PO942 Theories and Issues in International Political Economy

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PO942 Theories and Issues in International
Political Economy
Week 13 Production and Foreign Direct Investment
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Wednesday 24 January (week 3) 4.00-5.00 p.m. S
0.18 Professor Ben Rosamond, PAIS The discursive
construction of supranational economic space the
politics of the European economy since
1957 Wednesday 7 February (week 5) 4.00 5.00
p.m. S 0.18 Professor Stuart Croft,
PAIS Terrorism and identity politics in
Britain Wednesday 14 February (week 6)
4.00-5.00 p.m. S0.18 Professor Nicola Phillips,
Dept. of Government, University of
Manchester Migration and the new political
economy of inequality in the United
States Wednesday 21 February (week 7) 4.00-5.00
p.m. S 0.18 Professor André Gerrits, Dept. of
European Studies, University of
Amsterdam Building political parties in Eurasian
states can international actors make a
difference? Wednesday 14 March (week 10) 4.00
5.00 p.m. S0.21 (in conjunction with the
Department of Sociology) Professor Nigel Thrift,
Vice-Chancellor, University of Warwick Title to
be advised
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• Now that the timed essays are finished
• Time to start thinking about your research essay
  title
• Deadline for submission of titles is noon,
  Thursday 1 March week 8
• Your choice of topic, to be negotiated with your
  tutor
• Has to be within the (very) broad remit of the
  module look at the learning objectives
• You are encouraged to follow your interests
• Planning pays!

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• This weeks objectives
• Understanding of how the analysis of production
  central to political economy
• Overview of the changing context of production
  in the global economy implications for states
  and markets
• The firm as actor states and firms public
  versus market power?
• The place of production in debates about
  globaliastion
• Competing IPE perspectives on (theories of)
  production, TNCs and FDI
• economic nationalist
• liberal
• critical

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Context the changing nature of production in
advanced capitalist states
FORDISM
POST-FORDISM
mass production
mass consumption
Hollowing out of the national state (Jessop)
Unionisation Labour-management relations Governmen
t intervention
Keynesian welfare state
But by late 1970s/1980s Falling rates of
productivity growth governments active to
retrain wage increases rise of the neoliberal
state decreasing competitiveness of mass
produced goods ? flexible specialisation
differentiated products and production for
targeted consumers rather than social classes
production more market sensitive and hi-tech
just in time techniques moves away from
singular assembly-line production (raw materials
to finished product) to fragmentation
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Seminar questions
To what extent is it valid to talk about the
globalisation of production? On what broad
theoretical grounds can foreign direct investment
be promoted or opposed? What is the political
significance of increased FDI transborder
production?
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To what extent is it valid to talk about the
globalisation of production?
http//ucatlas.ucsc.edu/economic.php
http//www1.worldbank.org/economicpolicy/globaliza
tion/documents/AssessingGlobalizationP1.pdf
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All data on handouts taken from
here http//www.unctad.org/en/docs/wir2006overvie
w_en.pdf
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On what broad theoretical grounds can foreign
direct investment be promoted or opposed?
Three groups each group is asked to provide a
summary of how its theoretical perspective would
account for, tell the story of and evaluate
FDI Group 1 liberalism Group 2 economic
nationalism Group 3 Marxism
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What is the political significance of increased
FDI transborder production?

• Exercise Debating the Advantages of inward TNC
  Investment
• Your group dispenses policy-advice to a
  developing country government.
• Unemployment is at an historical high. There is
  strong interest in attracting investment by TNCs.
• Decide briefly upon the industrial profile and
  geographic location of your case (country). Why
  have you made this choice?
• Write a short report to the government
• List the advantages of attracting TNC
  investment (3 points)
• Identify problems with TNC investment (3
  points) and
• Speculate on possible solutions to these
  problems.