
Lintner V & Mazey S, The European Community: Economic and Political Aspects, McGraw-Hill 1991
Maddison, A. (1991) Dynamic Forces in Capitalist Development: A Long-Run Comparative View, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Schultz M (ed), Western Europe Since 1945, Longman, 1999