Module manager: Dr Thomas Da Costa Vieira
Email: t.p.dacostavieira@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as an Elective
Capitalism in Practice looks at some of the essential transnational economic sectors and firms, and how they shape the global political economy. This course’s unique characteristic is that it uses a data-driven approach to look at how transnational firms operate in areas such as the agriculture and food sectors; in pharmaceuticals and healthcare; in international finance; in energy; and more. We will ask ourselves: How do we approach firms and markets and with what theoretical, conceptual and empirical tools? Students will examine how firms and markets have interacted with society and states, regulation, law and governance, in determining social power relations and incomes and profits, and thus life chances and trajectories, the environment, society and the global economy. The module considers sectors, markets and especially transnational firms as key actors to understand the power relations in our society and global economy.
This module is unique in how it uses secondary quantitative and qualitative data, in particular from business analytics databases like ORBIS and Passport – traditionally used in business and management studies – and looks at it through a GPE lens. This is something which GPE students, and GPE researchers, and the field of IPE/GPE as a whole, does not usually do in a systematic way. The goal of the module is thus to use theory and data-driven empirical evidence to shed light on the world of business in ways not enough done in the field of GPE.
As part of the module, students will receive formal training on how to extract qualitative and quantitative secondary data from various databases around the world, and use it, present it, visualise it, and analyse it through a GPE lens. This data allows us to shed new light on the firms, markets, value chains, investment strategies, modes of production and consumption, that make the global economy. This will help students highlight how firms produce and reproduce power asymmetries, economic and social inequalities, social harms, environmental degradation, and global insecurities throughout the world.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Use major sources of secondary data from multilateral and business analytics databases, to provide evidence on firms, markets and sectors
2. Use critical theories of firms, markets, market power, and dynamics and strategies of dominant transnational firms.
3. Have knowledge of some key sectors of the global economy: Agriculture and Food; energy; finance; health and pharmaceuticals; military & defence; construction & real estate; the digital economy; water & infrastructure.
4. Understand the international institutions and governance arrangements that interact with these sectors and the theories of market power, regulation and governance that surround capitalism in practice.
5. Critically reflect on resistance and alternatives to current ways of organising production and consumption, challenge and critique corporate power in its various forms, and envision alternatives as part of broader picture of alternatives to corporate and capitalist power.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Gather and evaluate secondary data from multilateral and business studies databases.
2. Identify and analyse relevant information in order to develop and defend informed arguments.
3. Plan and develop independent written research, including data case studies and reports.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Seminar | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Private study hours | 278 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 22 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300 | ||
Students are expected to prepare for seminars by reading the material listed in the module handbook. This requires students to read widely, carefully reflect on the relevant arguments and ideas, take notes and summarise texts in preparation for seminar discussions. Students are also expected to engage in independent research when preparing their essays. Students will have a list of required reading and supplementary reading for each week, as well as a list of key discussion questions for each seminar. We will organise dedicated sessions on these assessments that you will need to attend to clarify the task, get tips on good practice and resources. These sessions will provide formative feedback.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Coursework | 30 |
| Assignment | Coursework | 70 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team