Zagreb, Croatia

Political Economy

when 30 June 2014 - 18 July 2014
duration 3 weeks
credits 6 EC
fee EUR 1300

Political economy explains the effect of politics and the political process on economic outcomes. The course is divided into two central approaches to modern (new) political economy; micro political economy and macro political economy. A micro approach tends to be closely related to the issue of budgetary redistribution, and the essentials of the political process such as voting and electoral competition. The macro approach, on the other hand, is preoccupied with how electoral results and political interests shape the movement of main macroeconomic variables, such as inflation, unemployment or GDP growth. In that perspective the course will cover topics such as the political business cycle, decisions on fiscal and monetary policy, and central bank independence. Finally the course will end by moving towards an institutional approach in political economy and give an answer to why institutions are important in economic development of a nation.

Course leader

Vuk Vukovic is an assistant lecturer and researcher at the Department of Economics of the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, where he teaches Political Economy, Principles of Economics, and International Economics.

Target group

Students interested in political sciences.

Course aim

Studying Political Economy will enable the students to understand the basics of the political process and how it affects economic outcomes. In particular it will uncover the various ways politics can intervene in the allocation process of the market, thus offering the students a complete picture of how the economy functions.

Fee info

EUR 1300: Tuition fee includes this course with all the materials and Blackboard access. It also includes Croatian studies course with various activities such as visits to museums, Parliament and company visit. Students will also have two field trips included during the weekends.