This blog has been designed for the students of "The Contemporary American Economy" class of the M.A. Program in American Studies at the University of Antwerp.
General content of the class:
After the Second World War it seemed that Western societies were growing more equal. Thanks to the unprecedented economic growth of the 50’s and 60’s Welfare states were gradually being established and in the U.S., Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 30's would guarantee prosperity for all. However, this optimism slowly eroded along the way and had to make place for new economic preoccupations. What happened to government spending, the dollar and the trade deficit? What will happen, if anything, to the predominance of the US economy and its ideological model? Why do some people so badly want healthcare and financial reform? Does America need new economic recipes, or does it need to fall back on the old ones? This course explores the internal and external dynamics of the American market economy in the post-WW II era. We will develop on some core aspects of the contemporary American economy, primarily in a theoretical framework, but always illustrated with current events by using the American economic and financial press as important references. The ideological divide between the so called liberal or left-wing economists and their conservative or right-wing counterparts will guide most of the class discussions.
The purpose of this blog is threefold:
1. It will be updated on a weekly basis with interesting (opinion) articles, reports, figures, video's, etc. about the ongoing socioeconomic debates in the US. This will allow students to gain more practical insights into some of the key economic concepts and reasonings seen in class. It will also provide students with additional arguments and points of view which they will be able to use during the - graded - class discussions and the final exam.
2. I will be communicating the practical issues regarding the CAE class through this blog: readings, presentations, possible exam-type questions, etc.
3. This blog should also be seen as a forum for students. They'll be able to start debates on topics discussed during the lectures, exchange report summaries, post additional materials they find interesting, ask questions, and so on.
General content of the class:
After the Second World War it seemed that Western societies were growing more equal. Thanks to the unprecedented economic growth of the 50’s and 60’s Welfare states were gradually being established and in the U.S., Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 30's would guarantee prosperity for all. However, this optimism slowly eroded along the way and had to make place for new economic preoccupations. What happened to government spending, the dollar and the trade deficit? What will happen, if anything, to the predominance of the US economy and its ideological model? Why do some people so badly want healthcare and financial reform? Does America need new economic recipes, or does it need to fall back on the old ones? This course explores the internal and external dynamics of the American market economy in the post-WW II era. We will develop on some core aspects of the contemporary American economy, primarily in a theoretical framework, but always illustrated with current events by using the American economic and financial press as important references. The ideological divide between the so called liberal or left-wing economists and their conservative or right-wing counterparts will guide most of the class discussions.
The purpose of this blog is threefold:
1. It will be updated on a weekly basis with interesting (opinion) articles, reports, figures, video's, etc. about the ongoing socioeconomic debates in the US. This will allow students to gain more practical insights into some of the key economic concepts and reasonings seen in class. It will also provide students with additional arguments and points of view which they will be able to use during the - graded - class discussions and the final exam.
2. I will be communicating the practical issues regarding the CAE class through this blog: readings, presentations, possible exam-type questions, etc.
3. This blog should also be seen as a forum for students. They'll be able to start debates on topics discussed during the lectures, exchange report summaries, post additional materials they find interesting, ask questions, and so on.
However realistic, and despite the limited number of students, I hope we'll all be sufficiently active on this blog for it to generate - and here comes the first important economic concept - network effects. In economics and business, a network effect (also called network externality) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When network effect is present, the value of a product or service increases as more people use it.
The classic example is the telephone. The more people own telephones, the more valuable the telephone is to each owner. This creates a positive externality because a user may purchase their phone without intending to create value for other users, but does so in any case. Online social networks work in the same way, with sites like Twitter and Facebook being more useful the more users join.
The expression "network effect" is applied most commonly to positive network externalities as in the case of the telephone. Negative network externalities can also occur, where more users make a product less valuable, but are more commonly referred to as "congestion" (as in traffic congestion or network congestion).
Over time, positive network effects can create a bandwagon effect as the network becomes more valuable and more people join, in a positive feedback loop.
The classic example is the telephone. The more people own telephones, the more valuable the telephone is to each owner. This creates a positive externality because a user may purchase their phone without intending to create value for other users, but does so in any case. Online social networks work in the same way, with sites like Twitter and Facebook being more useful the more users join.
The expression "network effect" is applied most commonly to positive network externalities as in the case of the telephone. Negative network externalities can also occur, where more users make a product less valuable, but are more commonly referred to as "congestion" (as in traffic congestion or network congestion).
Over time, positive network effects can create a bandwagon effect as the network becomes more valuable and more people join, in a positive feedback loop.
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