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module abstract

The course aims to introduce students to the discipline of Political Science and the principal qualitative research methods and techniques used by political scientists. To develop an appreciation of the advantages and limitations of these techniques.

module abstract

The module examines the macro and micro problems of the British economy and the policy responses of governments to those problems, highlighting both the differences and similarities of the two disciplines in their approaches to the political economy of modern Britain. Topics covered include in the first term: theories of the policy making process, theory and empirics of market failure; public choice theories; bureaucracy and the core executive in Britain; and the role of elections and parties in economic policy. The second term examines the development of governments’ economic policies in the present and recent decades, including such topics as the economics and politics of inflation and unemployment, the welfare state and economic performance, industrial and competition policies, taxation and the public expenditure process, membership of the euro zone, international political economy and globalisation.

Problems of British Economic Management

The academic aims of the course are:
- to identify the main problems and issues in British economic policy in the post-war period;
- to critically examine the major turning points in the development of economic policy in Britain in the post-war period; and
- to assess how successful governments were in achieving their economic policy objectives and what the principal obstacles to their achievement were.

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This module, Public Policy in the European Union, is taught in Brussels. It offers a coherent survey of the institutions, decision making processes, and selected major policy areas falling within the responsibility of the European Union (EU). During the module you will review the major institutions of the EU and the relationships between them and with member states. You will be introduced to relevant theoretical perspectives that will allow you to understand these relationships and place them within a broader perspective.

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