Course Description
An introduction to the relation between government and the economy. Topics include liberal versus conservative approaches to economic policy, the impact of economic conditions on election outcomes, and the balance between markets and the public sector. The course helps students evaluate different ideological conceptions of government's role in society.
Athena Title
Political Economy
Prerequisite
POLS 1101 or POLS 1105H or POLS 1101E
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will learn rational choice techniques in political science that are used to study political economy. This includes mathematical skills related to the assessment of government policy and the economic conditions affecting election outcomes as well as the use of deductive models to determine the logical consequences of theoretical assumptions. Students will learn about the discounting of policy outcomes in terms of risk and time.
Topical Outline
Rational decision making Marginal utility and tradeoffs under resource constraints The choice between using markets and government to make decisions Edgeworth Box analysis Taxes and tax incidence Subsidies and subsidy incidence Market failures Government failures Government debt, taxation, and spending Social Security Elections and economic policy