FACULTY
Dr. Ramaa Vasudevan
Assistant Professorramaa.vasudevan@colostate.edu
C321 Clark Building
970.491.6075
970.491.2925 Fax
Teaching Philosophy
My engagement with economics has been guided by Heilbroner's characterization of 'worldly philosophy' as the "informed, critical and passionate investigation of the economic foundations of contemporary society". My attempt as a teacher is to convey both the passion of the subject and rigor of its method, to combine historical method with heterodox, theoretical analysis. I favor a broad interdisciplinary approach and like to expose students to a range of ideas and draw connections to current debates and issues. But I believe that effective pedagogy in economics should focus equally on 'method' - techniques of thinking through a problem logically and consistently. Ultimately for me teaching is about people. I value greatly the new ideas and experiences that each fresh batch of students brings, the ongoing learning process that teaching means for me.
Research
My recent research is focused on the implications of trade and financial flows for uneven development. The central argument of my PhD dissertation is that financial fragility in the emerging markets is critical to the mechanism by which the US economy sustains its growing deficit and debt burden. I am exploring ideas on the historical workings of the international monetary system, and the real -financial linkages that are underlie adjustment and stability in the international monetary system. In particular, I am interested in understanding the specific processes of financial integration through empirical country studies. This is part of my broader research agenda on the different ways in which integration with global markets shapes the developmental trajectory of countries in the developing world.
My earlier research, in India studied the evolution of labor markets in the colonial agrarian economy. I intend to return to studying labor markets, but with a focus on the impact of globalization on work in the industrial and services sector with an explicit focus on the gender dimensions of labor markets.
Papers and Publications
“Core-Periphery Asymmetry, Triangular Adjustment Patterns and the Export of Fragility: A Stock-Flow Consistent Model” in Globalization and Development: A Handbook of New Perspectives (ed) A. Deshpande, Oxford University Press. 2007.
“Finance, Imperialism and the Hegemony of the Dollar”, Invited article, Monthly Review April 2008
“The Borrower of Last Resort: International Adjustment and Liquidity in Historical Perspective”, forthcoming Journal of Economic Issues.
“Financial Intermediation and Fragility: The Role of the Periphery”, forthcoming International Review of Applied Economics
“From the Gold Standard to the Floating Dollar Standard: An appraisal in the light of Marx’s theory of money”, forthcoming
“Terms of Trade, Competitive Advantage and Trade Patterns”, Working Paper.
“The Floating Dollar Standard: Financialization and the role of credit money in international settlements”, Working Paper.
Book Reviews
“Accumulation by Dispossession in India”, Economic and Political Weekly 2008 43(11)
“Debt, Hegemony and Globalization”, Economic and Political Weekly 2006 41(8).