International Political Economy (IPEC)

This course examines human rights through the lens of economic development, emphasizing that human rights are both smart economics and a powerful development strategy. Students will explore key concepts, use diagnostic tools, manage data, and evaluate policies affecting human rights from a developmental economics perspective. They will address real-world issues—particularly in developing countries—such as analyzing laws that worsen discrimination or making a case for human rights funding to a Ministry of Finance. This course is taught by a World Bank economist Dr. Jose Cuesta https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/team/j/jose-cuesta.

Whiskey and Global Trade: A Cask-Strength Dram of Political Economy and International Law.

This course examines whiskey through the lenses of political economy and international law. From “sin” taxes to health warnings on bottles, the course examines government incentives to promote and restrict commerce in whiskey. Building on this, the course turns to disputes among countries over whiskey trade, starting with famous Japan—Alcohol II case at the World Trade Organization and ending with and potential litigation against Thailand. Students will gain a deep appreciation for “like goods,” fiscal and non-fiscal “national treatment,” and science-based assessments of the trade-restrictiveness of regulatory politics.

Over the last 200 years, free market capitalism has been championed as an unmatched engine for driving economic growth in the United States and around the world. Competitive market-based economies have sparked innovation, improved standards of living, and lengthened the average life span. Yet problems persist, including uneven economic opportunity, degradation of natural resources, as well as corporate scandals and misbehavior. Considering these problems as pressures on the legitimacy and viability of the market system, the course will evaluate the relationship between business and society, particularly in democratic societies. The course will focus on potential approaches to managing the tensions and trade-offs that present themselves when both economic vitality (growth, innovation) and system stability (fairness, sustainability, societal needs and values) are desired outcomes.

To reconcile the benefits of free market capitalism with the values and expectations of a democratic society, students will examine real world issues and tackle complex questions. How have views on corporate governance and the purpose of business in society changed over time? What are the current pressures on democratic capitalism? What are potential solutions that address the inherent tensions in the system? Through considering a range of questions, students will develop a foundation in both economic analysis and political economy and the skills to think critically about the relationships between economics, society, and government. Learning takes place through lecture, discussion, readings, and data analysis.

Permission of Instructor

BY APPLICATION ONLY: Open to sophomores and juniorsThe Quantitative Research Lab provides the opportunity for 14 students to work in pairs on original research papers on topics related to international migration. Students will co-author a paper using quantitative methods to test innovative hypotheses using either micro or macro-level data. This seminar will provide students the opportunity to explore a research question in depth with the goal towards presenting the findings at a conference and perhaps eventually publishing a research paper. Each student will work as part of a research cluster in the class. The broad research themes for the course are:1) The impact of immigration on elections and political outcomes: Recent papers have shown that the arrival of immigrants can have a significant impact on elections/political outcomes, for example in the United States, in the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, in Italy, etc. Yet the economics literature has not yet explored important questions such as: how do naturalized immigrants from different countries of origin vote and why? what is the impact of immigration on election outcomes in low and middle-income countries? what is the relative importance of the direct vs. indirect political effect of immigration (the indirect effect is the impact of immigrants on how natives vote; the direct effect is the impact of immigrants due to their different political preferences relative to native voters.) Papers related to this theme will be based on data (and its extensions) from Mayda, Peri and Steingress (2020).2) The political economy of immigration policy: Immigration policy decisions are endogenous and depend on public opinion, interest groups dynamics, policymakers preferences and the institutional structure of government. The economics literature has investigated the drivers of public opinion on immigrants across individuals and countries, the role played by sector-level interest groups, the patterns in elected officials voting on migration bills, etc. Important unanswered questions include: What drives the change over time in public opinion towards immigration? What is the most effective intervention to change attitudes and resulting behavior? What explains the recent dramatic changes in migration policy decisions in the United States? Papers related to this theme will be based on data (and its extensions) on attitudes towards immigrants from public opinion surveys (such as in Mayda (2006) and Facchini and Mayda (2009), on micro-level data on lobbying expenditure on immigration (such as from Mayda et al 2020), and on election outcomes and immigration from Mayda, Peri and Steingress (2020).3) The role of immigrants at the time of COVID: Anecdotal evidence shows that, at the time of the current (COVID) and future pandemics, destination countries (will) need migrants, from an economic point of view, even more than at normal times. For example, migrants tend to be over-represented in essential sectors and occupations such as food production, elderly and health care, medical research and innovation. Important questions need to be answered: To what extent have migrants' incentives to move been affected by COVID and how does this affect their role at the time of COVID? How has COVID affected migrants’ presence in essential sectors and occupations (in particular agriculture, elderly care and health care, medical research and innovation)? What has been the impact of Covid on the food supply chain, in light of the role played by immigrants? Papers related to this theme will use recent data on COVID and immigration.Prerequisites: Students must have a willingness to use Stata software and come to class with an interest in applying quantitative methods to their research. Stata licenses are now available to undergraduates for free through UIS, and accepted students should request a license before the first class meeting. Accepted students should have taken Econometrics or take it in the Spring 2021.Application Requirements: DEADLINE: Sunday, November 29th, by midnight. Email the following 3 items to bsfsdeans@georgetown.edu, with the subject heading of “STUDENT NAME- MAJOR or INTENDED MAJOR: Spring 2021 Quant Research Lab Application” (eg Jack Hoyasaxa-IPEC: Spring 2021 Quant Research Lab Application) (1) A previously written paper which highlights your analytical abilities and writing skills. (2) A brief statement (150 words maximum) on which of the three broad themes you are interested in, why, and which specific aspect you would like to analyze; (3) Unofficial Transcript.Notification: Applicants who are accepted into the class will be notified in early December. In the meantime, students should schedule classes for the spring keeping the Mon/Wed 9:30AM-10:45AM time open or flexible. The specific topic of each paper is subject to change, based on student coauthors' interests and the professors' suggestions.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to a selection of recent and on-going research projects led by International Development Organizations (IDOs), such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, and aimed at implementing the post-2015 development Agenda adopted under the aegis of the United Nations. The Agenda embraces the view that development needs to be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable and sets 17 global development targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These SDGs focus on a broad range of issues, including ending poverty and hunger, reducing inequality, ensuring healthy lives, achieving gender equality, and promoting peace. For each selected SDG, the course will analyze the relevant theoretical framework, research methodology, empirical evidence, and related alternative studies. At the end of the course, students will become familiar with the current research agenda of IDOs, cutting-edge methods of analysis, and the latest development research findings. This course is accessible for students who have had Intermediate Microeconomics and Statistics

