The Global Economy – Environment, Development and Globalisation (archive)

Welcome to The Global Economy, Autumn 2018!

Padlet for Rob Hopkin´s lecture on Transition Towns

Hej guys,

Here is the Padlet to pose your questions for Rob. Rob will be given access to this Padlet before the lecture takes place and we will urge him to answer your questions before he opens it up to everyone present at the lecture. You can start uploading your questions now based on the reading that we´ve set for this class and we will keep the Padlet open during the lecture in case any question comes to you in the moment.

Student portal limited functionality

Hi all, please note that Student Portalen is CLOSED from Oct 4-8 (~12pm). Make sure that you download what you need beforehand.

Please also remember that we have pushed back the submission hand-in for Individual Assignment 1 until Tuesday, October 9th at 16:59.

We may also lose the ability to email from student portal and since not all of you have your email address available via student portal we will post notices here on the course web page. So please do engage with this space and check for notices!

Please also make sure to read Literature Seminar 1 Instructions and submit a discussion question to the padlet by Wednesday.

Happy Monday!

Some notes from the first week

Hi all! Lovely to meet you at our first two sessions on Monday and Wednesday. We have now uploaded the lecture slides for the intro workshop. Don’t forget that you have your first submission for the discussion groups on Wednesday, week 2. If you have forgotten which group number you are in then look under the Assignment Information > Group Allocations. Make sure to respond to the right thread in student portal and follow the instructions as outlined on the page.

See you all next week!

Aaron and Guy

Course start-up 2018

Hi all and welcome to The Global Economy 2018! Please see the above course information (progressively updated) and make sure to come to the compulsory course registration on Monday September 3. Until then, have a great summer!

Aaron and Guy

The Global Economy 2017

Schedule & Course Info

Welcome to GEC 2016!

Dear students,

warmly welcome to another exciting semester exploring The Global Economy!

We’re looking forward to meeting you all at the mandatory Course Introduction at this Wednesday, August 31st, 17.15-19.30 in Hambergsalen, Geocentrum. An updated schedule can be found on this page.

Make sure to also check out the open lectures happening today and on Wednesday!

Looking forward to meeting you all,

Mel and Friedi

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Most Recent Post (check for every class…)

Hi Peer Reviewers!,

Today there was some confusion about the peer review list, and how you should use it. I also gave some people the wrong information when they asked a question. So please check the updated instructions above.

Lakin

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Mon 30 November, 2015

Hi again everyone,
Two things to remind you about:

1. Tomorrow, tuesday, from 16:00-18:00 we will have an Assignment 3 ‘Meet-Up’ here in the CEMUS Library, where you can come and discuss the final paper with us and fellow classmates in a casual environment. It really does not matter how far into the paper you are, come along for a discussion of ideas and a chance to see others ideas, and listen to the way they are approaching the assignment. Many people have been wanting more discussion about it.

2. Today it’s Monday and we will again meet here at CEMUS library for Filoso-fika. Each Monday until the end of the semester, join at 15:15 – 16:30 in the CEMUS library (ask if you need directions!) for coffee or tea, to discuss the course, economies, life, philosophy, etc. in a casual setting.

Welcome!

Lakin & Ernest

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Thurs 26 November, 2015

Where to find the reading for CSR Lecture Monday 30th

Corporate Social Responsibility lecture articles and handouts from Cecilia Herbert. Now available on Studentportalen for Monday 30th. (Nothing published in course reader that week).

Lakin

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Thurs 26 November, 2015

Buddhist Economics Lecturer Thomas Lennerfors’ request to you

Hi everyone,

Our journey continues. We have a few weeks left, and they will be exciting ones.

Thomas Lennerfors, who will give a session on Buddhist Economics Wednesday next week, requests the following of you:

” I wonder if the students can individually, before the class and based on what they learned from reading the literature, write five to ten sentences where they try to “apply” Buddhist economics and move it from the abstract to the concrete, in other words answering the question: How can Buddhist economics (or aspects of it) be used in practice? 

They can e-mail this me before 2 December at say 3PM. Based on that we can have some discussion in class.

See you Monday!

