Welcome to the MOOC Economics from a pluralist perspective. >> Welcome to this unique course, which goes well beyond any standard introductory economics course. >> I'm glad to see you in this MOOC. I'm Irene van Staveren, professor of Pluralist Development Economics. At the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam. I studied economics because I wanted to help solving poverty and unemployment. But lots of what I learned was not about that. I learned a lot of mathematics to construct models of how ideal markets function or could be made to function in theory. I also learned many mathematically expressed tools that help explain the behavior of firms and consumers in an ideal market. It was only in the courses on labor economics and development economics that I learned about the real world economy. And that is what kept me going. And what led me to discover an enormous wealth of economic ideas and theories and methods and policy methods. By self study, beyond the mainstream of what I was taught. >> Hello, I'm Rob van Tulder. I'm a professor of International Business Society Management at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University. I studied Development Economics and Political Sciences a long time ago. In 1997, I founded the Department of Business Society Management at the Rotterdam School of Management. This is, nowadays, one of the leading departments in the world focusing on firms and sustainability. I learned in my research that the real world economy can best be considered as a bargaining arena. In which actors from various societal spheres interact. In this interaction, we see a lot of artificial binary trade offs. Between state and market, between public and private, or between profit and non profit. I learned that only by understanding the complexity of the interaction between societal actors. I can come up with solid approaches to address present day societal problems. This requires a very diverse toolbox of approaches, theories, and methods. Not one size fits all, neither one theory or one method for that matter. This principle is also known as societal triangulation. I will add an actor perspective to the four economic approaches that formed the core of this cause. How will I do this? You will discover this during this MOOC. After this MOOC, you will be able to discover, right away, that there exists a diversity of approaches in economics. To understand four key economic theories, and their perspectives on economic behavior, and economic processes. And to develop skills in applying some key concepts to a wide variety of economic problems. Some, with very basic mathematics, others, using qualitative methods. The four theories in this course are presented in every topic from broad to narrow. Social economics, institutional economics, post Keynesian economics, neoclassical economics. We will use a symbol for each theory. And we will show that symbol every time we will explain a topic from that particular theoretical perspective. The circular arrows refer to the principle of circle localization of social economics. The big arrow refers to institutional economics in which behavior is understood to be guided by institutions in a particular direction. And the cyclical movement refers to post Keynesian economics, which is all about dynamics. And a balancing scale refers to the idea of market equilibrium of neoclassical economics. >> In this course I will perform the role of your pop up professor. I will show you that there are three complimentary societal actor angles. From which economic processes can be additionally approached. The state with state agencies, markets with firms, communities or civil society with community actors. I will on a regular basis stimulate you to think on the economic challenges. In terms of the actors and the organizations that are involved. What would their prospective be and how would they organize it? Where necessary I will introduce cases and short insights as well as suggestions for further readings that you might want to consult. >> Let me now introduced to you Maria Dafnomili. She's a student in our university but lives and work in Athens. She has two roles in the course. First she will help you in case you've any questions. And second, she will ask questions from a student perspective in the tutorial videos. And since Maria lives in Greece, she participates in this course online, just like you. >> Thank you, Elena. Hello, I'm Maria Dafnomili and I'm a PhD student doing research on financial crisis. I'm excited about this course because it is not the standard course in microeconomics or macroeconomics. I wish I had learned economics in this way. But I do have a question, an introductory course with four theories? It sounds a little bit complex. How is this complexity handled in the course? >> It's a good question, Maria. The answer is that we will not go in depth into mathematical tools and economic models. Instead, the course will explain the four theoretical approaches from a real life perspective on the economy. As the interaction within or between three domains, the market, the state, and communities. Rob, would you perhaps like to elaborate our approach? >> Yes indeed Maria. We start from the three economic domains. In markets, the exchange is between firms on the supply side and consumers on the demand side. Firms are supposed to compete with each other in the interest of consumers. In the state rules are created by political processes and enforced by state agencies. For example, a central bank or consumer authority, ensuring quality and choice. And for instance, preventing abuse of market power by big firms. Finally, in communities the actors can be individuals as well as social groups. Such as labor unions and civil society organizations such as Doctors without Borders or Greenpeace. >> So, every economy consists of these three domains and their actors. So the economy is more than only the market. Also the state has an economic role. And even communities, with their [INAUDIBLE] work coordination and [INAUDIBLE]. >> Yes. Indeed, this is the case for every economy. But the balance between the three domains differs from country to country. So we have three economic domains, market, states, and communities. And we have three types of actors, firms, states, and community organizations. Each of these domains create different types of value. Communities create social value, states create public value, and markets and firms create private value. In the end, economics is a social science. Whether different types of value are actually created depends on how these sectors are organized. How they are regulated, and how they interact. Sources of failure but also the source of innovation and change can be attributed to the way these organizations interact. At the local, the national, and the international level. I will add this organizational perspective to the fundamental insights that you gain from the pluralist approach to economics. As laid down in this MOOC. >> Thank you very much Rob for this explanation, this is very clear now. So the course presents economics at an introductory level, gives a broad overview of the four theories. And makes it all doable with the real world perspective of economic behavior in markets, the states, and communities. >> It was very nice to have you on Skype here in the studio, Maria. Goodbye for now. >> Goodbye. >> Now, we will wrap up the basics of the course as just explained by Rob. We see the economy is consisting of the market, the state, and communities. >> And each domain has its key actors, firms, state agencies, and community actors And finally we recognize that the domains and actors are related, because they interact with each other. >> This concludes the introduction to the course. We very much look forward to working with you. In the next video I will discuss economics as a science. It addresses questions such as, is economics really a science? What are the assumptions about human behavior? Are we all assumed to be after our own interest or money? Or are we also concerned with social interaction and moral values? Curious? Watch the next video.
