Winter 2010 Prof. Mary C. King, kingm@pdx.edu
EC 410/510 241-N Cramer Hall, 725-3940
T/Th 12-1:50 Office Hours: T/TH 2-3:30
Portland State University And by Appointment
EC 410/510: The Political Economy of Mexican Migration – Syllabus Outline
More than ten percent of the population of Mexico is estimated to live in the U.S. This course is designed to provide an economic understanding of this phenomenon, by investigating economic analyses of migration, development, poverty, inequality and wage determination; with particular attention to the economic situation in the U.S. and Mexico, and the economic relations between the two nations.
This course is in the process of obtaining a regular PSU number, which will be EC 466/566, and so can be counted as a course numbered above 410 for economics majors and minors, with a waiver from the Chair of the Department. I understand that it is also being accepted for credit in the Latin American Studies Cluster, but I have not yet formalized that process.
Each student will be expected to read the assigned material, participate in classroom discussions and to complete the assignments described below. Students’ analyses and experiences will constitute an important part of the course; ideally, we’ll work together to reconcile the readings with our own understandings of the economic situation of Mexicans and Americans of different sexes, ages, ethnicities and class backgrounds.
Grades for undergraduates and graduate students will be based
* 35% on short written responses to the reading assignment, due each Thursday in class,
* 35% on a fifteen-page term paper, for which I will pass out guidelines,
* 15% on an oral presentation of your term paper, and
* 15% on class participation.
Additionally, I will expect graduate students to demonstrate some leadership in the classroom as well as to produce written work that reflects a more in-depth engagement with the topic and more developed academic skills.
Regular attendance is vital for understanding the material and for the success of the course; therefore attendance will be noted and considered while grading class participation. If you need to bring your child (or children) along with you to attend class, by all means do so. We can all manage to deal with a little child noise. All assignments are due on the dates announced and late work will be marked down. However you are always better off to turn an assignment in than to skip it.
I will be available by appointment as well as during regularly scheduled office hours to consult on coursework, as well as to discuss course material in greater depth than may be possible in class. I am happy to talk with you via e-mail, but will not accept your assignments by e-mail, except in an emergency.
University policy calls for severe sanctions for plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty. While I encourage you to discuss your assignments with other people, the final product must be your own, containing full citations to any work upon which you draw, including course material.
Students with disabilities will be accommodated. If you require assistance obtaining particular resources for your education, please see me.
Required Reading:
Four books are available for purchase at the PSU Bookstore. These two are required reading, and the fourth is an optional reference.
Judith Adler Hellman. 2008. The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place. New York: The New Press.
Jorge G. Castañeda. 2007. Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants. New York: The New Press.
These two are more challenging, and I am still deciding which sections of them I will be assigning to you. I would suggest that you DO NOT buy these until I have the final version of the syllabus.
Kevin Middlebrook and Eduardo Zepeda. 2003. Confronting Development: Assessing Mexico’s Economic and Social Policy Changes. Stanford University Press.
Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid and Jaime Ros. 2009. Development and Growth in the Mexican Economy: A Historical Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Course Outline
Please be prepared to discuss these readings on the dates noted.
1/5 NO CLASS – Sorry! I will be at the ASSA Conference.
I. Introduction
1/7 Introduction to the Class, Each Other and the Topic—some statistics from
Rakesh Kochhar. 2005. “Survey of Mexican Migrants, Part Three: The Economic Transition to America.” Washington, D.C.: Pew Hispanic Center
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=58
Mary C. King and W. Webb Sprague Jr. 2009. “A Statistical Portrait of Oregon’s Mexican-born Population” Portland State University Population Research Center Working Paper (DRAFT)
1/12 Hellman, Part I and II
1/14 Hellman, Part III and IV
II. Economic Theory of Migration
1/19 Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Robert S. Smith. 2006. Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy. Boston: Addison Wesley, pp. 323-343.
Oded Stark and David E. Bloom. “The New Economics of Labor Migration.” American Economic Review 75 (2): 173-178.
Recommended:
Todaro, section on Migration and Development, pp. 335-348, on domestic migration
III. The Mexican Economy
history of economic policy and outcomes
Mexican labor market
Poverty, inequality and government programs
Women in the economy
Impact of migration and remittances
IV. Mexicans in the U.S. Labor Market
V. Immigration Policy in the United States
VI. Wrap Up
3/18 Final Paper Due 10:15 am in my mailbox