Dr Nirvikar Jassal

This course is available on the MSc in Political Science (Conflict Studies and Comparative Politics), MSc in Political Science (Global Politics), MSc in Political Science (Political Behaviour), MSc in Political Science (Political Science and Political Economy), MSc in Public Policy and Administration and MSc in Regulation. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply: To apply for a place on this course, please submit a short statement of no more than 200 words via LfY. Your statement should outline your reasons for applying and explain how the course will support your academic and/or career goals. If applicable, you should also demonstrate how you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide. If the course is compulsory for your programme, no written statement is required.

Priority for places on Government (GV) courses will be given first to students for whom the course is compulsory. Where applicable, priority will then be given to students on the Department of Government programmes listed in the ‘Availability’ section of the course guide, followed by students on other programmes listed in that section. Students on all other programmes will be considered next, where a course is available as an outside option. You should ensure that you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide before applying. Places on capped courses cannot be guaranteed. Where a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated based on programme priority and the written statement.

Deadline for applications: The deadline for applications is 12:00 noon on Friday 25 September 2026. You can expect to be informed of the outcome of your application by 12:00 noon on Monday 28 September 2026. Any places remaining after this date will be allocated based on priority and written statement - up until course selection closes.

For queries contact: gov.msc@lse.ac.uk.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). In previous years we have been able to provide places for all students that apply but that may not continue to be the case.

Priority will be given to students on the programmes listed above.

Familiarity with basic research design and introductory statistics is strongly recommended.

While political science scholarship on gender often focuses on disparities between men and women in terms of political participation, the way inequalities in other domains such as (a) health, (b) education, (c) criminal justice, and (d) the bureaucracy intersect with politics may sometimes be overlooked. This course provides a survey of empirical social science research on gender over the past 20-years primarily from the disciplines of development economics and political science. The scholarship covers a wide range of countries, including those in the Global South. Some of the topics that the course will cover include: how does the representation of women in political institutions affect development? Are there any state policies that can serve to reduce gender-based violence or improve women’s access to property rights? How can discrimination against the LGBTQ community be reversed? Broadly, the class explores research related to why and where disparities persist between men and women, as well as what kind of interventions – adopted by governments, NGOs, and other agencies – mitigate these gaps, as well as make public institutions more equitable and inclusive.

20 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

Essay.

As a formative assessment, students will be expected to produce an outline for their final essay. This will enable them to gain feedback for their final or summative assessment.

• Chattopadhyay, Raghabendra, and Esther Duflo. 2004. “Women as Policy Makers: Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment in India.” Econometrica 72 (5): 1409–43.
• Alesina, Alberto, Paola Giuliano, and Nathan Nunn. 2013. “On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough *.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 128 (2): 469–530.
• Mendelberg, Tali, Christopher F. Karpowitz, and Nicholas Goedert. 2014. “Does Descriptive Representation Facilitate Women’s Distinctive Voice? How Gender Composition and Decision Rules Affect Deliberation.” American Journal of Political Science 58 (2): 291–306.
• Bos, Angela L., Jill S. Greenlee, Mirya R. Holman, Zoe M. Oxley, and J. Celeste Lay. 2022. “This One’s for the Boys: How Gendered Political Socialization Limits Girls’ Political Ambition and Interest.” American Political Science Review 116 (2): 484–501.
• Carrell, Scott E., Marianne E. Page, and James E. West. 2010. “Sex and Science: How Professor Gender Perpetuates the Gender Gap.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 125 (3): 1101–44.

Essay (100%, 4000 words) in Spring Term Week 2.

The summative assessment comprises one final take-home essay which will be either (a) an essay on the readings or, alternatively, (b) on an original research topic following discussion with the convenor.