political economy phd usa

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Political Economics

The political economics field is an interdisciplinary field focusing on the collective, political activity of individuals and organizations.

The PhD Program in political economics prepares students for research and teaching positions by providing rigorous training in theoretical and empirical techniques. The intellectual foundation for the program is positive political economy, which includes formal models of rational choice, collective action, political institutions, political competition, and behavioral political economy. Development and extensions of theories are often combined with empirical analysis, including the identification of causal effects.

Students become involved in research early in the program. They begin their own research during the first year and are required to write research papers during the summers following the first and second years. The program is flexible and allows ample opportunity to tailor coursework and research to individual interests. The program is small by design to promote close interaction between students and faculty.

Fields of Inquiry

Specific fields of inquiry include:

• Bureaucratic politics
• Comparative institutions
• Constitutional choice
• Government and business
• Interest groups
• Judicial institutions
• Law and economics
• Legislative behavior and organization
• Macro political economy
• Political economy of development
• Political behavior and public opinion

Cross-Campus Collaboration

The program, embedded in the larger community of political economics scholars at Stanford University, combines the resources of Stanford GSB with opportunities to study in the departments of economics and political science .

Drawing on the offerings of all three units, students have a unique opportunity to combine the strengths of economic methods and analytical political science and to apply them to the study of political economy. The program involves coursework in economic theory, econometrics, game theory, political theory, and theories of institutions and organizations.

Preparation and Qualifications

Faculty selects students on the basis of predicted performance in the PhD Program. Because of the rigorous nature of the program, a substantial background or ability in the use of analytical methods is an important factor in the admission decision.

In many instances, successful applicants have majored in economics, mathematics, or political science as undergraduates. However, this background is not a prerequisite for admission.

Students are expected to have, or to obtain during their first year, mathematical skill at the level of one year of calculus and one course each in linear algebra, analysis, probability, optimization, and statistics.

The successful applicant usually has clearly defined career goals that are compatible with the purposes of the program and is interested in doing basic research in empirical and/or theoretical political economics.

Faculty in Political Economics

Jonathan bendor, steven callander, katherine casey, dana foarta, andrew b. hall, bård harstad, saumitra jha, daniel p. kessler, neil malhotra, gregory j. martin, condoleezza rice, emeriti faculty, david p. baron, david w. brady, keith krehbiel, recent publications in political economics, trading stocks builds financial confidence and compresses the gender gap, effects of a u.s. supreme court ruling to restrict abortion rights, asymmetric ideological segregation in exposure to political news on facebook, recent insights by stanford business, studying news junkies reveals insights into online reading and info bubbles, the gap between the supreme court and most americans’ views is growing, the federal government pays farmers. that doesn’t mean farmers are fans..

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Berkeley Berkeley Academic Guide: Academic Guide 2023-24

Political economy.

About the Program

The Designated Emphasis (DE) in Political Economy gives PhD students at UC Berkeley the opportunity to strengthen their training in interdisciplinary political economy, to join a vibrant intellectual community that cuts across academic units on campus, and to earn an extra credential along with their doctoral degree. This program has multiple benefits for faculty and graduate students as well as for the campus community more broadly, positioning Berkeley at the cutting edge of the study of interdisciplinary political economy, both nationally and internationally.

Visit Program Website

PhD students in any department may apply. All applications must be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee of the Graduate Group. In order to gain such approval, students must have taken one core course (or be enrolled in one) before applying to the Designated Emphasis. Students should take care to make their applications  before  their qualifying exams.

Doctoral students must commit to fulfilling the DE requirements and present a tentative plan for doing so (with proposed courses, dates for those courses, and a target date for the Qualifying Examination).

Designated Emphasis Requirements

Students in the DE must take three courses from the list below, or two courses from the list plus a third course with substantial political economy content that has been approved by the Designated Emphasis's head graduate advisor. At least two of the three courses must be taken outside of the student’s home department. And the three courses must be from at least two different departments.

