Syllabus update, and more on "The world is bumpy"

Hey, I have updated the syllabus page.  I think we are in for an exciting term.

I had planned to do a video update, but then as I put together my talking points, I realized that a written mode is the one that will help when it comes to providing you with links if you decide that something is worth following-up. The idea here is that I don't bore the life out of you if all you want is a quick summary, and at the same time I provide you with more info should you want them ....
You folks had lots of interesting observations related to the non-credit task I had for you: your thoughts after reading "The world is bumpy"  Specifically, the task was to email the class about the following:

1. Is there anything in particular that grabbed your attention?

2. Is there any one specific item there that nags you because you don't quite get what the issue is?

I am really pleased that some of you took the non-credit task seriously, and provided significant feedback to the class.  In this note, I want to follow-up on your comments:

• Deglobalization: At this time, this is more a "worry" than a reality that countries will close their economies from the external world--at least with the industries they want to protect.  This worry is not because of any understanding that globalization caused this Great Recession.  Instead, it is a worry that protectionism could result in a nasty global depression.  If you find this fascinating, then click here for Paul Krugman's column from just a few days ago.
• Yes, Singapore is one of the countries that was hit hard by this Great Recession.  More here.
  
• Could it be possible that the rich countries and India and China will come out of this recession relatively ok, while the rest of the world go through more agonizing periods?  Well, India and China had slowing down of their economic growth, but no recession.  A recession means a decline in the country's economic output (GDP) for at least two consecutive quarters.  China and India experienced only a slow down, not a negative growth in the economy.  Many other poor countries also came out without a contraction in their economies.  Surprising, eh!  Professon Daniel Drezner writes:
  

  While this was a bad decade for America, it was actually a pretty great decade for large swathes of the globe.  China, Russia, India, Brazil, and much of sub-Saharan Africa recorded sustained levels of economic growth., for example.
  

• The impact of the recession (which is the trigger for the discussion on deglobalization) will be felt on migration as well.  Both in terms of voluntary decisions, and in terms of governments potentially tightening up their immigration policies.  Interestingly enough, work visas (H1-B) here in the US can be an indicator of the economic well being.
• On the comment on perhaps countries in Africa need to form their own equivalents of the EU, well, you might be excited all the more that serious efforts are underway.  Here is an example.
• On whether buying locally or globally is better, well, how about we wait on this until later this term when we are scheduled to discuss this?  You might be in for a surprising twist to the story :-)
• If we want to understand how this Great Recession happened, .... this is a tough one, and certainly outside the scope of this class.  It is a tough one because economists and policymakers are still grappling with it.  We do not yet have the luxury of being able to look back .... so, for now, it is a cacophony of explanations out there :-) There is going to be an "independent" Congressional commission too!  Anyway, click here if you are simply itching for a quick summary :)
  
• Finally, what does the "Doha Round" mean? Doha is in the Middle East--in Qatar.  You might be familiar with this country, which was a key base for the US before launching the Iraq War.  Back before 9/11, it was in Doha that the international community launched the attempt to negotiate rules for international trading.  It has been ongoing, not because of 9/11, but because it is easy for countries to point fingers at unfair practices of others, but is quite difficult for the same countries to admit to their wrongdoing and correct them.  Since then meetings have been held at other places, but the reality is that the talks have sort of stalled.  Even though the meetings are held at various locations (often at wonderful vacation spots!!!) it is still referred to as the "Doha" round ....
  

Any more thoughts? You ask, and I shall clarify.
Again, my idea in having that as an "intro" reading was to demonstrate that we have courses like this one in order to help students understand the world around us, so that you can be that much more productive--economically, and as citizens.  More power to you, eh!