Econ 1

Question 2 - Sen and Development as Capability Expansion

What is Sen’s main argument for a broad conception of ‘development’?

Question 3 - Galbraith (Chapter 7)

How does Galbraith represent the case for ‘Inequality’ in societies? Also, try to find some data on how the perception and reception of inequality have changed in the US over the last decades.

Question 4 - Galbraith (Chapter 8)

How can companies reduce the insecurity they face from their economic environment? What have other agents in society done to reduce economic insecurity?

Question 5 - Galbraith (Chapters 10 and 11)

What is the main argument that Galbraith offers against the importance of urgency of wants and want-satisfaction for individual behavior?

Question 6 - Galbraith (Chapter 13)

Discuss one of the problems, or dangers, of an economy resting on the creation of wants in consumers.

Question 7 - Galbraith (Chapter 17)

Why is a balance between private and public goods a necessity, according to Galbraith?

Question 8 - Veblen (Chapter 4)

What does ‘conspicuous consumption’ mean? How have signals for wealth changed over time?

Question 9 - Polanyi (Chapter 6)

What distinguishes the three types of ‘fictitious commodities’ from regular commodities?

Question 10 - Polanyi (Chapter 11)

Which dynamic does Polanyi describe between changes in the economic arena and political developments?

Question 11 - Sweezy (Chapters 4 and 5)

Summarize the key components of Marx’s understanding of a capitalist economy, as presented by Sweezy in Chapters 4 and 5 of ‘The Theory of Capitalist Development’.

Question 12 - Sweezy (Chapters 8 and 10)

Why are crises a normal part of capitalist systems, if we follow the exposition of Sweezy in Chapters 8 and 10 of ‘The Theory of Capitalist Development’?

Question 13 - Minsky

How does activity in financial markets carry the seed of de-stabilizing these markets, according to Minsky?