Aug 2008 Prelim Q's

SECD Prelim August 2008

Morning exam

I. Answer one of the following:

a). In his article “Globalization in World Systems Perspective,” Giovanni Arrighi writes:
“The dispersal of manufacturing across the north-south divide isindisputable…. Nevertheless this industrial convergence between north and south has not resulted in any reduction of the income gap between the two formations.” Arrighi points to the decreasing effectiveness of industrialization as a means in the pursuit of national wealth, but other recent theoretical discussions offer differing explanations of this paradox. Drawing on specific books and authors, discuss at least three different explanations for this apparent paradox (note that these explanations need not be mutually exclusive).

b) In the early 1980s, the emergence of ‘newly-industrialized countries’ seemed to offer evidence that many development theories might have been overly pessimistic in their assumption that the dynamics of the world system persistently ‘underdeveloped’ former colonies. Over the next twenty years, in ensuing debates about precisely how those NICs (mainly in East Asia) had industrialized, theoretical disagreements focused on the role of the state: proponents of economic liberalization argued that East Asian NICs had ‘gotten prices right’, while other theorists insisted that states had played a crucial developmental role.
Discuss at least three different analyses of ‘developmental states’, discussing the theoretical assumptions, empirical evidence, and theoretical arguments offered by each author. Locate each work within the broader literature, showing how each author’s argument relates to other theoretical perspectives. Finally, for each author you discuss, describe the implications for current policy debates in developing countries today, in light of dramatic changes in global context.

II. Answer one of the following:

c) Although analysts point out that ‘globalization’ is a rather vague phrase, many recent discussions focus especially on financialization. How have global financial patterns changed in the past thirty years? How have different analysts explained these changes, and what are their implications for developing countries? In your answer, be sure to discuss specific authors and their arguments, locating these texts within the broader literature on development and the global economy.

d) A number of sociologists (Friedmann on food, Seidman or Brooks on labor, Bartley on the environment and labor, many authors on intellectual property) have recently tackled the issue of the effectiveness of private forms of global regulation. While some see the development of these new private or mixed forms of standard-setting, codes of conduct and rules as an effective and flexible way to generate new mechanisms of global governance, others are more skeptical of their transparency, accountability and relationship to democratic process. Choose an area of private global regulation and construct an argument about why it has become so visible, and about its effectiveness.

III. Answer one of the following:

e) Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart, in their book Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008) identify between forty and sixty "failed" or nearly-failed states with serious "sovereignty gaps." They compare "failed states" such as Nepal, Sudan, and Afghanistan with successful
states such as Singapore and Ireland and identify ten "functions of the state" the measurement of which would identify the extent and nature of that nation's "sovereignty gap" and facilitate the coordination of international, national, and local efforts to reduce that nation's "sovereignty gap." Four of the "functions of the state" are: (i) rule of law, (ii) a monopoly on the legitimate means of violence, (iii) investment in human capital, and (iv) formation of a market.
Drawing on information from any two nations you identify as "failed" or nearly-failed, (a) identify the methodological problems associated with measuring the four "functions of the state" in those two nations, and (b) identify the operational problems associated with focusing and coordinating international, national, and local development efforts
based on those two nations' "sovereignty gaps."

f) Over the past few months, rising food prices have prompted many observers tp focus on trends already noted by academic observers: the impact of expanding ‘non-traditional agricultural exports’ on developing countries’ economies and societies. What trends are widely agreed-upon, and what trends are debated in the literature? What role does regional variation play in these trends?
Drawing on at least five different authors, discuss the new global market for agricultural goods; the pressures that have prompted many developing countries to promote non-traditional agricultural exports; the impact of new agricultural export on farming patterns in many countries, including the impact on income, environment, and labor patterns. In your answer, you might want to contrast studies that conclude that these shifts are positive, with studies that view this shift as negative, underlining how different theoretical perspectives might emphasize different aspects of the shift.


IV. Answer one of the following:

g) Recent discussions of transnational social movements frequently refer to changing global norms, but these discussions often obscure the processes through which norms change or spread. Some analysts emphasize a kind of cultural diffusion process, while others stress the way activists coming home from global conferences or funded by global NGOs use those resources to support their own goals at home.
Drawing on specific works about recent transnational movements, compare the way different analysts of 'globalization' talk about how global ideas spread, and suggest some of the implications of these approaches for how we understand the globalization of specific kinds
of discourse. Feel free to take this essay in the direction that works best for you; that is, you might want to contrast different approaches to the processes of globalization of ideas and movements (eg, you might want to contrast authors like Boli to Ferguson or Goldman); or you might want to compare work describing a single social movement (eg, an essay discussing how ideas regarding gender equity change might allow you to contrast authors like Karen Brown-Thomson to Sonya Alvarez). Where possible, be sure to indicate where these works fit in the broader literature on transnational social movements.

h) Jeffrey Sachs, in his Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (New York: Penguin, 2008), points to the success of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in increasing dramatically since 2001 the numbers of impoverished Africans receiving antiretroviral AIDS treatment. The Global Fund enabled international public, private, and not-for-private agencies to focus their efforts on a single issue (AIDS) and subsequently generated significant change in the treatment of AIDS in Africa. Drawing on the success of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Jeffrey Sachs calls for the establishment of similar Global Funds focusing on single issues (e.g., Global Education Fund, Global Community Development Fund, etc.) to emulate the initial successful Global Fund model. Critics of Jeffrey Sachs' Global Fund approach argue that it fails to address the complex inter-relatedness of many of these issues.
Drawing on the past history and current situation of two "developing nations" with which you are familiar, describe the pros and cons of adopting Jeffrey Sachs' Global Education Fund approach or his Global Community Development Fund approach in the educational or community development needs of those two countries.

i) Over the past 20 years or so, migrant laborers’ remittances have made up an increasing share of global flows; indeed, remittances are now the single biggest source of foreign exchange for several countries, including the Philippines. How have theoretical discussions of migrant labor and its implications for developing societies changed over the past three decades? Relate this discussion both to changes in theoretical assumptions, and to changes in the pattern of migration. You can focus your essay on two or three specific works; if you prefer to describe shifts in the literature more broadly, be sure to offer examples of works within different schools of thought.