This course addresses the interplay of political-institutional and economic factors and its consequences at the local, national and global level. In particular, it focuses on i) the application of economic models to political questions and ii) the effects of political processes and institutions on economic dynamics. Therefore, the course draws on a broad range of theoretical perspectives from comparative and international politics, positive political theory, and economics. These diverse theoretical approaches and models are used to examine a number of specific topics. These include, amongst others the economic policy performance of different political systems, the influence of interest groups and public opinion on governments, the drivers of government spending, macro- and micro-level aspects of the politics of international trade, and the determinants of environmentally and socially sustainable development. Ultimately, this course not only seeks to make students familiar with the theoretical and methodological approaches used in these areas of study, but also with important current research topics in comparative and international political economy.

Upon completion of this course, students will
• understand basic concepts and models of positive political economy,
• and, thus, be able to independently analyze connections between politics and
economics.
In addition, the course will help students develop the following skills:
• Theoretical argumentation
• Literature research
• Scientific expression and communication skills
• Academic writing

Attendance is compulsory. In order to complete and pass the course, attendance is required for at least 80% of sessions. In case of an absence, course faculty must be informed in advance, if possible. The course starts on time. The quality of students’ experience in this course depends on participation. Therefore, class participation makes up a portion of the course grade. Students are expected to read and critically analyze the required readings in preparation for each meeting in order to be capable to discuss them in class.

The course consists of four elements:

• Lectures
• Presentations by students
• Discussions
• Written assignments

Learning materials including the reading list will be shared on Canvas.

Procedural Issues and Grading

The final overall grade consists of three graded elements: a) an individual written paper (50% of the final grade), b) an individual presentation (40% of the final grade) and c) individual active participation in class (10% of the final grade). In addition to weekly in-depth engagement with the required readings and active participation in class (c), students must complete one of the two graded assignments a) and b) in the first half of the semester and the other in the second half of the semester. For example: Students who write an individual paper for the third course session may give the individual presentation in the seventh session at the earliest.

The graded assignments a) and b) take the form of a “response paper” and a “response presentation” respectively. Specifically, in these two assignments, the students analyze and comment on two different (pre-selected, see syllabus on Canvas) research articles on the topic of the respective course session. Both the response paper and the presentation must, therefore, have the following structure: 1) summary of the research question and the theoretical/empirical content of the article, followed by 2) a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the article, and 3) possibilities for further research on this topic based on the findings and weaknesses of the article.

The list of research papers students can pick from for the graded assignments can be found within the syllabus on Canvas under the headings “Student paper/presentation”. Students must sign up for both graded assignments in the first session in person – as a result, the graded assignments will run from the second session to the end of the semester.

The response paper (max. 2,500 words, 1.5 line spacing) must include a title page (see WU template, does not count toward word limit), a declaration of originality (see WU template, does not count toward word limit), and a bibliography (counts toward word limit). The content of the response paper should be distributed as follows: 1) summary of the research question and theoretical/empirical content (ca. 1.5 pages), 2) discussion of strengths and weaknesses (ca. 1.5 pages), 3) possibilities for further research (ca. 1 page). The response presentation should weight items 1), 2) and 3) correspondingly, but may take a maximum of 10 minutes. The presentation is followed by a Q&A of approximately 5 minutes.

The response paper must be handed in via email to Dennis Kolcava 24 hours prior to the session of the response paper’s topic (i.e., Wednesday at 2pm). The presentation must be handed in via email to Dennis Kolcava by 8am of the day of the presentation. Both the response paper and the presentation must be submitted in PDF format. They must be named as follows: ‘topic[number]_last name of student_paper’, and ‘topic[number]_last name of student_slides’. For example, if Max Muster has written a response paper on Topic 2, the PDF file containing his response paper would have to be named ‘topic2_Muster_paper’. Response papers and presentations will automatically be graded as a failed assignment if any of the following apply: i) paper or presentation does not meet the formal requirements (see above) ii) paper or presentation is submitted after the deadline iii) paper or presentation has been generated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as (but not exclusively) ChatGPT. Response papers must be written in English. The presentations must be held in English.

The course includes three graded components

• Written paper (response paper, individual grade): 50%
• Student presentation (response presentation, individual grade): 40%
• Participation and engagement in class (individual grade): 10%

The requirements for participation are

• Successful admission to the Master’s program in Socioeconomics
• Positive completion of ‘Introduction to Socioeconomics’
• Formal and binding registration
• Advanced active and passive English skills
• Intermediate knowledge in statistics and quantitative research design

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