GEOG/ID 256

Global Economic Geographies

 

Instructor: Yuko Aoyama

Jefferson Academic Center 206

Tel: 793-7403

Email: yaoyama@clarku.edu

  

Course Description

What is globalization, and what does it mean to us?  This course provides an overview of theories and empirical research on globalization.  We observed some dramatic changes in patterns of regional growth and how local or regional economies interact with global forces in the past few decades.   The aim of this class is to analyze critical forces that drive globalization, and seek to understand their impacts on regional economies.   Issues such as new forms of international competition, technological innovation and the role of entrepreneurs will be examined in class.

The first section of the course presents traditional theoretical understandings on regional economic change, drawing on case materials from both advanced industrial and development countries.  The course then examines recent debates in economic geography, which focus on the transformation in the international economic system.  This segment includes discussions on industrial restructuring, the organization of production systems, and the rise of the informational sector, with an emphasis on the contrasts between the Anglo-American and the Japanese/Asian models of development.  The aim is to encourage students to develop multiple perspectives to better understand on-going process of globalization.

 

Course schedule:

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Theories of Regional Growth and Disparity

Week 3: Industry Districts and Flexible Specialization

Week 4: Growth and Decline of US Regions

Week 5: Old Models of Globalization: Product Life Cycle, the New International Division of Labor and the Theory of Comparative Advantage

Week 6: Third World Regional Development: Dependency Theory, Import Substitution and Export-led Development

Week 7: Asian Models of Economic Growth I: Japan as a Miracle

Week 8: Asian Models of Economic Growth II: The Four Asian Tigers

Week 9: New Models of Globalization: International Trade, Competitiveness, and the role of the Multinationals

Week 10: Technology, Innovation and Regional Development

Week 11: Globalization of Services and the Rise of the Global City

Week 12: Entrepreneurship and Embeddeness: Regional Development in the Information Age

Week 13: Capitalism in Crisis?: Liberalization vs. Regulation

Week 14:New Economic Geographies: Current debates and the Future Directions in Economic Geography

Course requirements:

Students are required to take a midterm examination, compile a regional compendium, conduct a presentation, and take a take-home final examination.

Grading:

Class participation:                                 5% of grade

Midterm Exam (March 1st)                     25%

Regional Compendium                           30%

In-class Presentation                             10%

Final (take-home) Examination                30%  

Readings:

TBA.