This course looks at how economic outcomes can be affected by politics and the institutional structure underlying it. Topics such as heterogeneity of interests, electoral competition, partisan politics, fiscal and monetary policy, institutional design, political business cycles, politics and growth are addressed. Students are expected to have a firm grasp of microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts, at least at the advanced undergraduate level.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
A student successfully completing this course should be able to:
• Understand key issues and questions in political economy.
• Develop some idea about how to think about and analyze situations where political and economic outcomes are intertwined.
• Understand the connection between assumptions made and the conclusions drawn.
• Appreciate the shortcomings of models and to provide alternative improvements.
• Construct logical arguments and provide politico-economic explanations consistent with the workings of the model used.
Other Information
See the course outline on the College courses page. Outlines are uploaded as they become available.
Indicative Assessment
Problem sets (40%) plus a final examination (60%).
In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Two lectures per week with tutorialsRequisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
Torsten Persson and Guido Tabellini (2002), Political Economics: Explaining Economic Policy, paperback edition, MIT Press.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $5760 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.