Core Course List

DE students are encouraged to embrace the spirit of the program, and not only to satisfy the minimum formal requirements. In particular, they are encouraged to take at least two courses that stretch them beyond the most prevalent approaches to political economy in their home disciplines.

DE students will also be required to participate in DE workshops to be held about once a month during the fall and spring semesters. They will also be encouraged to participate in the Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative (BESI) Programs.

Since the Economics Department and the Haas School political economy programs overlap, students in one of these units may only count one course in the other unit as an “outside” course. Thus, an Economics student could count one Haas course as an outside course, but would have to take at least one course outside of both Economics and Haas.

The History Department offers a variety of seminars with the number 280, so only those that focus on political economy will count for this program. In case of doubt, check with the DE's graduate student affairs officer.

Examination and Dissertation Requirements

Students must be admitted to the DE before the qualifying examination . The qualifying examination must include examination of knowledge within the DE.

Students must have at least one DE faculty member on their Qualifying Exam and Dissertation Committees. They should choose that member(s) from the Designated Emphasis affiliated faculty roster. Students may also request approval from the graduate adviser for another faculty member, who has substantial expertise in political economy, and whose own work is relevant to that of the student.

The dissertation topic must incorporate study within the Designated Emphasis.

Designated Emphasis Conferral Process

The Designated Emphasis will be awarded solely in conjunction with the doctoral degree and will be signified on the student’s transcript.

Contact Information

101 Stephens Hall

Phone: 510-642-4466

[email protected]

Chair and Head Graduate Advisor

Steven Vogel

[email protected]

Associate Director, Political Economy

Alan Karras

[email protected]

Director of Administration

[email protected]

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Dreux Montgomery

[email protected]

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When you print this page, you are actually printing everything within the tabs on the page you are on: this may include all the Related Courses and Faculty, in addition to the Requirements or Overview. If you just want to print information on specific tabs, you're better off downloading a PDF of the page, opening it, and then selecting the pages you really want to print.

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Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Political Economy

Program description.

Our nationally recognized, interdisciplinary PhD in Public Policy and Political Economy degree program offers training opportunities for doctoral students from internationally renowned faculty. The mission of the program is to prepare our students for professional positions in research, teaching, and practice in fields related to public policy and political economy, in both academic and nonacademic settings. We prepare students through instruction in social science and public policy concepts, advanced methodological knowledge, applied social research techniques and professional communication skills. PPPE students and faculty are encouraged to promote an inclusive and diverse environment that is committed to continued scholarship and service.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program seek positions such as: academics and researcher, policy analysts, government officials, consultants in development policy, foreign and security policy, public administration and public policy.

Marketable Skills

Review the marketable skills for this academic program.

Application Requirements

Degree requirements:  Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

GPA:  Minimum of 3.2.

Test score required:  Yes

A score of 160 Verbal and a score of 148 Quantitative on the GRE, or equivalent score on the GMAT is preferred.

Letters of recommendation:  3

Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from individuals who can judge the candidate’s probability of success in graduate school. Use the electronic request form in the graduate application to submit the letters. Contact the graduate academic program department if you have any questions.

Admissions essay required:  Yes

A one-page essay outlining the applicant’s background, education, and professional objectives.

Deadlines:  University  deadlines  apply.

About the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

Every new generation inherits a world more complex than that of its predecessors, which prompts a need for new thinking about public policies that impact people’s daily lives. In the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS), we examine the implications of innovation and change for individuals and communities. The social sciences are where the world turns to for answers to the important issues of today and the future such as education and health policy, financial crises, globalization, policing, political polarization, public management, terrorism, and the application of geographical information sciences to study social, economic and environmental issues.

