Faculty Advisor: Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Georgetown University

Research Practicum Introduction

When do we need public policies? What are the technological challenges to overcome? What are the incentives of politicians? How are they influenced by political institutions? What are the constraints that different political institutions impose on public policies? 

The goal of this program is to understand how politics and political institutions influence public policies and hence the economy. To do so, students will be introduced to the field of political economy, which studies the determinants of public policy both at the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. 

Students will learn general principles that help them understand the politics of public policy in various environments, learn and apply economic models to analyze complex issues and complete their own independent research.

Project Topics

• How To Assess Public Policies?

• Some Uncontroversial Public Policies and case studies

• Technological Constraints on Good Governance

• The Effect of Politics and Political Institutions

  • Electoral Competition

  • Political Agency

  • Political Institutions

Program Detail

• Cohort Size: 3-5 students

• Duration: 12 weeks

• Workload: Around 4-5 hours per week (including class time and homework time)

• Target Students: 9-12th grade students interested in political science, economics, public policy, government, law, election, etc. Debate and other relevant experience is a plus!