Political Economy and Public Economics
Political Economy and Public Economics
The Department of Economics at the University of Warwick has an active Political Economy and Public Economics (PEPE) Research Group. These two disciplines have natural complementarities. Political Economy focuses more on the political feasibility of certain policies by looking at which policies are more likely to enjoy public support and thus succeed in an electoral contest. Public economics looks more at determining which policies are optimal in every environment, but is less concerned about their political approval or feasibility.
Recent world events such as the public backlash against globalization and inequality have raised awareness for the need for more integration between these two approaches as political resistance to the adoption of potentially beneficial policies has become ever more salient. Hence by their very nature these two disciplines transcend traditional field divisions such as micro and macroeconomics: they use theoretical, empirical and experimental methods to obtain conclusions, thus generating synergies with various other groups in our department from development to experimental to history to macroeconomics to economic theory.
Our activities
PEPE Research Group Seminar
Thursday: 11.15am-12.30pm
A weekly seminar is organised that brings top economists and political scientist speakers every week for a double-feature seminar in coordination with the LSE.
For a detailed scheduled of speakers please follow the link below:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/seminars/seminars/political-economy
Organisers: Michela Redoano and Mateusz Stalinski
PEPE Research Group Annual Conference
In collaboration with colleagues from Princeton and Yale, and with the support of CEPR, the PEPE Research Group organises an annual conference which has become a central meeting of political economists in Europe. Having taken place in previous years in Venice and Rome, it attracts over 70 delegates attending from leading institutions in the US, EU and the UK. Every year, several of our PhD students get to participate in a fully funded conference with an opportunity to engage with leading scholars.
Find out more about this year's conference which will take place 26-27 April 2024 in Rome.
Organisers: Helios Herrera, Mateusz Stalinski
People
Academics
Academics associated with the PEPE Research Group are:
Research Students
Events
Teaching & Learning Seminar - Mathilde Peron (York)
Title: Embedding careers in the curriculum: evaluation of a programme level approach for Economics undergraduates.
Jointly with Dr Yaprak Tavman (University of York)
Abstract: Embedding career development within academic curricula has gained attention as an effective strategy to prepare students for the labour market (Bridgstock et al, 2019) and address inequity in graduate outcomes (Flynn et al, 2022).
Our objective is to evaluate a series of initiatives implemented by the Economics department at the University of York in collaboration with Careers (York Strengths) and external partners (York Health Economics Consultancy, HM Treasury). They are designed to embed career-oriented elements into the curriculum revolving around three themes: self-awareness, discovery and development planning; work-related learning and professional skills; reflective practice and translation of learning into the world of work.
The primary objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives in achieving the following outcomes: (1) Supporting students to connect academic theories and concepts with their future career aspirations; (2) Designing assessments that are both authentic to professional contexts and encourage reflective thinking; (3) Reducing disparities among students, ensuring equitable access to career development opportunities and improved confidence in graduate transitions.
The presentation will share preliminary results, utilising anonymous online surveys from Economics students at the University of York. The focus will be on students’ perceptions of the initiatives, their confidence in linking academic learning to career opportunities, and the perceived inclusivity and fairness of career support embedded in the curriculum.