Course 2015-2016 a.y.

Go to class group/s: 31

DES-ESS (6 credits - II sem. - OBS  |  SECS-P/07)

Course Director:
GIOVANNI FATTORE

Course Objectives

In the second module of “Institutions, Government and Society” EES and DES students have the opportunity to understand the fundamentals of some major traditions in the social science . Students can choose between this course, focus on political science and institutions from an economic perspective, and Institutions, Government and Society (IIA).

Course Content Summary

First Block - Political Science and Rational Choice (Instructor: Massimo Morelli)
The course focuses on the following topics: (1) what is the role of institutions (e.g. democratic versus non democratic, weak versus strong executive constraints, parliamentary versus presidential regimes, common law versus Roman law) for economic outcomes, both on average and in terms of stability? (2) How do institutions typically evolve or change, and what triggers reforms? Where do for example preferences for electoral system reforms come from? What connections exist between political institutions and bureaucratic institutions, and how does the connection between politics and bureaucracy evolve in different systems? (3) What are the main obstacles to rational collective decision making in different types of public policy making institutions? For example, for the provision of public goods what are the pros and cons of voluntary uncoordinated provision versus collective decision in committees?
All these three broad questions will be addressed making use of simple game theory logic and relying on a mixture of textbook chapters and a few articles. Empirical results in the literature on the various questions will be mentioned, but no new empirical techniques will be learned in this course.
Second Block - Institutions and economic outcomes (Instructor: Carlo Devillanova)
The aim of the course is to lay the groundwork for an understanding of the role of institutions in modern economic systems. The course starts by examining the so-called fundamental causes of long-run development (geography, institutions, and culture) and then focuses on the link between (formal and informal) institutions and macroeconomic outcomes.
The first part of lectures discusses the conventional theoretical framework used to identify growth-enhancing institutions. It also presents recent empirical evidence on the causal effect of institutions on long-term development. The second part of lectures offers a broad overview of alternative approaches to study the relationship between institutions and economic outcomes. The main goal is to highlight the variety of available methods and theories, which often deliver very different policy prescriptions on how to shape economically efficient institutions. The relationship between institutions, inequality and macroeconomic outcomes is also addressed. Finally, the last part covers some new developments of macroeconomic modelling, which help to reconcile the different approaches/conclusions surveyed in the first two blocks of the course.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

For both blocks the assessment and final grade is based on a written exam, with no difference between attending and non-attending students.
Per entrambi i blocchi la valutazione sarà effettuata tramite un esame scritto, senza alcuna distinzione tra studenti frequentanti e non frequentanti.

Textbooks

Reading material will be made available at the beginning of the course.
Il materiale didattico sarà reso disponibile all’inizio del corso.

BLOCCO 1: Il materiale d’esame include slide delle lezioni e le letture contrassegnate da un asterisco. Le altre letture non sono obbligatorie (con l’eccezione di alcune parti che potrebbero essere incluse nelle slide). Tutte le slide e le letture, inclusi i capitoli dei libri, saranno disponibili come file .pdf attraverso la piattaforma e-learning.
BLOCK 1: The material for the exam includes lecture slides and the readings marked with an asterisk. The other readings are non-compulsory (except for parts that may be included in the slides). All slides and readings, including the book chapters, will be available as .pdf through the e-learning space.

BLOCCO 2: La maggior parte del corso si basa su articoli in riviste scientifiche e working papers. Una lista di letture obbligatorie sarà fornita all'inizio del corso. Le slide presentate a lezione saranno caricate in anticipo e costituiscono materiale obbligatorio ai fini della preparazione dell'esame. Queste contengono anche ulteriori riferimenti bibliografici opzionali.
BLOCK 2: Most of the course is based on articles from scientific journals and working papers. The compulsory readings will be provided at the beginning of the course. A set of slides and lecture notes will be uploaded before class and are compulsory material for the exam. The slides will also offer an extended, optional reading list.

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Prerequisites

NONE

Last change 26/05/2015 09:54