Political Economics

Course goals

Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the student:

• Is able to deploy theoretical models and empirical methods used in state-of-the-art academic research in political economics;
• Is familiar with some of the major and most timely topics in political economics;
• Is able to critically reflect on academic work and its policy implications.
• Is able to combine insights from different academic disciplines to analyze contemporaneous public policy challenges.

Content

Students who are not enrolled in the research master Multidisciplinary Economics should contact the course coordinator for enrollment in this course.

The course focuses on the most recent developments in political economics with a special focus on (i) causal identification and (ii) policy relevance. We will pay particular attention to papers that were recently published in the top 5 most influential journals in Economics (QJE, AER, RESTUD, JPE, ECTA). Students are expected to be able to critically evaluate these papers, which includes (i) understanding what their contribution to the literature is (ii) what identification challenges the paper addresses and how and (iii) understanding whether there is scope for improvement. The topics covered in the course include the role of democratic institutions and bureaucracy in shaping economic outcomes, the (ab)use of political power and corruption, political selection, weak governance, patron-client networks, and the role of incentives and distributive conflict in the performance of economic and political institutions.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• summarize and identify common themes in the literature on a specific topic, and keep track of recent developments; 
• critically appraise literature; 
• identify innovative and well-delineated research questions; 
• apply acquired knowledge of theories and empirical methods within economics; 
• can critically reflect on their own work, and critically reflect on work of others in an appropriate way

Format
Integrated lectures, tutorials and workshop.