Political Economy

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Work independently demonstrating initiative, self-organisation and time-management
• Communicate ideas and arguments in a variety of written formats
• Identify, select and draw upon a range of sources of printed, electronic and other material as a means to the development and presentation of arguments and evidence.
• Communicate ideas and arguments orally and in the context of formal presentations

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of sources.
• Identify issues for political and economic inquiry.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Central concepts and arguments in both microeconomics and macroeconomics
• Different interpretations of political issues and events.
• Political institutions, and the organisation and exercise of power and governance.
• The application of political concepts, theories and methods.
• Applications of economics in a variety of settings, including the analysis of economic policy.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Develop reasoned argument, synthesise relevant information and exercise critical judgement
• Identify, investigate, analyse and advocate solutions to problems

This module will use tools from economics, political science, and moral philosophy to analyse a set of substantive issues in political economy. Students will first study theoretical foundations to perform both positive and normative analysis. The remaining lectures will cover a set of topics on political economy. For some of these topics, a policy issue will be discussed on “deliberation seminars”, in which students will analyse and deliberate about a real-world problem and experience in first-hand different types of democratic processes and voting systems.

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and seminars. The incorporation of “deliberation seminars” is innovative and provides "hands-on" training to the students in a way that complements the instruction of theoretical notions.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Grossman, G. M., and Helpman, E (2002). Special Interest Politics. MIT Press.

Persson, T., and Tabellini, G (2016). Political Economics. MIT Press.

Hausman, D., McPherson, M and Satz, D (2016). Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy, and Public Policy. Cambridge University Press.

Roemer, J. E (2001). Political Competition. Harvard University Press.

Robinson, J. A., and Acemoglu, D (2012). Why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. Profile.

Rose-ackerman, S., and Palifka, B. J (2016). Corruption and government: Causes, consequences, and reform. Cambridge University Press.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External