PECO-201 Analytical Tools for Political Economy

Faculty:

Bailey, Michael

Lagunoff, Roger

Shambaugh, George

Political Economy and International Political Economy are fast growing fields of study that focus on the methodological and substantive intersection of economics and political science. This class emphasizes the methodological tools and techniques that underlie much of the current research in this field. These models and techniques allow us to structure our thinking about fundamental concepts regarding the nature of political and economic preferences, the problems of preference aggregation and the link between policy preferences and policy outcomes, problems of collective action, and strategic interaction.


Mastering these tools and techniques is important for understanding the major works in the field and contributing to it. Students are expected to use these tools and techniques in courses throughout the PECO/IPEC majors to analyze substantive issues of the field (such as economic development, the politics of trade or finance, government-business relations, etc.). Most important, all students will be required to write a article-length research paper on a topic of their choosing during the spring of the senior year as part of PECO/IPEC401. In that paper, students are expected to apply the analytical techniques learned in this course and their statistics courses. Throughout the major, students are encouraged to keep a notebook of ideas and topics that they find interesting which could serve as the foundation of their PECO/IPEC401 paper.

This course is team-taught by a political scientist and economist.

Prerequisites: Microeconomic Theory (ECON-101) and one foundation government course. Note that ECON-101 has Microeconomic Principles (ECON-001) and Elementary Calculus (MATH-035) as prerequisites.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: Microeconomic Theory (ECON-101) and one foundation government course

Course syllabi
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Fall '09: Bailey M, Lagunoff R (file download)

Additional syllabi may be available in prior academic years.

Other academic years
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• 2004-2005 Fall and Spring
• 2006-2007 Fall and Spring
• 2007-2008 Fall and Spring
• 2008-2009 Fall and Spring
• 2010-2011 Fall and Spring
• 2011-2012 Fall and Spring
• 2012-2013 Fall and Spring
• 2013-2014 Fall and Spring

More information
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