Gov 365N/MES 323K

Questions for Tuesday, January 26, 2010

1) Why did Stiglitz criticize the International Monetary Fund?

2) Why may the "War on Terror" or against Al-Qaeda be incompatible with economic globalization?

3) Critics of globalization speak of a "race to the bottom" - meaning that countries, to compete in the global marketplace, must give up cherished social welfare programs. Can European countries such as France, for instance, sustain special privileges for various categories of workers?

4) Does globalization encourage inequality within countries? What can be inferred from the data available from the University of Texas Inequality Project?

5) What may be the impact, if any, of the US-led occupation of Iraq upon the political and economic reform prospects of the country or set of countries that you plan to study?

6) Optional: Can you relate Rogowski's arguments to the situation of labor in the USA? What does expanding trade do to labor in situations where land and capital are abundant and labor is "scarce" (i.e. privileged)?

7) How well can his analytic framework account for the impact of globalization upon the various states of the MENA?

Department of Government, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin.
Questions, Comments, and Suggestions to chenry@mail.utexas.edu