3155+Fall+08+Economy+&+state+seminar+Sep+17

Description
This is an analytical reading assignment; participating students are to (i) read and summarize for the class the key points of their assigned article, being careful to (ii) summarize the controversy at stake, (iii) highlight the alternative theoretical positions, and (iv) analyze the author’s argument and standards of evidence.

Objectives
· Understand competing empirical theories of state growth (ie: why do governments continue to grow?) · Understand broad arguments for and against state growth (this involves normative theory and/or policy-analysis—when is gov’t growth warranted, if ever?)

Questions for the class to consider
1. Is government spending bad for the economy overall? Why or why not? 2. Who benefits from government/state spending? 3. Why has government grown so large? 1. [|“More public spending doesn't mean less growth,”] Martin Wolf, Financial Times, 23 March, 2005 2. Jeff Madrick,[|“Is less government really better for business? Not if history provides a reliable guide.”]New York Times, 20 January, 2005, Section: Business/Financial Desk, p 2
 * __Note, all students in the class are to find and read the following short newspaper op-ed articles:__**

__Seminar participants are to select one of the following articles:__

1. Garrett and Rhine, [|“Institutions and government growth: a comparison of the 1890s and 1930s”] Working Paper 2008-020A (At Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) 2. Garrett and Rhine, http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/06/01/GarrettRhine.pdf 3. Lee and Sexton, “Political power and curbing the growth in U.S. government spending” //The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies.// Washington: Winter 1996. Vol. 21, Iss. 4; pg. 421, 9 pgs 4. Vito, Tanzi, “The economic role of the state in the 21st Century” //Cato Journal// Fall 2005, Vol. 25 Issue 3, p617-638, 22p (Academic Search Premier) 5. Hay, Colin “ Re-Stating Politics, Re-Politicising the State: Neo-liberalism, Economic Imperatives and the Rise of the Competition State,” //Political Quarterly,// Jul2004 Supplement 1, Vol. 75, p38-50, 13p 6. Castles, Francis, “On the political economy of recent public sector development” Journal of European Social Policy; Aug2001, Vol. 11 Issue 3, p195, 17p, 7 charts, 1 diagram