This is a survey course of Asian economies. It is designed to provide students with a basic overview of the economic history and current economic environment of nations in East Asia ranging from South Korea in the north to Malaysia and Indonesia in the south. China and Japan represent the giants (in economic and demographic terms) in the region and will, correspondingly, take up a larger share of the course than their smaller neighbors. The course will explore issues of global and regional economic integration, restructuring of corporations, reform of financial institutions, the importance of foreign exchange reserves in macroeconomic stability, the role of human "capital" in development, and the impact of rapid economic growth on ecological change and the sustainability of growth.

Readings:

Primary Texts:
Gill and Kharas, An East Asian Renaissance (World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2007)
Yusuf, Innovative East Asia: The Future of Growth (World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2003)

Supplementary Web Material:
Thanh Tran's Viet Nam Project: A Country, Not a War
Bridget Lee's Internet in China

Section 1:  January 27-February 10
China Web Essay Series

Section 1a:  Hong Kong Web Essay

Section 1b:  Taiwan Web Essay

Section 2:  February 15-17
Econometric Modeling of East Asian Economies (read chapters 1-4 of the text)

Section 3:  February 22-March 2
Case Study: Korea (read chapter 5 of text)

Section 4:  March 7-9
Case Study: Taiwan (read chapter 6 of text)

Section 5:  March 21-23
Case Study: Indonesia (read chapter 7 of text)

Section 6:  March 28-30
Case Study: China (read chapter 8 of text)
Jennifer Jackson, Impact of Capitalism on Modern Chinese Women

Section 7:  April 4-6 (NOTE: April 6th class is cancelled.)
Case Study: Viet Nam

Section 8:  April 11-13
Case Study: Malaysia

Section 9:  April 18-27
Japan Web Essay Series

Krugman on the Japanese Economic Crisis

"Japanese Bank Mergers--Bigger, not Better" by Bill Tabb

Section 10:  May 2
Asia Economic Crisis Web Essay

Grades will be based on five quizzes and one project (which could be a website, an oral presentation, a short story, or other such creative work).
Each student will write a proposal for the independent project and negotiate a final contract that delineates the objectives that must be met to achieve particular grade levels. The grade will be determined on the basis of meeting the terms of the contract.