POLITICAL ECONOMY - 2020/1

Module Overview

This module introduces students to the field of political economy, which combines insights from politics into the study of economic performance. The module covers key theoretical models as well as their relation to the recent empirical evidence. The module focuses on the formal modelling of political behaviour and political institutions using microeconomic concepts and investigates the interplay between policy making and economic outcomes. The module builds a foundation for thinking economic modelling as a tool for policy formation and a tool for understanding the world better.

Module provider

Economics

Module Leader

BOZBAY Irem (Economics)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• 
  Collective Choice
  


• 
  Political Economy of Redistribution
  


• 
  Evolution of Inequality
  


• 
  Institutions, Incentives and Power
  


• Conflict

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

• 
  Knowledge of the main theoretical and empirical findings in political economy;
  


• 
  Ability to apply the knowledge of core concepts from microeconomics to major issues in political economy;
  


• 
  Ability to apply technical skills introduced in the module.
  
   
  

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• 
  A class test (worth 30% of the overall mark)
  


• 
  A final exam (worth 70% of the overall mark)
  
   
  
  Formative assessment and Feedback
  
   
  

Students receive verbal feedback during lectures (in which questions and real-world examples in economics are both attempted and discussed). Feedback to assessments will be given during lectures and students will be provided feedback documents which summarise commonly made mistakes in the assessments. For the course work and the exam, sample questions are made available for students so that they can familiarise themselves with the setup.

Module aims

• provide a broad overview of important results from political economy
• build a foundation for thinking about the role of political economy in understanding economic outcomes
• provide a modelling based logic for reasoning about the crucial political issues, such as electoral competition, democracy and policy making; inequality and redistribution

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• 
  enhance understanding and intuition of political economy;
  


• 
  enhance ability to discuss political issues using results in microeconomics;
  


• 
  courage thinking about the role of political economy in understanding economic outcomes and policy making;
  


• 
  provide skills in applying mathematical methods to political economy.
  

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

• 
  2-hour lecture per week x 11 weeks
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ECO3055

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.