As an undergraduate in EPPS, you will have the opportunity to work with professors who are probing issues that will affect your future. You will develop the vital skills you need to thrive in a rapidly evolving, highly competitive job market. EPPS will prepare you for careers in government, non-profits and the private sector that enable you to make a real difference in the world of today and tomorrow. EPPS is at the forefront of leadership, ethics and innovation in the public and nonprofit sectors. Our students and faculty look forward to new opportunities to study and address the complex and evolving issues of the future. Research informs much of the instruction. The school has four centers of excellence:

• Center for Global Collective Action
• Texas Schools Project
• Institute for Urban Policy Research
• The Negotiations Center

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts : Criminology , economics , geospatial information sciences , international political economy , political science , public affairs , public health , public policy , sociology

Master of Science : Applied sociology , criminology , economics , geospatial information sciences , international political economy , social data analytics and research

Master of Arts : Political science

Master of Public Affairs : Public affairs

Master of Public Policy : Public policy

Doctor of Philosophy : Criminology , economics , geospatial information sciences , political science , public affairs , public policy and political economy

Certificates

EPPS offers the following 15-hour graduate certificates, which generally can be completed in one year of part-time evening classes:

• Economic and Demographic Data Analysis : focusing on the understanding and application of quantitative analysis of demographic and economic data.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) : focusing on the application of GIS in government, private sector and scientific areas.
• Geospatial Intelligence : focusing on the application of geospatial ideas and techniques to national security and other intelligence activity.
• Local Government Management : designed to broaden knowledge of important issues and approaches employed by professional local public administrators.
• Nonprofit Management : designed to provide an overview of the nature and context of nonprofit organizations and develop competencies needed by nonprofit managers.
• Program Evaluation : designed to provide students the opportunity to gain competencies in the design and implementation of program evaluations in fields such as education, health care, human services, criminal justice and economic development.
• Remote Sensing : focusing on remote sensing and digital image processing.

Contact Information

Marjorie McDonald Graduate Program Administrator Email:  [email protected] Phone: 972-883-6406

Dr. Thomas Gray Associate Program Head and Director of Graduate Studies Email:  [email protected] Phone: 972-883-4948

Degree Information Dr. Tom Brunell, Program Head Email:  [email protected] Phone: 972-883-4963

epps.utdallas.edu/

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We have received your request for more information. Our admissions team will contact you soon to share details about pursuing your academic goals at UT Dallas.

The University of Texas at Dallas respects your right to privacy . By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails and calls from a representative of the University.

* Required Field

The Ph.D. program at Harris Public Policy prepares students for careers in academia, industry, and government. It emphasizes a rigorous foundation in microeconomics, econometrics, and political economy, along with in-depth study of particular substantive areas associated with policy and policy-making. The program allows students to develop individualized and innovative courses of study in which they work closely with faculty members of the School and the University.

Consistent with the highly quantitative and analytic nature of the Harris School's Ph.D. degree, Harris has categorized the degree under a code which is currently on the DHS STEM list . Students on F-1 visas who have earned a degree that has been designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a STEM degree may be eligible to apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion optional practical training (OPT) so long as they meet all eligibility criteria at the time of application.

Ph.D. Program Requirements

Get information about the curriculum and academic requirements for the Ph.D. in Public Policy Program.

If you have questions about the Harris degree requirements, email the Harris Dean of Students Office at  [email protected] . Policies on the results of not meeting these requirements can be found on the Harris policies page .

Ph.D. Candidates on the Job Market

Meet the Ph.D. program’s current job market candidates.

Ph.D. Placements

See where our graduates go on to make an impact.

Ph.D. Workshop

Engage with our students' research.

Program Details

Director of graduate studies.

Steven Durlauf , Professor ([email protected])

Durlauf's research spans many topics in microeconomics and macroeconomics. His most important substantive contributions involve the areas of poverty, inequality and economic growth. Much of his research has attempted to integrate sociological ideas into economic analysis.

Associate Directors

Yana Gallen , Assistant Professor ([email protected])

Eyal Frank , Assistant Professor  ([email protected] )

Dean of Students

Kate Shannon Biddle ([email protected])

Program Director

Barbara Williams ([email protected])

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Phd in political economy & government.

The PhD in Political Economy and Government is designed for students interested in the impact of politics on economic processes and outcomes, and the reciprocal influence of economic conditions on political life. It is appropriate for students whose academic interests are not served by doctoral studies in Economics or Political Science alone.