Lakin & Ernest

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Monday 24 November, 2015

Session with Jen Hinton on November 25th

Monday 23 November, 2015

Literature Cecilia Herbert on CSR & Kate Raworth on Doughnut Economics

You can find the literature for the two session on student portalen.

Literature for Lecture by Cecilia Herbert

• Porter, Michael E. & van der Linde, Claas, 1995. Green and Competitive: Ending the Stalemate, Harvard Business Review, pp. 120-134.
• Porter, Michael E. et al., 2012. Measuring Shared Value: How to Unlock Value by Linking Social and Business Results.
• Chapter 3: Take Back Business – Distributing Surplus, in Gibson-Graham, J.K. et al., 2013. Take Back the Economy: An Ethical Guide for Transforming Our Communities, pp. 60-83.
• Patagonia advertisement: “Don’t buy this jacket” (2011).
• Anon., 2012. Collaborative Manufacturing: All together now (The Economist online, April 2012).
• Vitari, Claudio et al., 2012. Fast versus Slow Management.

Literature for Lecture by Kate Raworth

• Raworth, K., 2012. A safe and just space for humanity. Can We Live within the Doughnut.
• Steffen, W. et al. 2015. Research Summary: Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science 347, 1259855–1259855. doi:10.1126/science.1259855
• Piketty, T., 2015. Carbon and inequality: from Kyoto to Paris (Executive Summary). http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/ChancelPiketty2015.pdf)
• Gudynas, E., 2012. Is doughnut economics too Western? Critique from a Latin American environmentalist [WWW Document]. Policy & Practice. URL http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/blog/2012/02/is-doughnut-economics-too-western (accessed 11.23.15).

Thursday 19 November, 2015

Literature Review 2: Raj Patel The Value of Nothing

The instructions for the short preparation task for Literature Review 2 are now posted. Submit before class on Wednesday 25th next week.

Lakin & Ernest

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Tue 10 November, 2015

Starting Module 3 with Degrowth

On Wednesday we begin Module 3: Possible (R)evolution(s): Perspectives on Alternative Economies. Our first session is on Degrowth, with Vincent Leigey, organiser of the annual International Degrowth Conference, this year happening in Budapest.

Be sure to read over the literature – some of which Vincent wrote – and start thinking around Degrowth and how it links to the course so far. Vincent is excited to meet you as a class and to have a long discussion with you about Degrowth as a path to a different type of global economy. At least one hour of the session will be left for you to interview him collectively about the topic!

See you then,

Lakin & Ernest

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Monday 9 November, 2015

Welcome To COP21: Here is your Conference Guide. Agenda will be posted at the event.

Access the conference guide at the link above. You will also receive a hard copy at the conference.

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Tuesday 3 November 2015

The make-up task for those who miss Seminar 2

will be posted on the day after seminar 2 as it builds on outcomes from the UN Simulation. We hope this does not cause too much inconveniences.

Ernest & Lakin

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Monday 27 October, 2015

Make-Up Task for those who missed Literature Review 1: Stiglitz

Now availalable at the link above!

Ernest & Lakin

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Saturday 24 October, 2015

Hi, some interesting news paper articles for the session on Monday:

As the Climate Gets Hotter, Will Everyone Work Less?
A new study finds a strong relationship between rising temperatures and stunted economic growth.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/global-warming-productivity/411919/?utm_source=SFFB

Efficiency up, turnover down: Sweden experiments with six-hour working day
A trial of shorter days for nurses at a Gothenburg care home is inspiring others across Scandinavia to cut back, but the cost of improving staff wellbeing is high
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/efficiency-up-turnover-down-sweden-experiments-with-six-hour-working-day

The dilemma of growth: prosperity v economic expansion
Tim Jackson argues that improving prosperity is not at all synonymous with growing the economy
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/22/economic-growth-climate-change-problems-tim-jackson

Jobs, Productivity and the Great Decoupling

See you!

Ernest

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Friday 23 October, 2015

Event with Christian Felber ‘The Economy for the Common Good: An economic model for the future?’