Inequality is at the forefront of the public debate in much of the world. It has become a growing concern for policymakers, particularly because of its implications for social and economic development, public finance, and governance. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with different concepts of economic inequality, spanning from income and wealth inequality, to inequality of opportunity, relative deprivation, and poverty. For each topic, the course will analyze the relevant theoretical framework, measurement issues, empirical evidence, and available policy instruments. At the end of the course, students will have acquired the skills to conduct basic distributional analyses using real household survey data and to critically discuss recent case studies from developed and developing countries.

This course examines the politics of income distribution and redistribution in the US and other advanced democracies. It considers the effects of economic change, policies and institutions in creating or reducing inequality in advanced democracies, as well as the reciprocal effects of inequality on political activity, policy choices and western societies more generally. The course covers both seminal contributions to the study of (re)distribution as well as cutting-edge empirical work on the determinants and effects of inequality. For students writing theses, this course will enable learning of research methods and identification of research topics.

In this course, you will address real-life developmental tasks based on issues related to social sustainability. You will identify key concepts, use diagnostic tools, search for data, and assess policy questions. Using these resources in a policy lab setting, you will work together with peers to analyze existing challenges such as ethnic exclusion, sexual orientation discrimination laws, as well as unfair transitions to decarbonization in developing contexts. This course will be taught by a Lead Economist of the World Bank.

Very few issues trigger the intense interest of economists, politicians, public servants, and citizens as public debt does. Debt can be an enormous resource to finance public policies aimed at boosting economic growth and welfare or could crowd-out private sector investment significantly, create economic instability (including high inflation), pose inter-generational equity problems, and hurt long-term growth through the ill effects of an unsustainable dynamics. This course aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of the macroeconomic and political factors behind economic crises and public debt sustainability. It will explore key theoretical foundations and empirical evidence, with a focus on the interplay between economic factors and (domestic and international) political institutions. In the process, we will go over well-known economic crises, which will serve to illustrate analytical concepts, with the occasional participation of guest senior policymakers.

This class will cover issues pertaining to comparative and international political economy. Topics include, but are not limited to, inequality and redistribution, the politics of trade liberalization, political business cycles, and corruption.

This course will focus on three forms of misuse of political power for personal and political gain: corruption, patronage, and clientelism. The course will examine how each phenomenon is defined and measured, what are considered their main causes, in what ways they may be damaging for political and economic systems in which they exist, and whether and how they may be contained. In doing so, we will also pay close attention to the theoretical and empirical tools used to formulate and answer research questions. Finally, the lectures and course assignments will be designed to encourage students to identify and develop research questions of interest towards their senior thesis.

This seminar surveys an important field of political economy, and is built around two central questions: (i) how do institutions evolve in response to incentives, strategies, and choice; and (ii) how do institutions affect the economic development of nations? The course examines several analytical concepts from the “new institutional economics,” and applies these concepts to contemporary issues in international development.

This 1-credit course aims to support undergraduate scholars who have already completed some original research in political economy and/or economics in the continuing research-refinement process. Though many Georgetown students participate in undergraduate economics research, many of these opportunities are limited by the semester-based academic calendar. Consequently, the full promise of undergraduate economics research projects is often left unrealized. This course seeks to help students refine their late-stage research projects and prepare those projects for publication.

Students will work together in small groups to target specific academic outlets for publication. They will then work in those groups to refine their research deliverables to cater to the identified publication's needs. Students will work throughout the semester with the goal of submitting their projects to peer-reviewed academic journals, working-paper series, official blogs, relevant think tanks etc. Prerequisites: Completion of some original research in a field of economics. Students must submit a research paper and must receive a letter of recommendation from the appropriate research supervisor or professor overseeing a research class. Course seating is limited and admittance will be determined by the professor to ensure the quality of submitted research projects.

To apply for this course, please submit an unofficial copy of your transcript and a copy of your original research paper/project. All materials should be submitted in a single .pdf document. Please email applications materials to bsfsdeans@georgetown.edu with the subject line IPEC/IECO-490_[LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME]_APPLICATION. All applications should be submitted by Friday, May 11 at 11:59PM. Additionally, a faculty who supervised your research should submit a note of recommendation by email to Professor Shareen Joshi at sj244@georgetown.edu.

This seminar is designed to prepare students to carry out methodologically sound research at the cutting edge of international political economy and political economy. To achieve this purpose, the course will focus on the writing and presentation of a senior thesis. Its goal is to teach students to evaluate scholarly literature, assess its merits and limitations systematically, and make progressive contributions to the field. We will analyze contributions to ongoing debates and research programs using a set of research design questions as a guide. Students are expected to apply the same critical skills when writing and presenting their own research in class. Student presentations and papers will be evaluated using the same research design criteria. Greater understanding of the core works in the field is a positive externality in this course, but its focus will be on the writing, presentation and evaluation of senior theses.