Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
4 credits
30.0 h
Q1
This learning unit is not being organized during year 2019-2020.
Language
English
Prerequisites
For political science approach, no requirements. For economical approach, the class will assume familiarity with game theory at basic level. No specific background in political economy is needed. Some topics build on knowledge in basic micro- and macroeconomics levels, but such background will not be systematically required to understand the course.
The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.
The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.
Main themes
The theories of the public sector section will include
-Justifications for the public sector
-Political economy and the size of government
-Bureaucracy & regulation & Government agency
The voting section will include :
-The majority rule and its alternatives
-The median voter theorem and probabilistic voting
-The paradox of voting and turn out
-Electoral competition
-Comparative electoral systems
The rent seeking section will include
-Rent-seeking games
-Social cost of monopoly, lobbying and interest groups
-Equilibrium effects of rent seeking
-Costs and benefits of Lobbying
-Justifications for the public sector
-Political economy and the size of government
-Bureaucracy & regulation & Government agency
The voting section will include :
-The majority rule and its alternatives
-The median voter theorem and probabilistic voting
-The paradox of voting and turn out
-Electoral competition
-Comparative electoral systems
The rent seeking section will include
-Rent-seeking games
-Social cost of monopoly, lobbying and interest groups
-Equilibrium effects of rent seeking
-Costs and benefits of Lobbying
Aims
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| 1 |
This module will provide students with an introduction to the theory of voting and representation rules from the perspective of political science and economics. The module will also cover issues relating to types of electoral rules, types of representations and public choice, conventionally defined as the study of the decision-making behaviour of voters, politicians and government officials from the perspective of economic theory and empirical analysis. It can be considered as a bridge between economics and political science. As such the module has an important role in contributing to the achievement of the aims of the joint degrees in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) By the end of the module, students should be able to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of public choice and the decision-making behaviour of voters, politicians and government officials from the perspective of economics and political science with both a theoretical and empirical perspective. |
The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
Topics include: electoral systems, representation’s theory, basic social choice theory, direct democracy, electoral competition, political accountability, legislative bargaining, lobbying and interest groups, corruption, conflict and factionalism, and institutional change. We are particularly interested in how these political processes influence economic outcomes, such as taxation, redistribution, public goods, investment, and growth.
Teaching methods
To be done by the instructors
Evaluation methods
The assignments will be literature reviews (25% each) and an in-class presentation (25%) together with a final written exam (50%).
Bibliography
Brams, 2008, Marthematics and Democracy, Princeton University Press
Hindriks & Myles 2015, Intermediate Public Economics, 2nd edition, The MIT Press (chapters 5, 11 and 12)
Hague, Harrop’ and Mc Cormick, 2016 Comparative Government and Politics, 10th edition, Palgrave
Mueller 2003, Public choice III, Cambridge University Press
Hindriks & Myles 2015, Intermediate Public Economics, 2nd edition, The MIT Press (chapters 5, 11 and 12)
Hague, Harrop’ and Mc Cormick, 2016 Comparative Government and Politics, 10th edition, Palgrave
Mueller 2003, Public choice III, Cambridge University Press
Faculty or entity
ESPO
