How Do Politics and Political Institutions Shape Public Policies and the Economy?

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

Research Program Introduction

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

This program aims to help students understand how politics and political institutions influence public policies and the economy. To this end, students will be introduced to political economy, which studies the determinants of public policy 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 Details

• Cohort size: 3 to 5 students

• Duration: 12 weeks

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

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