The Economy, Politics and the State

This course explores how political and economic outcomes emerge from the interaction of individual incentives, institutional rules, and social norms. Departing from models that treat government decisions as exogenous or normatively optimal, the course adopts a political economy perspective grounded in institutional and organizational economics. Students will examine how formal structures — such as property rights, contracts, and bureaucracies — interact with informal institutions, including cultural norms and shared expectations, to shape behaviour in both political and economic domains. Topics may include the analysis of topical policy issues, allocation of authority, institutional persistence and change, the role of beliefs and expectations, and the influence of culture on organizational design and public governance. The course emphasizes analytical clarity and strategic reasoning while remaining attentive to the empirical complexity of real-world institutions and policy issues. It is designed to equip students with a flexible toolkit to interpret how political and economic systems function — and why they differ across settings.