Sunder Ramaswamy
Office
Munroe Hall 121
Tel
(802) 443-5442
Email
Sunder.Ramaswamy@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Tuesdays and Fridays 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Fridays; or by appointment.
Additional Programs
Economics International Politics and Economics South Asian Studies Minor

Courses Taught

Course Description

Introductory Microeconomics
An introduction to the analysis of such microeconomic problems as price formation (the forces behind demand and supply), market structures from competitive to oligopolistic, distribution of income, and public policy options bearing on these problems. 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2023

Requirements

SOC

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Course Description

International Trade
Since March 2020 when the world economies went into cascading lockdowns, global trade has been severely impacted. As the global economy slowly opens up, we will answer some age old and some new questions - First, what factors determine flow of international goods and services? Second, how are the gains and losses from international trade distributed amongst nations? Do all benefit, or are some countries made better off at the expense of others? Third, how does trade affect the internal allocation of resources and distribution of income within a country? Fourth, why do national governments try and influence or control international trade flows? Finally, how does international trade affect the low- and middle-income countries in today's global economy especially in the post Covid world? (ECON 0255 or ECON 0344 or IPEC 0240 [formerly ECON 0240]) 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Spring 2022, Spring 2023

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Course Description

Great Ideas in Economics
The current 4th industrial revolution is changing lives in mundane and profound ways. The set of cooperative and competing interactions among humans, machines, and nature will shape lives in ways that we have just begun to comprehend. There has been “production, buying, selling, and trading” of goods and services since time immemorial –- why then does the formal study of “economics” as a discipline start only from around the 17th century with the onset of the 1st Industrial Revolution? This course introduces students to our most influential economists, their ideas, and their impact upon economics, policy, and intellectual history. We will engage in serious thinking, writing, and discussion about the great economics questions of our age. 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2021

Requirements

CW, SOC

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Course Description

Political Economy of Contemporary India
Seventy-five years since independence from the British, and three decades since the launch of the most ambitious set of economic reforms, India has changed dramatically over the years; but what does all this change really mean for the lives of ordinary citizens? This course will explore the political economy context of India’s development, and in particular, the changing texture of democracy, economic transition from the state to the market, gender relations, environmental challenges, India's economic globalization, and a changing world view from the time of India's independence to the present. The course will also capture the tensions inherent in such a multifaceted process of change. We will make use of historical texts and visual sources to map out how local and national economic, socio-political and cultural factors interweave with the global movement of people and ideas in the continued evolution of contemporary India.

Terms Taught

Fall 2022

Requirements

HIS, SOA, SOC

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Course Description

Economic Development: Development /as/ Freedom
Much of the world still faces the daily pain of poverty and inequality. Developing countries have to accelerate their growth rates, eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, create productive employment, and address pressing environmental concerns. We will examine the major analytic and policy issues raised by these challenges and study the need for a productive balance between market forces and positive state action. We will pursue this against the backdrop of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen’s path breaking work, “Development as Freedom” and bring in case studies from Asia, Latin America and Africa. We will focus on different development strategies adopted, choice of policy instruments, methods of implementation, all the while asking if development is indeed an integrated process of expansion of substantive human freedoms that connect with one another for a higher purpose. (ECON 150 or ECON 155, or by permission) 3 hrs. lecture and discussion.

Terms Taught

Spring 2022

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Course Description

Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)

Terms Taught

Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2024

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