PEACE ECONOMICS
Academic Year 2022/2023 - Teacher: MARIA RIZZAExpected Learning Outcomes
Targets. Students will be familiar with the distinction – at the core of peace economics - between productive and unproductive activities, and between contested and uncontested activities. The course will supply students with an understanding of the ‘positive side’ of economics (which embraces the study of conflict, interpreted as a strategic destructive interaction between rational agents) and the ‘normative’ peace economics (the study of those economic concepts and policies intended to minimize the unproductive components within economies, thereby also reducing the risk of outbreak of actual conflicts). Gender perspective, climate change and inequalities are key issues to peace process and reasonable space for their intellectual grasp will be given . Students will also read the 1919 John Maynard Keynes’ fundamental contribution The Economic Consequences of the Peace, to be acquainted with classical textbook. As active learning process, a case study in Catania of peace process building will be presented to students to grasp the complexity of societal, urban planning and economic decisions. Where needed, introductory economic knowledge and analytical tools will be reviewed.
Course Structure
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
PART 1. Pillars concepts in Peace Economics
PART 2. Keynes 1919 The Economic Consequences of Peace
PART 3. Basic empirical and theoretical evidence on Inequalities
PART 4. UN-World Bank ReportTextbook Information
Caruso R. (2010), On the nature of peace economics, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 16, No. 2. )
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239809814_Peace_economists_and_peace_economics)
Caruso R. (2017), Peace economics and peaceful policies, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2 )
Caruso R. (2015) Beyond deterrence and decline towards a general understanding of peace economics, Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 123, No. 1)
Buhaug H., (2016), The climate change and the security threaten. Climate Change and Conflict: Taking Stock , in Peace, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, Vol. 22, No. 4)
Gizelis T.I. (2018), Systematic Study of Gender, Conflict, and Peace, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 24, No. 4.
Keynes, J. M. (1919), The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1 ed.). London: Macmillan
& Co., Limited. p. 279. Retrieved 2 June 2016 – via Internet Archive.
World Bank and United Nations (2018), Pathways for Peace Inclusive Approaches to
Preventing Violent Conflict, The World Bank Group, Washington DC -
Piketty, T. (2017). Capital in XXI Century, Harvard University Press, Introdution & Chapter 1, 7, 10.
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18th Oct Introduction to Peace Ecoomics and Economics | Frank, R. (2014) Microeconomics and Behaviours, NY, MCGraw Hills, Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 3-54. |
| 2 | 19th Oct Demand Schedule, Supply schedule, Market equilibrium | Frank, R. (2014) Microeconomics and Behaviours, NY, MCGraw Hills, Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 3-54 |
| 3 | 24 Oct Production Function, Costs Curves | Frank, R. (2014) Microeconomics and Behaviours, NY, MCGraw Hills, Chapters 8 and 9, pp. 248-316. |
| 4 | 25th Oct Perfect Competitive Markets | Frank, R. (2014) Microeconomics and Behaviours, NY, MCGraw Hills, Chapter 10, pp. 317-354. |
| 5 | 26th Oct First written exam on microeconomics (open questions) | In case students were familiar with microeconomics, this part of the Syllabus can be skipped |
| 6 | 31st Oct History of Peace Economics | Caruso R. 2011 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239809814_Peace_economists_and_peace_economics) |
| 7 | 7th Nov Negative peace and positive peace | Caruso R., 2015, Beyond deterrence and decline towards a general understanding of peace economics, Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 123, No. 1)-Test 1 |
| 8 | 8th Nov Economic policies for peace | Caruso R. (2017), Peace economics and peaceful policies, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2 ) - Remote Intervention of Dr. Sally A.Corcoran on "UN Security Council 1325 and gender mainstreaming policies in the UN peace keeping operations" |
| 9 | 9th NovEconomic policies for peace | Caruso R. (2017), Peace economics and peaceful policies, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2 ) |
| 10 | 14th Nov Specific issues of peace economics : Climate Change | Buhaug H., 2016, The climate change and the security threaten. Climate Change and Conflict: Taking Stock , in Peace, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, Vol. 22, No. |
| 11 | 15 Nov Specific issues of peace economics : Climate Change | Buhaug H., 2016, The climate change and the security threaten. Climate Change and Conflict: Taking Stock , in Peace, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, Vol. 22, No. |
| 12 | 16th Nov | |
| 13 | 21st Nov | |
| 14 | 22nd Nov | |
| 15 | 23rd Nov | |
| 16 | 28th Nov | |
| 17 | 29th Nov | |
| 18 | 30th Nov | |
| 19 | 5th Dec | |
| 20 | 6th Dec | |
| 21 | 7th Dec | test 3 - |
| 22 | 9th Jan | Inequality and Peace |
| 23 | 10th Jan | A theory of interest, growth and capital. |
| 24 | 11th Jan | Inequality of Income and Wealth |
| 25 | 16th Jan | Keynes 1919: an introduction to" The Economic Consequences of Peace" - frontal lesson |
| 26 | 17th Jan | Keynes 1919 Role presentation. Working groupes of students |
| 27 | 18th Jan | Keynes 1919 Role presentation. Working groupes of students |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Active participation is considered essential to this class and is evaluated as much as one third of the final
score (10/30): one minute papers, presentations, mutual interactions, group of studies are key
ingredients to the learning targets of the corse.
One third of the final vote is obtained with the oral exam (10/30) and one third with the written exam
(10/30).
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
Oral questions – The following exam topics are meant to be part of a list of possible and not exhaustive oral questions.
1. Productive and unproductive activities.
2. Different interpretations of unproductive activities in Baumol’s (1982) reading and in Bhagwati’s (1990) reading.
3. Discuss the definition of peace economics provided by Isard (1994) and confront it with that proposed by Boulding (1978),
4. Describe Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance and its relevance for peace economics.
5. Definition of contested and uncontested sectors.
6. Provide few examples of countries experiencing the resource curse. (suggestion: integrate with kwoledges drawn from Pathway to Peace).
7. Provide a short description for conflict economics, security economics and military economics and show the difference with peace economics.
8. Provide examples of peace economists and peace economic policies.
9. The boulding triangle.
10. The systems of threat.
11. The integrative system.
12. Give a spacial representation of the World Bank, the ECB, the commercial bank wher your own current account is open in the Boulding’s triangle framework.
13. Taking into account that peace economics is not about the absence of war, but its core is the active policies to be implemented in order to obtain peaceful societies, describe the three crucial lines for potential policymaking suggested by Caruso (2017).
14. Is military expenditure beneficial or detrimental for economic growth? describe Caruso’s (2015) arguments.
15. Explain why climate change is meant to be an issue for peace economics (suggestion: integrate with examples offered in Pathway to Peace).
16. Gender issues in peace studies and initial feminist approach.
17. The 1325 Resolution Group and its impact.
18. The three processes that base gender mainstreaming approach in development and peace field.
19. Arenas of contestation: definition. Provide and discuss a historical example offered by Pathway for Peace.
20. Basic services provision and corruption. Impact on peace.