ECON 3280 - Introduction to Political Economy for Public Policy

(crosslisted) ILRLE 3280
(SSC-AS) (SBA-AG)

Fall or Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Forbidden Overlap: due to an overlap in content, students will receive credit for only one course in the following group: ECON 3280, ECON 4280, ILRLE 3280.
Prerequisite: ECON 1110 or equivalent, PUBPOL 2000, and ILRLE 2400 or equivalent.

M. Djourelova.

This course will provide an overview of recent empirical research in political economy, which applies the toolbox of economic and econometric analysis to the study of politics. The focus will be on the politics of the policymaking process. It will cover the following topics: (1) Voters’ behavior; (2) Politicians’ behavior; (3) Information and mass media; (4) Political distortions and capture; (5) Political institutions. The course will be based on the reading of research papers and the in-depth discussion of their implications for public policy.