OAGR 2190 - Risks in Modern Social Contracts in the Americas

***NEW COURSE***

After many decades of neglect, the concept of “social contract” has reappeared with new vigor. It highlights a fruitful framework in which citizens are endowed with mutual rights and duties. Some of them are enshrined in written law, some in social norms. This framework allows to think of proper institutions that may handle complex interactions between autonomous individuals, organized civil society and the state. Among the many challenges that countries in the Americas face, the course will seek to identify risks to the stability of their social contracts. The topics to discuss will include structural inequalities and vulnerabilities, social rights provision, the sustainability of the growth process and inefficient governance structures.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Identify and distinguish risks to social contracts from simple political tensions

2. Understand the role of social protection in modern American countries

3. Evaluate alternative reforms to governance systems in American countries

4. Justify the need to foster growth and protect the environment and communities

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

- Deep understanding of the needs of American social contracts in their unique characteristics.

- Capacity to use and understand a multidisciplinary language without losing precision nor depth in the analysis.

- Intellectual curiosity as a means to complement the elements provided by the environment in which the person is immersed but which never cover all the dimensions of the problems.

Guillermo LARRAIN
Séminaire
English
• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

• Online learning activities: insignificant

• Reading and Preparation for Class: 4 hours a week minimum

• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 2 hours a week on average.

• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 4 hours the assessment week.

While there are no strict prerequisites, students with strong background in economics, sociology and political science will probably benefit the more from the course. Knowledge of the Americas context is very useful.

Spring 2024-2025
Starting in session 4, each session will be introduced by a paper presented by a group of students sorted in session 1. In addition, there will be an essay to be written in groups of two people. Validation of the essay is composed of three parts: selection and justification of the topic, submission of the written piece and a presentation to the class in the last session. I do also give some extra credit to students which excel discussing the course's topics during the semester.

a) Date to be chosen, 10% paper presentation
b) February 5, 10% : selection and justification of topic for research
c) February 12, 15%: choose and summarize two papers (300 words at the most for each paper) that you think are the most useful for understanding the chosen topic
d) March 5, 30% : Written essay
e) March 12, 35%: Oral presentation

a), b) and c) feedback is immediate or within the day. The feedback on the essay will be send back to students over the weekend ending on March 9. The oral presentation will be evaluated during the day.

1. Binmore, K. (1994), Playing Fair. Game Theory and the Social Contract, chapter 1, pp. 1-63
2. Campos, Engel, Fischer and Galetovic (2021), The Ways of Corruption in Infrastructure: Lessons from the Odebrecht Case, Journal of Economic Perspectives, pg 171-190
3. Dasgupta, P (2022) The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review. Abridged Version. (London: HM Treasury
4. Larraín, G., Negretto, G. y Voigt, S. 2023. How Not to Write a Constitution: Lessons from Chile. Public Choice 194, 233-247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-023-01046-z.
5. Atria, Fernando; Larrain, Guillermo; Benavente, José Miguel; Couso, Javier y Alfredo Joignant (2013), El Otro Modelo. Del orden neoliberal al régimen de lo público, Editorial Debate
6. Larrain, Guillermo (2021), La estabilidad del contrato social en Chile, Fondo de Cultura Económica