Introductory description

Politics is about who gets what, when, and how – it is about the choices people make that affect the distribution of gains and losses, and about the societal and political conflicts and incentives surrounding them.

This means that the module is concerned with the relations between politics, economy, and society at both a national and global level, and considers this topic from the perspective of both economics and political science as academic disciplines, as well as an integration of these disciplines for an interdisciplinary approach. Our substantive focus is on voter behaviour, electoral competition, inequality and redistribution, the provision of public goods, and the behaviour of special interest groups from the perspectives of Economics and Political Science.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

We will study four specific areas where political science and economics perspectives overlap. The first part of the module approach to the behaviour of voters and political parties. The second part of the module looks at the political economy of inequality, the third is in the provision of public goods, and the fourth focuses on special interest groups.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Develop a broad understanding of the impacts of the differing perspectives of economics and politics as academic disciplines.
• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of each disciplinary approach, and when they can be complementary.

Indicative reading list

The reading list will be finalised closer to the first lecture. Please see Talis Aspire for previous iterations.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Interdisciplinary

Co-taught by Politics and Economics for PPE students only.

Subject specific skills

A solid knowledge and understanding of:
(i) Political Science: Knowledge and understanding of relevant theoretical approaches in political science and political science research with application to contemporary problems arising in public policy.
(ii) Applied Economics: Knowledge and understanding of standard economic models and quantitative techniques with application to contemporary problems arising in public policy.
(iii) Research issues: Familiarity with contemporary debates and latest research in some specialised areas of PPE. Evaluate how to approach a problem from the perspective of a contemporary researcher with a PPE background.
(iv) Interdisciplinarity: Familiarity with the concept and challenges of interdisciplinarity and how to integrate disciplinary research perspectives.

Transferable skills

(i) Critical Thinking
(ii) Information Literacy
(iii) Communication
(iv) Problem Solving
(v) Time Management

This module counts towards your Warwick Award.