Level: 200 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees:  Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours 

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment*: One piece of written work and one written examination

Typical credit**: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

*Assessment is optional

**You will need to check with your home institution

For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

Introductory microeconomics, basic knowledge of calculus and statistics.

• Introduction to political economy
• Public goods and the collective action problem
• Elections and public policy. Majority rule
• The political economy of inequality and redistribution
• Political agency
• Organisation of legislatures and legislative procedures
• Interest groups
• Political leadership
• The origins and effects of political institutions
• Information, mass media and public policy
• Electoral rules and policy outcomes

This course enhances a student’s understanding of the characteristics, determinants and consequences of public-policy making in liberal democracies.

It provides theoretical foundations from both economics and political science, whilst developing an expansive knowledge of theoretical and applied areas of political economy. 

The LSE Department of Economics is one of the biggest and best in the world, with expertise across the full spectrum of mainstream economics. A long-standing commitment to remaining at the cutting edge of developments in the field has ensured the lasting impact of its work on the discipline as a whole.

It is a leading research department, consistently ranked in the top 20 economics departments worldwide. This is reflected in the 2014 Research Assessment exercise which recognised the Department's outstanding contribution to the field

On this three week intensive programme, you will engage with and learn from full-time lecturers from the LSE’s economics faculty.

K. Shepsle, Analyzing Politics, London: W.W. Norton (2010) 

*A more detailed reading list will be supplied prior to the start of the programme

**Course content, faculty and dates may be subject to change without prior notice