Shiro Yabushita * Ph.D.(Economics) , Yale University * Money, Institutions and Economic Development , Yuhikaku , 2001 We in the 21st century continue to face internal economic problems as well as a wide range of global challenges in maintaining peace, protecting the environment, and upholding the international system of trade. In our modern society, where individuals and organizations engage in activities that transcend national boundaries, the governmental policies of any one country are bound to affect the welfare of people both at home and in other parts of the globe. The Waseda University 21st-Century Center of Excellence program "Constructing Open Political-Economic Systems" (GLOPE) has as its goal the identification of principles for resolving conflict, building institutions, and coordinating policy among nations whose political and economic processes are becoming increasingly "open" and interdependent. We ourselves intend to cross over disciplinary boundaries, uniting our expertise in public philosophies, formal theories, statistical methods, and experimental games in order to develop an �gopen�h and innovative approach that we hope will advance our knowledge of the world and lead to concrete proposals for designing improved political and economic systems. We believe that the GLOPE Project will prove a source of stimulation to the intellectual community at Waseda, contributing to further progress in research as well as enhancing the quality of graduate-school education. What Is PPE? The kind of system design envisioned by GLOPE requires not only a synthesis of political science and economics but an underlying philosophical basis as well. The problems facing human society in the 21st century cannot be resolved through the development of a purely technical interface that links politics with economic concerns. There is a pressing need for research that fundamentally reexamines existing values and promises to lead to the selection of new values. The guiding principle informing our research can therefore be expressed as "PPE" (Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics). PPE is a principle that GLOPE shares with the newly established Department of Global Political Economy in the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda.   Copyright © Waseda University, 21COE