The Contemporary Global Economy: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2023
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The Contemporary Global Economy is aimed at understanding and explaining the modern global economy through a detailed examination and analysis of current economic events and developments. The modern global economy, however, does not exist in a vacuum- intellectually, it has been shaped by theoretical perspectives and principles; temporally, it has been shaped by historical events and epochs; spatially, it has been impacted by political, social, and cultural factors and forces. The Contemporary Global Economy teaches the workings of the global economy through an application of these perspectives and principles in a multidisciplinary manner. In the process, this textbook helps students make sense of the contemporary global political economy by critically and carefully analyzing its policies and practices.
Preface
About the Author
PART I INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 The Global Economy: What’s New?
1.1. The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Economic Aftermath
1.1.1. COVID-19 Restrictions and Economic Impacts
1.1.2. The COVID-19 Pandemic and Increasing Unemployment
1.2. Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies: The Reality of Digital Currencies
1.2.1. What Are Cryptocurrencies?
1.2.2. Bitcoin: Increasing Interest and Acceptability
1.2.3. Cryptocurrencies: A Mixed Welcome
1.3. Brexit: The Economics of the United Kingdom Leaving the European Union
1.3.1. What Motivated Brexit?
1.3.2. Brexit and EU–UK Economic Relations
1.3.3. The Economic Implications of Brexit: Responses and Reactions
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 2 The Global Economy: Concepts and Principles
2.1. The Economy, Economic Progress, and National Happiness
2.1.1. Bhutan and Gross National Happiness
2.1.2. Measuring Economic Growth and Development
2.2. International Economic Relations
2.2.1. International Trade: The Principle of Absolute Advantage
2.2.2. International Trade: The Principle of Comparative Advantage
2.3. Outcomes of International Trade: Trade Surplus and Trade Deficit
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 3 The Contemporary Global Economy: Historical Progression through Declines, Rise, and Crises* *Co-authored with Elroi Hadad, Senior Lecturer of Finance, Shamoon College of Engineering, Israel
3.1. The Original Asian Age
3.1.1. The Asian Powerhouses: China and India
3.1.2. Explaining Historical Asian Dominance
3.2. The Industrial Revolution, European Colonialism, and Asian Decline
3.2.1. The Industrial Revolution and Western Economic Development
3.2.2. The Rise of the West, European Colonialism, and the Decline of the Asian Age
3.3. The Making of the Modern Global Economy: From the Great Depression to the Great Recession
3.3.1. The “Roaring Twenties” and the US Stock “Bubble” of 1929: Early Recession and Economic Expansion
3.3.2. Boom and Bust: Rising Passion for Stocks in the US and the Eventual Crash
3.3.3. The Great Depression: A Global Phenomenon
3.3.4. The Great Recession: American-Made but Globally Experienced
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
PART II PREFERENCES AND POWER IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
