The core topics in the syllabus will typically include:

Topic 1: Voting Models and Empirical Testing

Background. Median Voter Theorem, Downsian Model, Probabilistic voting models, Citizen Candidate Model. Empirical tests: (i) testing predictions, Downsian Model vs Citizen Candidate Model; (ii) Testing assumptions: rationality, retrospective voting, gender differences in voting.

Topic 2: Political Agency and Electoral Control

Introduction, Benchmark model of political agency, Empirical evidence , Extended model accounting for clientelism and targeted policies , Extended model accounting for voters’ information.

Topic 3: Politics and the Media

Introduction: Information and mass media, Media capture and media bias.Determinants of Media Bias. Empirical evidence of supply-driven bias. Does slanted media affect voting?

Topic 4: Political Persuasion

Propaganda. Fake News and Fact Checking. Political effects of the interenet and social media.

Topic 5: Populism

Introduction. Definitions. Party Classifications. Historical Precedents and Recent Trends. Economic Origins; Short-Term, Medium-Term. Non-Economic Origins. Impact of Populism

Topic 6: Cultural Economics

Overview. Interaction between Culture and Institutions. Effects of Trust and Social Capital on Compliance. Political Economy of Pandemics.

Topic 7: Supply Side Political Economy

Who becomes a politician? Political Selection and Quality of Politicians.