Essentially all public policies can be characterized as political equilibria among self-interested participants in political process. Public policies change when these equilibria change. Political and legal institutions affect those equilibria, because they create the rules of the political game. This course provides a survey of the public choice literature and explores the connections between political institutions, politics, and public policy. In particular, methodologies of neoclassical economic analysis as applied to political science will be explored. It is hoped that students will be able to use this toolkit.

CILO-1: Identify key concepts and theories in public choice literature and analyze their application in political processes and public policies. CILO-2: Evaluate the impact of political and legal institutions on political equilibria and their influence on shaping public policies. CILO-3: Apply neoclassical economic analysis methodologies to examine the relationships between political institutions, politics, and public policy. CILO-4: Analyze and summarize academic articles on public choice topics, extracting key points and synthesizing them effectively.