Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme.
Limited places are also open for exchange students.
Please note: this course takes place in The Hague. Traveling between University buildings from Leiden to The Hague may take about 45 minutes.
Description
The course Economy: North America provides an overview of economic and economic policy developments in North America since the time of the New Deal, with an additional emphasis on how North American developments have impacted and been impacted by global economic forces. A major goal is to deepen your understanding of fundamental concepts of macroeconomics, including fiscal and monetary policy, inflation, unemployment, currency regimes, interest rates, credit, and import/export policy. You will also learn to discern the politics behind economic policies as they played out in the North American arena, and the evolution of macroeconomic theory over time.
The sweeping policy changes crowned in the 1930s cemented the modern American economic order which forms the baseline for subsequent developments. Keynesianism, the military-industrial complex, Johnson’s Great Society, the Oil Crisis, stagflation, the decline of U.S. Industry in the 70s and 80s, Reaganomics, the internet revolution, and the significance of the ‘Tea Party’ will form topics of study. Apart from a few ultimately unfounded ‘scares’ (such as the Japanese challenge of the 1980s), American economic hegemony seemed to go only up and up until the crash of 2008. Will this prove to have been a pivotal turning point in global economic history? What lessons can we learn from the ‘American model?’. How much of it was the result of policy, institutions, path dependencies, and/or just ‘dumb luck'? Some attention will also be paid to major economic developments in Mexico and Canada, and the role of NAFTA in shaping North American economic development and policy.
Having completed this course, it is hoped that students will look back on it as a foundational moment in their understanding of the historical and ongoing importance of North American economic power as a major player in global development.
Course objectives
Students have:
Acquired an overview of the historical and contemporary economic developments and political economy dynamics in their chosen area and deepened their existing knowledge and understanding of different economic systems, economic institutions, economic processes and actors in the different regions / countries of the region, using the concepts acquired during the courses Principles of Economics and Foundations of Political Economy.
Been acquainted with academic debates on selected topics in the specific region.
Timetable
Visit MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Lectures are held every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Weekly lectures will cover issues both inside and outside the readings.
Tutorials
Tutorials are held once every three weeks, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. For this reason, if you are unable to attend a session, it is required that you inform your tutor in advance. Please note that being absent at any tutorial session may have a negative impact on the grade of the assignment due for that particular tutorial session. This is at the discretion of the tutor.
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm Exam:
Written examination with short open questions and (up to) 50% multiple choice questions.Final Exam:
Written examination with short open questions and (up to) 50% multiple choice questions.
Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Tutorials | 40% |
| Midterm Exam | 30% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
End Grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note of the following:
The end grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of Tutorial grade, Midterm Exam grade, and Final Exam grade.
The weighted average of the Midterm Exam grade and the Final Exam grade needs to be 5.5 or higher.
This means that failing Exam grades cannot be compensated with a high Tutorial grade.
Resit
If the end grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), or the weighted average of Midterm- and Final Exams is lower than 5.5, there is a possibility of retaking the full 60% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier Midterm- and Final Exam grades. No resit for the tutorial is possible.
Please note that if the Resit Exam grade is lower than 5.5, you will not pass the course, regardless of the tutorial grade.
Retaking a passing grade
Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2021 – 2022.
Exam review and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis for Tutorials and Lectures is mandatory.
Students will be enrolled for Exams by the Administration Office, as long as they have a valid Tutorial enrolment.
General information about uSis is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA International Studies
Remarks
All other information.