ECON4640 – Political Economics

Course content

Political economics studies situations that arise when there is interaction between politics and economics.

We can then no longer only study the impact of different policies on the economy, as in conventional economic approaches, but also have to consider how different economic conditions shape policies.

The course introduces you to the most common ways to model politics formally and the application of these to the study of real world problems. The course also covers empirical testing of these models.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

You should know

• common ways of modeling politics formally, such as the median voter model, probabilistic voting, citizen candidate models, and models of lobbying and campaign contributions.
• How these models are applied in order to the study of real world problems, such as political determination of the size of the welfare state, how to control and discipline politicians, and intergenerational problems
• how to study these models empirically

Skills:

You should be able to

• use fundamental modeling tools in political economics such as median voter theory, probabilistic voting, citizen candidate models and models of lobbying and campaign contributions and how to use these tools to analyze applied situations.
• discuss the empirical validity of the key outcomes of the theory

Competence:

You should

• be able to read and understand project reports and journal articles that make use of the concepts and methods that are introduced in the course
• be able to make use of the course content in your own academic work, for example in analyses that are part of the master’s thesis

Admission to the course

Students admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

Students not admitted to the Master’s programme in Economics or the Master’s programme in Economic Theory and Econometrics (Samfunnsøkonomisk analyse), can apply for admission to one of our study programmes, or apply for guest student status.

Formal prerequisite knowledge

You must fulfill one of these prerequisites:

• Bachelor`s degree in Economics, or equivalent.
• ECON3220 – Microeconomics 3 / ECON4220 – Microeconomics 3, or equivalent.

Recommended previous knowledge

• Students who do not have ECON3150 – Introductory Econometrics / ECON4150 – Introductory Econometrics or equivalent, are advised not to take this course.

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with ECON9640.

Teaching

Lectures and seminars.

Course responsible can at the beginning of the semester update the syllabus list by changing no more than three articles, though in a way that it will not change the overall scope or thematic content of the course.

The syllabus also includes any lecture notes that will be made available for the students in Canvas.

Examination

A 3-hour written school exam.

Previous exams

Exam papers with comments from examiner

Examination support material

Usage of a dictionary during the examination is allowed, subject to prior inspection by SV-info. See guidelines for further details.

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

Resit an examination

If you are sick or have another valid reason for not attending the regular exam, we offer a postponed exam later in the same semester.

See also our information about resitting an exam.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.