10929 The Political Economy of Israel 1

Credits: 6 advanced credits in Political Science

Prerequisites: 36 credits, including Government and Politics in Israel. Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.

Recommended: Democracies and Dictatorships: Comparative Politics,2 Introduction to the Social Sciences

Author: Ofer Arian

At the basis of political economy is the attempt to answer the following key questions: what is the role of government in the economy?, what should be the role of government?, and to what extent does the way the government functions benefit the national economy?

The course presents both economic and political insights that enable a comprehensive examination of these fundamental, multi-faceted and extremely significant questions, even for those without prior background in economics. The course deals with political economics from the standpoint of international trade and ways to organize it – international trade agreements on the national level, cartels, monopolies, and the international money market (for example, exchange).

The study of political economics crosses the limits of economic research and of political research. Its objectives are to provide students with an in-depth acquaintance with central issues in the study of political economics in democratic societies, and to present the social, economic and political problems of the State of Israel through political economics.


1Students may write a seminar paper in this course, although it is not required.

2or Democracies and Dictatorships: Ideas, Contexts, Regimes (10660, 3 cr.) which is no longer offered.