World Economy 1

Syllabus

1. Introduction to the World Economy. Theoretical basis of the course. Explanation of the basic concepts – international economics, world economy and its main actors, economic complex and its features. A brief overview of historical development of the world economy. 2. Structure and current trends of the World Economy. The structure of the world economy – advanced economies and developing countries, their internal differentiation. The largest economies in the world. Identification of current trends and problems in the development of the world economy. 3. Global financial and economic crisis 2008/09 – reasons and implications. Causes of the outbreak, course, and consequences of the 2008/09 global financial and economic crisis. Government measures aimed at combating the crisis. 4. The Slovak Republic in the World Economy. Position and the way of involving Slovakia in international economic relations (foreign trade and investment). Economic development of the Slovak Republic since 1993. Development of the national competitiveness of Slovak economy. 5. Natural resources in the World Economy. Definition and classification of natural resources. Sources of energy in the global economy – their importance, origin, price formation and consumption. Renewable sources of energy. Reserves and utilization of metallic minerals. 6. Population in the World Economy. Historical development of the world population. The size, territorial distribution and trends of the current world population. Human capital, differences in quality of life and Human Development Index. Demographic policy and selected demographic problems (aging population, disease, growing urbanization, etc.). 7. Financial resources in the World Economy. Definition and meaning of financial resources. Creation and distribution of financial resources in the world economy. International movement of capital. International financial markets. 8. Global agriculture. Introduction to the sectoral structure of the world economy. The current state, geographical specifics and problems of global agricultural production. World trade in agricultural commodities – territorial and commodity structure, price formation, the most important actors, and the most traded commodities. Prospects for global agriculture. 9. Global industry. A brief history of world industrial production. Heavy and light industry in the world economy – territorial distribution and the most important actors. Prevailing trends in global industry (foreign outsourcing, concentration of production, etc.). 10. Services in the World Economy. Services – definition, classification and theoretical approaches in economics. Factor and non-factor services. Major trends in the provision of global services. World trade in commercial services – liberalization tendencies, forms of provision, most traded services and main actors. 11. Globalization of the World Economy. Definitions, theoretical approaches and types (aspects) of globalization. The waves of globalization. Measurability of globalization. Globalization processes. Transnational corporations as major actors in economic globalization. The impact of globalization on the global economy – positive and negative consequences. 12. Regional integration groupings in the World Economy. The essence, reasons and motives for international economic integration. Degrees of international economic integration. Regionalism. The most important regional integration groupings in the world economy. Position of the European Union in the global economy. 13. The future of the World Economy. Long-term trends in the development of the world economy. Alternative scenarios of the global economy development. The future of advanced and developing countries. New global actors in the world economy – emerging markets.