Open Lecture and discussion with Christian Felber (www.christian-felber.at), initiator of the movement The Economy for the Common Good (ECG: www.ecogood.org/en). ECG is a social movement towards an economy for the common good and cooperation instead of profit-orientation and competition. It is actively supported by more than 2000 companies (including Sparda-Bank Munich, the Rhomberg Group and Vaude Outdoor).

In this two hours session Christian Felber outlines the ECG. Part of the ECG is the common good balance sheet  a scoreboard to show companies contributions to human dignity, solidarity and economic sustainability. But is it an success? How does it work? How do stakeholders react to it? Why is it implemented? Is it a model for the future economy? All of that and a lot more can be discussed with Christian Felber in the second hour of the session.

Christian Felber is an internationally renowned speaker, contemporary dancer, lecturer at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and author of several bestsellers including: “50 Suggestions for a Fairer World”, “New Values for the Economy”, “Let’s save the Euro!”, “Change Everything: Creating an economy for the common good.” and “Money. The new rules of the game”. Christian also initiated the project “Bank for the Common Good”.

An interesting Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/values-led-business-morals-economy-common-good

This event is a collaboration between CEMUS (www.cemus.se) and TIGE (http://www.iofc.org/trust-and-integrity-global-economy).

Place: Hörsal Sydney Alrutz (13:026), plan 0, Blåsenhus, Kraemers Allé 1, Uppsala (http://www.blasenhus.uu.se/om-blasenhus/besok/hitta_har)

Time: 14:00 to 16:00, Monday, November 16th, 2015

For registration please enter your mail address and name here: http://goo.gl/forms/iM6fpnpUUt

Related events: https://www.facebook.com/events/1635695420019809/

See you!

Lakin & Ernest

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Monday 19 October, 2015

Literature Review in next Monday’s session

The Preparation Task for the literature review on Monday is now available at the link above. Please read the instructions and submit it to Studentportalen at least one day before the class.

Next Monday will be a session entitled “Sustainable Work in the Global Economy” focused on the theory and reality of work itself and its role in the economy (what is work anyway?) In the second half of the session we will have our literature review of Joseph Stiglitz book.

See you Wednesday,

Lakin & Ernest

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Thursday 19 October, 2015

Interesting additional material on our guest lecturers this week

Addition to the debate on valuing nature

Here a worthwhile addition to our debate on pricing nature.: an engaged discussion between Clive Spash and Tony Juni on Valuing and Pricing Nature, both experts on that topic:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n31w4

It starts at minute 10.

Enjoy it!

Ernest & Lakin

Thursday 15 October, 2015

Assignment 2 Instructions Posted

Instructions available now at the link above. With the United Nations Climate Conference (COP21) coming in December Paris, and climate change’s potentially massive consequences for the Global Economy, we now have the challenge of making policy in UN style.

Thu 15 October, 2015

First Debate

Thank you once to the debate teams for the great and well-prepared debates yesterday. For those who haven’t seen it, there will be a workshop on making arguments tonight, offered by the Uppsala Debate club (Bellow you find the full event description). Here the link to the Facebook event. They meet at .30 at Utrikespolitiska föreningen i Uppsala (Ekonomikum, Kyrkogårdsgatan 10 E, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden).

Ernest & Lakin

https://www.facebook.com/events/561728083981012/

Wed 14 October, 2015

Debate 1 Tomorrow

For organizational reasons we decided to have only two debate groups tomorrow. Therefore we will have no debate on Economic Growth. The members of this group have been divided up to the groups of Wed, Nov 18. Please check your group members again (see updated “The Debate Series – Your Team” at the bottom), so that you do not miss out anyone.

Thank you.

Lakin & Ernest

Wed 7 October, 2015

Debate 1 Next Week

Next week is Debate 1. The Chairperson who will be running the debates is Marret Bähr. She is the former Chair of the Uppsala University Debate Club, and a former student of The Global Economy in 2014. She will introduce us to the essence of debating and manage the debates in the traditional British Parliamentary Style format. (See The Rules of the Game).

Half the class will debate and half will be in the audience (vice-versa in Debate 2). The audience decides the outcome of the debates by vote, and has question time after each debate. Get ready for some serious arguments!

