Political Economy with tracks in Economics, Political Science, and Public Policy
The field of political economy examines the many intersections of politics and markets, within and between countries. While applying a broad array of approaches, political economy emphasizes empirical analysis, while attending also to the context of history and theoretically and normatively significant claims about the way in which politics and markets work. Substantively, the field concerns interactions between economic and political development (does prosperity fuel democracy?); cooperation and conflict among nations, groups, and individuals (what causes civil war?); the distribution and redistribution of material resources and economic power (who gets what?); the effects of political actors and political structures upon economic outcomes (how do autocracies promote growth?); the effects of economic actors and economic structures upon political outcomes (how does inequality foster corruption?); the political causes and consequences of technological and structural change, growth, and globalization (how do party systems integrate new issues?); and the politics of regulation, market interventions, and global governance (how can policy address climate change?). Students can choose among three disciplinary tracks: Economics, Political Science, or Public Policy.
Major Requirements
(Not every course listed is offered every term, and the course list will be updated periodically. Please refer to the online Course Catalog for Courses offered in 2023-2024.)
Political Economy / Economics
Divisional Foundation Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| SOSC 101 | Foundational Questions in Social Science | 4 |
| And choose one from the following two courses | ||
| MATH 101 | Introductory Calculus | 4 |
| MATH 105 | Calculus | 4 |
Interdisciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| STATS 101 | Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods | 4 |
| ECON 101 | Economics Principles | 4 |
| POLECON 201 | International Political Economy | 4 |
| ETHLDR 202 | Ethics, Markets, Politics | 4 |
| POLECON 301 | Development | 4 |
| POLECON 302 / GCHINA 301 | China’s Economic Transition | 4 |
| POLECON 490 | Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics | 4 |
Disciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| ECON 201 | Intermediate Microeconomics I | 4 |
| ECON 202 | Intermediate Microeconomics II | 4 |
| ECON 203 | Introduction to Econometrics | 4 |
| ECON 204 | Intermediate Macroeconomics | 4 |
| And complete one of the following courses | ||
| ECON 301 | Health Economics | 4 |
| ECON 302/ ENVIR 302 | Environmental Economics | 4 |
| ECON 303 | Financial Institutions | 4 |
| ECON 304 | Economic Growth | 4 |
| ECON 307 | History of Monetary and International Crises | 4 |
| ECON 309 | Behavioral Finance | 4 |
| ECON 310 | Urban Economics | 4 |
| ECON 314 | International Trade | 4 |
| ECON 333 | Social and Economic Networks | 4 |
Electives
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| Applied Microeconomic Analysis | ||
| BEHAVSCI 101 | Introduction to Behavioral Science | 4 |
| BEHAVSCI 102 | Mechanisms of Human Behavior | 4 |
| SOSC 204 | Business Ethics | 4 |
| ECON 301 | Health Economics | 4 |
| ECON 302/ ENVIR 302 | Environmental Economics | 4 |
| ECON 333 | Social and Economic Networks | 4 |
| ECON 404/ ENVIR 404 | Environmental Justice: The Economics of Race, Place and Pollution | 4 |
| Macroeconomics and Financial Economics | ||
| ECON 303 | Financial Institutions | 4 |
| ECON 304 | Economic Growth | 4 |
| ECON 307 | History of Monetary and International Crises | 4 |
| ECON 309 | Behavioral Finance | 4 |
| ECON 314 | International Trade | 4 |
| ECON 317/ MATH 317 | Quantitative Finance | 4 |
| Government and Policy | ||
| PUBPOL 301 | Political Analysis for Public Policy | 4 |
| POLSCI 307 | Political Economy of Institutions | 4 |
| POLSCI 308 | Global Governance | 4 |
| PUBPOL 315/ ECON 315 |
Public Sector Economics |
4 |
| POLSCI 318 | Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in the History of Ideas | 4 |
| POLECON 401/ GCHINA 401 | Political Economy of Chinese Reform | 4 |
| Optional Signature Work Preparation (Students are encouraged to complete at least one 300-level economics course before submitting a Signature Work Project Proposal.) | ||
| SOSC 302 | Research Designs for Causal Inference | 4 |
| WOC 211 | Composing Research 1: Developing a Research Proposal | 4 |
| WOC 212 | Composing Research 2: Developing a Research Paper | 4 |
| SOSC 314 | Computational Social Science | 4 |
| SOSC 320 | Data in the World: Applied Social Statistics | 4 |
Political Economy / Political Science
Divisional Foundation Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| SOSC 101 | Foundational Questions in Social Science | 4 |
| SOSC 102 | Introduction to Research Methods | 4 |
Interdisciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| STATS 101 | Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods | 4 |
| ECON 101 | Economics Principles | 4 |
| POLECON 201 | International Political Economy | 4 |
| ETHLDR 202 | Ethics, Markets, Politics | 4 |
| POLECON 301 | Development | 4 |
| POLECON 302 / GCHINA 301 | China’s Economic Transition | 4 |
| POLECON 490 | Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics | 4 |
Disciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| POLSCI 101 | International Politics | 4 |
| POLSCI 104[1] | Comparative Politics and Institutions | 4 |
| ETHLDR 203 | Conceptions of Democracy and Meritocracy | 4 |
| SOSC 302 | Research Designs for Causal Inference | 4 |
| POLSCI 302 | Public Opinion | 4 |
Electives
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| International Relations | ||
| HIST 110 | Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Global Issues | 4 |
| POLECON 105 | China and the Global South | 2 |
| HIST 202[2] | Global Interactions in a Historical Perspective | 4 |
| SOSC 204 | Business Ethics | 4 |
| POLSCI 210 | International Relations in East Asia | 4 |
| POLSCI 221 | US/China Relations | 4 |
| POLSCI 303 | International Politics of East Asia | 4 |
| POLSCI 305 | American Capitalism in the World | 4 |
| POLSCI 308 | Global Governance | 4 |
| POLSCI 310 | America in the World | 4 |
| Comparative Politics | ||
| BEHAVSCI 101 | Introduction to Behavioral Science | 4 |
| POLSCI 222[3] | Social Choice and Democracy | 4 |
| POLSCI 315 | American Politics in Comparative Perspective | 4 |
| POLSCI 105 | Contemporary Political Ideologies | 4 |
| POLSCI 106 | Political Rhetoric, Crisis, and Leadership | 4 |
| POLSCI 209 | Democratic Erosion | 4 |
| POLSCI 214/ CULANTH 214 | Authoritarianism and the Struggle for Democracy in Latin America | 4 |
| POLSCI 307 | Political Economy of Institutions | 4 |
| POLSCI 313 | Political Psychology | 4 |
| POLSCI 316 | Sino-African relations in History and Present | 4 |
| POLSCI 318 | Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in the History of Ideas | 4 |
| Optional Signature Work Preparation | ||
| STATS 102 | Introduction to Data Science | 4 |
| WOC 211 | Composing Research 1: Developing a Research Proposal | 4 |
| WOC 212 | Composing Research 2: Developing a Research Paper | 4 |
| SOSC 314 | Computational Social Science | 4 |
| SOSC 320 | Data in the World: Applied Social Statistics | 4 |
Political Economy / Public Policy
Divisional Foundation Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| SOSC 101 | Foundational Questions in Social Science | 4 |
| SOSC 102 | Introduction to Research Methods | 4 |
Interdisciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| STATS 101 | Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods | 4 |
| ECON 101 | Economics Principles | 4 |
| POLECON 201 | International Political Economy | 4 |
| ETHLDR 202 | Ethics, Markets, Politics | 4 |
| POLECON 301 | Development | 4 |
| POLECON 302/ GCHINA 301 | China’s Economic Transition | 4 |
| POLECON 490 | Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics | 4 |
Disciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| PUBPOL 101 | Introduction to Policy Analysis | 4 |
| PUBPOL 301 | Political Analysis for Public Policy | 4 |
| PUBPOL 303 | Policy Choice as Value Conflict | 4 |
| PUBPOL 315/ ECON 315 | Economics of the Public Sector | 4 |
| Choose one course from the following two courses | ||
| ECON 201 | Intermediate Microeconomics I | 4 |
| PUBPOL 205[4] | Microeconomic Policy Tools | 4 |
Electives
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| Social and Urban Policy | ||
| PUBPOL 106 | Urbanizing China: Spatial and Social Dynamics in Chinese Cities | 2 |
|
CULMOVE 203 |
Wealth, Inequality, and Power | 4 |
| SOSC 204 | Business Ethics | 4 |
| PUBPOL 212 | Immigrant Dreams, U.S. Realities: Immigration Policy History | 4 |
| PUBPOL 220 | Introduction to Regulatory Governance | 4 |
| PUBPOL 221 | Comparative Social Policy | 4 |
| SOCIOL 306 | Contemporary Population Problems | 4 |
| ECON 310 | Urban Economics | 4 |
| HIST 316/ PUBPOL 316 | The Modern Regulatory State | 4 |
| Global Policy | ||
| POLECON 105 | China and the Global South | 2 |
| SOCIOL 306 | Contemporary Population Problems | 4 |
| CULANTH 314 / POLSCI 314 | Refugees and the Biopolitics of Citizenship | 4 |
| POLSCI 307 | Political Economy of Institutions | 4 |
| PUBPOL 306 | International Development and Poverty | 4 |
| POLSCI 318 | Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in the History of Ideas | 4 |
| PUBPOL 318 | How to Change the World: The Role of Non-State Actors | 4 |
| Government and Policy | ||
| PUBPOL 219/ POLSCI 219 | The U.S. Legal System: Lawyers, Judges, Lawmakers, & Bureaucrats | 4 |
| PUBPOL 220 | Introduction to Regulatory Governance | 4 |
| PUBPOL 311 | Economic and Political History of the European Union | 4 |
| PUBPOL 318 | How to Change the World: The Role of Non-State Actors | 4 |
| Optional Signature Work Preparation | ||
| STATS 102 | Introduction to Data Science | 4 |
| WOC 211 | Composing Research 1: Developing a Research Proposal | 4 |
| WOC 212 | Composing Research 2: Developing a Research Paper | 4 |
| SOSC 314 | Computational Social Science | 4 |
| SOSC 320 | Data in the World: Applied Social Statistics | 4 |
| SOSC 302 | Research Designs for Causal Inference |
4 |
[1] This course was numbered and named POLSCI 201 Political Institutions and Processes prior to fall term 2022.
[2] This course was named HIST 202 World History and Global Interactions prior to fall term 2022.
[3] This course was named POLSCI 102 World History and Global Interactions prior to fall term 2023.
[4] This course was numbered PUBPOL 304 prior to fall term 2022.