California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
CLS 452, Summer 2002
Dr. Jose M. Vadi
Political Economy & Business Practices in Cuba
This course examines the parameters within which business is conducted in the socialist economy of Cuba as Cuba opens its economy to foreign investment. Since it is unlawful for American businesses to operate in Cuba, the experience of other foreign investors will illustrate how businesses gain access to the Cuban economy, patterns of regulation by the government of Cuba, patterns of risk in investing in Cuba, etc. Moreover, the course examines the broader and changing context of the Cuban economy revolving around issues such as the “dollarization” of the Cuban economy, and the creation of an economic space for private business in Cuba in the wake of the demise of the Soviet Union.
Each student is required to read the following online and off line sources and to write an integrative essay covering:
-A summary of each piece assigned.
-What you have learned about the overall Cuban economy based on these readings.
-What are the opportunities and pitfalls of investing in Cuba?
-How does the reading square with your own experiences, lectures, and travels in Cuba?
-What direction do you think the Cuban economy will take over the course of the next
decade?
-Should the United States allow business investment and trade with Cuba? What would
you advise businesses operating in the business environment of Cuba?
Online Readings-
Jorge
F. Pérez-López & MatiasF. Travieso-Diaz, “ The Contribution of BITS to
Cuba’s
John
W. Buscariol, “An Anatomy of A Cuban Pyjama Crisis: Reconsidering Legislation
in
Response to Extraterritorial Trade Measures of the United States”
Maria
C. Werlau, Foreign Investment in Cuba: The Limits of Commercial Engagement”
John
M. Kirk; Julia Sagebien, “Cuba Libre: Blending Tropical Socialism and Market
Across
the Board, “ Cuba: Is American Business Missing Out? Sí: A Bright Future”
Thomas
J. Whalen, David G. Schryer, & David F. Rifkind, “Political Barriers”
Pedro Monreal, “Sea Changes: The New Cuban Economy,” NACLA Report on the Americas, March/April 1999.Donna Rich Klapowitz, “The Cuban Market Opportunities and Barriers”
Archibald R.M. Ritter, “Cuba: From ‘Dollarization’ to ‘Euroisation’ or ‘Peso Reconsolidation”? Latin American Politics and Society, Volume 44, No. 2, Summer 2002.
Dick Parker, “The Cuban Revolution, Resilience and Uncertainty,” NACLA Report on the Americas, March/April 1999
Rafael, Hernandez, “Frozen Relations: Washington and Cuba After the Cold War,” NACLA Report on the Americas,
January/February 2002