Lakin & Ernest

Wed 1 October, 2015

Your Debate Team

Check under Assignment & Instructions your Debate Team and the detailed Rules of the Game. We added the E-Mail addresses of most of you to the list so that you can get in touch easily. Those whose E-Mail is not in the list, please send us an E-Mail, so that we can add it.

There are a few people who do not have an Debate Team yet (see list). Please contact us ASAP via E-Mail so that we can assign you a debate group. 

Please contact your teammates as soon as possible and start to prepare for one of the most fun sessions of Course!

Ernest and Lakin

Wed 01 October, 2015

Watch Inside Job on the Big Screen together, this Sunday 4 October

‘Inside Job’, a film that investigates how the 2008 global financial crisis went down, will be screened for us in the Global Economy Course at ROOM: Hamburgsalen, Geocentrum, on Sunday 4th Oct at 7:30pm.

You need to watch it before Monday’s class. The film won the Academy award for best documentary and is Narrated by Matt Damon. Bring any snacks/drinks if you wish. We will provide some popcorn.

If you cannot come Sunday you will need to watch the film before Monday 5th October. We recommend those who have seen it already re-watch it so it’s fresh in your mind. On the 5th we will discuss the film, look into the 2008 financial crisis, and use parts of the film for some interactive Systems Games during the class. This will also provide a good basis for getting into the upcoming Guest Lectures on Financial Systems and Economic Crisis from Erik Anderson and Joakim Palme.

If anyone needs an online link to watch it at home (but in worse quality(, check the link on the list here. Or find it elswhere, e.g. Netflix or other.

See you there!

23 September, 2015

Exam, Seminar 1, 30 September

Hi everyone. A few notes on the exam based on our discussion at the end of last session, and questions we have been receiving from you.

1. This short exam happens in the first part of Seminar 1, September 30th.
2. The exam will be approximately 16 questions, and you will have 30 minutes to complete it.
3. The questions will be both multiple choice (choose A,B,C or D) , and ‘short answer’ (requiring a few sentences).
4. The  exam questions will cover the material in the Course Reader, for Module 1, and the lectures and workshops so far.
5. The exam will not specifically cover material in the course books books ‘Economix’ or ‘Making Globalisation Work’.
6. You do not have to write or prepare for anything else in Seminar 1.

Ernest & Lakin

 21 September, 2015

Book Reading Timeline and Compendium of selected video content

These documents are now available on this page under the heading ‘Literature’. The Book Reading Timeline guide you on which books to focus on and when, and the infamous Compendium is a selection of quality video content organised so you can watch as you please.  Enjoy!

Lakin

 16 September, 2015

Bring your notebook computer to today’s lecture, Wed Sep 16th

We will use a few online tools in groups so we highly recommend taking your notebook computer, if you have one. If you do not, you will still be able to participate!

Lakin

15 September, 2015

Writing Assignment 1: The Economic Naturalist

Hi everyone, you will now find the instructions for this assignment are available at the link above on this page. The deadline is October 2, and we will discuss it in class tomorrow.

Ernest & Lakin

3 September, 2015

Course Readers and Monday’s Lecture

Hi everyone, thanks for an exciting first session.

There is a fair amount of literature to cover for next week’s Monday lecture in the Course Reader, and Ch1 from the course book Economix. This reading will make a huge difference in your experience of the lecture and is essential for the next parts of the course, and assessment.

If you still need to buy a Course Reader, we will be in our office at CEMUS tomorrow, Friday between 11:00-15:00.

There are also copies of the Course Reader and Economix available for reading in the CEMUS library.

See you Monday in front of Carolina Rediviva at 17:00 Sharp!

The journey begins.

Ernest & Lakin

20 August, 2015

Hi new students of The Global Economy

You will now find a list and information about the required course literature here on the course page.

Links are included for ordering the books on www.bokus.se, along with suggestions of other Swedish online and local booksellers you may choose. We recommend you order them as soon as possible, if you purchase the books.

You will also find some a comprehensive document covering course information & practical details here on the page, listed under ‘Schedule and Course Info’.

Any questions, email gek@csduppsala.uu.se
We look forward to meeting you,

Lakin and Ernest

Documentary by former Global Economy Course Coordinator Ingrid M. Rieser

• Course info from previous years