CHAPTER 4 The Global Political Economy: Preferences and Perspectives
4.1. Mercantilism: The Power Perspective in Global Economics
4.1.1. The Trump Trade Wars: Modern Mercantilism
4.1.2. The History and Philosophy of Mercantilism: The Influence of Realism
4.1.3. Modern Mercantilism and the Trump Trade Wars: Old Wine in New Bottle?
4.2. Liberalism: The Free Market Perspective in Global Economics
4.2.1. Classical Liberalism: Economic Orthodoxy as a System of Thought
4.2.2. Neoliberalism: Reviving Classical Liberalism and Beyond
4.3. Marxian Perspectives on the Global Economy: “Contextualizing” International Trade and Commerce
4.3.1. Marxism: Capital, Capitalism, and Class Struggles
4.3.2. Marxian “Theory” of International Trade
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 5 The Global Economic Architecture: The Power of Ideas and Institutions
5.1. The World Bank
5.1.1. The World Bank: Shifting Objectives
5.1.2. The World Bank Group: Expansion and Emphases
5.2. The International Monetary Fund
5.2.1. The IMF: Much More Than Global Monetary Stability
5.2.2. The IMF, World Bank, and Structural Adjustment
5.3. The World Trade Organization
5.3.1. From ITO to GATT to WTO
5.3.2. The WTO: Wider Mandate, Bigger Controversies
5.4. Global Economic Governance in the Contemporary Global Economy
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 6 Preferences and Processes of the Contemporary Global Economy: Commodities, Corporations, and Currencies
6.1. International Trade: The Harbinger of Global Economic Integration
6.1.1. International Trade: Too Big to Fail
6.1.2. International Trade and the Global Economy: An Evaluation
6.2. International Investments and Multinational Corporations
6.2.1. The Growth of FDI and MNCs in the Global Economy
6.2.2. FDI and MNCs: A Critical Analysis
6.2.3. FDI and MNCs: The Evolving Landscape in the Contemporary Global Economy
6.3. The International Monetary System
6.3.1. The Foreign Exchange Market: The Financial Juggernaut
6.3.2. Key Developments and Debates in the International Monetary System
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
PART III CHALLENGES FOR THE CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ECONOMY
CHAPTER 7 Economic Development and Economic Transitions in the Contemporary Global Economy
7.1. Economic Development and Economic Transition: Meaning and Measure
7.1.1. Defining and Measuring Economic Development
7.1.2. Understanding Economic Transitions
7.2. Economic Development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America: Ensuring Growth and Equity
7.2.1. Post-War, Post-Colonial Economic Development: A Mixed Bag
7.2.2. Economic Development in the Contemporary Global Economy
7.3. Consolidating Economic Transitions in Central and Eastern Europe
7.3.1. Economic Transitions: The Early Experience and Evidence
7.3.2. Three Decades of Economic Transitions: A Report Card
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 8 The Environment and the Global Economy: A Collective Action Problem**Co-authored with Thomas Schrand, Professor of History and Former Program Director of Environmental Sustainability, College of Humanities and Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA
8.1. Economics and the Environment: Coming Home to Roost?
8.1.1. The Environment in Economic Theories
8.1.2. Environmental Economics Meets Economic Development: The Environmental Kuznets Curve in the Global Economy
8.2. Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies: Critical Insights for the Global Economy
8.2.1. Sustainability and Sustainable Development
8.2.2. Discounting the Value of the Future: Climate Change and Obstacles to Climate Solutions
8.3. Economics, Environmentalism, and the Global Economy
8.3.1. Economic Globalization and the Environment: Expectations versus Reality
8.3.2. The Environment and the Global Economy: The Way Forward
Chapter Summary
Questions
Notes
Glossary
Index
Raju Parakkal, PhD, is an international political economist and an award-winning profes-sor of international relations at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2011. Dr. Parakkal received both his PhD in international relations and MA in international studies from Florida International University (Miami, FL) in 2009. He also has MA degrees in economics from both the University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL) and Mahatma Gandhi University (India). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst from ICFAI, India, and completed college with a major in economics and minors in mathematics and Indian history. With a back-ground in international relations, economics, history, mathematics, and finance, Dr. Parakkal has a rich and multidisciplinary scholarship in various research areas of international and comparative political economy. At Thomas Jefferson University, he teaches The Global Economy, Global Politics, and Contemporary Global Issues.
Occasionally, he also teaches international economics and finance courses for the School of Business at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Parakkal lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with his wife, Jocelyn Young, and their two rescue dogs, Sassy and Zenny.
"Raju Parakkal's The Contemporary Global Economy: A Multidisciplinary Approach offers the most holistic approach to international political economy yet. It does not just reflect on the relevance of the traditional schools of IPE and the West-led institutional framework created after W.W.II. This textbook challenges students to look at IPE from a non-Western perspective by broadening the temporal and spatial framework of analysis to include the Asia-dominated world economy prior to the rise of Modern-age European imperialism and by reflecting on the growing role of non-Western actors in today's global political economy, especially in light of the covid-19 pandemic, growing global environmental challenges, and new technological developments."
Dr. Pablo Toral
Chair of the Political Science Department | Beloit College