Course Description

This course covers the economic dimensions of globalization, which is broadly taken as the movement of economic activities and their output across national and geographical boundaries. These overseas activities lead to large international flows of raw materials, commodities, services, money, assets and labour. As economic activities go global, the power of individual states and the effectiveness of domestic policies could be compromised, giving rise to the issue of global governance. At the same time, economic globalization have differential effects on the benefits and costs of different individuals and economies, resulting in income inequality and national conflicts. Moreover, rapid geopolitical changes in recent years have changed the contours of globalization, introducing great uncertainties to global development. The above issues will be discussed in the course, and for each issue, we will look into the forces behind globalization, the current situation, pros and cons, gainers and losers, as well as future prospects.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Discuss the economic, social, institutional, technological and other underlying forces that drive globalization.
2. Apply basic economic concepts to understand the economic benefits and costs of globalization.
3. Analyze the pros and cons of economic globalization for different stakeholders from multiple perspectives, such as economic, social, and political economy.
4. Evaluate the impact of economic globalization on the conflict between nations, social classes, and how international organizations mitigate or aggravate such conflicts.
5. Demonstrate a sense of global citizenship and social responsibility.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

First semester (Wed)