Section B02. Responsibility and Economic Policy
In this seminar, students will develop their ability to apply critical-thinking skills to economic issues and to the development of economic policy, while also building their awareness of the potential of the social sciences to affect economic policy issues. Designed for those who want to develop a deeper understanding of the context within which our society formulates its policies, this seminar will focus on two issues in which economic activity and responsibility are deeply intertwined--housing affordability and corporate accountability. Both involve economic policy--the rules/regulations under which individuals and institutions make economic decisions and the implicit or explicit goals that lie behind the rules and regulations. Students will examine two specific real-world cases: the controversy surrounding the future of the Mitchell-Lama affordable housing complexes in New York and the corporate decision-making issues raised by the Enron case.
Finally, we explore some of the social, political, and philosophical issues underlying economic policy. When people make economic policy, their decisions are based not only on ideas about economics, but also on ideas about social responsibilities and the relationship between those responsibilities and economic activity. These concepts about responsibility have been sources of considerable dispute in our society. Today, policy makers with different beliefs about individual, interpersonal, and/or social responsibility can reach vastly different conclusions about what economic policies are appropriate and effective, and which are not. Readings and substantial class discussions will ensure that students develop insights into one of the important aspects of economic policy.
(Russell Williams)