The research complement to our Ph.D. program in political economy, this program focuses on political and economic institutions and behavior within a formal theoretical framework. It is the marriage of political science and economics, emphasizing the reciprocal influence of politics on economic organization and equilibrium behavior and of economics on political structure and calculation. Economic phenomena and political phenomena are enriched simultaneously within a political-economic framework and are explained by a common optimization perspective.

Current research explores the models of formal institutions with a focus on the interface between politics and demography, the macroeconomics of consumption and spending, behavioral economics, international political economy, game theory in negotiations, auctions and herding behavior, and the rating and selection mechanisms of college admissions.

See our Education page on the Seminar on Positive Political Economy.

Please contact Kenneth Shepsle if you are interested in learning more.