Political Economy

Research goals

The Political Economy research team, broadly speaking, is dedicated to investigating the interrelationships between politics and economics. Our research agenda is broad and diverse. It covers research on the political consequences of socioeconomic variables (e.g., how macroeconomic trends affect politicians’ or citizens’ behavior) or such topics as the origins, designs, and socioeconomic effects of political institutions (e.g., enfranchisement and inequality). But it also includes political decision-making and human behavior that has the potential for downstream effects in the economic sphere (e.g., legislative behavior that determines government policies, which ultimately affect the welfare of citizens).

Membership

Our group members are primarily political scientists and economists. However, we welcome individuals from any related disciplines who share our interest in the effects of politics on economic outcomes, or economics on political outcomes. We are a diverse mix of theorists and empiricists using a broad set of methodological approaches. 

Ongoing projects

Current areas of research comprise, e.g., the effects of political institutions and social norms on collective decision-making, or political behavior more broadly, and social welfare; the sources of intergroup tensions or inequity and how to resolve these issues; mechanisms to improve political accountability; the rise and consequences of polarization, extremism, or populism and how to counter these phenomena; the effects of bureaucratic reforms on the provision of public goods and services; and political misinformation and how to fight it.

Team leader

Kevin Grieco