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• Political Economy

This field examines the reciprocal relationships between politics and markets, both within and among countries, using a variety of analytical tools, including those of economics. Its concerns include interactions among economic and political development; cooperation and conflict among nations, groups, and individuals; the distribution of material resources and political power; the effects of political actors and institutions on economic outcomes; the causes and consequences of technological and structural change, growth, and globalization; and regulation.

First Field

Course requirements.

• POLSCI 745 Core in Political Economy
• ECON 601 Microeconomics
• POLSCI 747S Seminar on Political Economy: Macro Level OR an approved macroeconomics course
• 2 field course in political science

Preliminary examination

All students must complete a preliminary examination at the end of their second year which consists of a second year paper and an oral defense. The second year paper must be submitted to the student’s preliminary exam committee and the DGS by May 1 st and the oral examination must be completed by May 15 th . Students should speak with the field chair and their primary advisor(s) well in advance of these deadlines to ensure a shared understanding of what is expected.

Second Field

• ECON 601 Microeconomics OR POLSCI 747S Seminar on Political Economy: Macro Level OR an approved macroeconomics course
• American Political Institutions and Behavior
• Decision Theory and Data Science
• International Relations
• Law and Political Theory
• Certificate: Philosophy, Politics & Economics
• Certificate: Decision Sciences
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Independent Study
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• American Values & Institutions Program
• American Grand Strategy Program
• Peter G. Fish Fellowship
• Ralph Bunche Summer Institute
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• M.A. Analytical Political Economy (MAPE)
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• Normative Political Theory & Philosophy
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• Theme Fields
• Ph.D. Financial Support
• How to Apply and FAQ
• Living in Durham
• Polarization Lab
• Worldview Lab
• Duke Initiative on Survey Methodology
• Duke Program in American Grand Strategy
• Politcal Institutions and Public Choice
• Triangle Institute for Security Studies
• Political Theory in the Triangle

Program Requirements

The PhD program in political economy is structured to provide accelerated and intensive training in formal theory and empirical methods for causal inference alongside substantive training in political science. Students who satisfy the following program requirements graduate with a PhD in political economy.

Core coursework

Students are required to take (normally in the first year):

• Formal Political Theory I, II, and III. This sequence provides training akin to graduate microeconomics, but with a focus on topics and methods of particular importance to scholars of political economy.
• Applied Econometrics I, II, and III. This sequence, which is shared with the Harris School Ph.D. program in public policy, provides training in statistical methods and tools of causal inference.

They are also required to take (normally in the second year):

• Political Economy I (Formal Models of Politics), Political Economy II (Theory and Empirics in Political Economy), and Political Economy III (Advanced Topics in Political Economy). This sequence builds upon tools learned in the first year of the program.

Elective coursework

Students must also take at least eight elective PhD-level courses. In consultation with their advisor, students may choose courses from Political Science, the Harris School, or elsewhere in the University.

As part of their elective coursework, students must complete a field-seminar sequence in Political Science (one or two courses, depending on the field) in American politics, comparative politics, international relations, or political theory. If no field seminar is offered for the student’s chosen field, the student may take one or more alternative courses, to be approved by the program director in consultation with the student’s advisor and relevant faculty in Political Science.

Research Paper

By the end of their second year in the program, students must complete a research paper that uses formal theory and/or empirical methods of causal inference in a sophisticated way to answer an important question about politics. This paper may be coauthored with other graduate students but not with faculty. The paper is read by two affiliated faculty, who evaluate the manuscript as if it were a journal submission. Following receipt of faculty comments, students revise and resubmit their paper, for review by the same affiliated faculty.

Comprehensive Exams

Students must pass comprehensive exams in three areas: formal theory, econometrics, and a substantive subfield of political science (American politics, comparative politics, international relations, or political theory).

The comprehensive exams in formal theory and econometrics are written exams, to be administered the summer after the first year. Students who received an average grade of B+ or better in the first-year sequence in formal political theory are exempt from the comprehensive exam in formal theory; students who received an average grade of B+ or better in the first-year sequence in applied econometrics are exempt from the comprehensive exam in econometrics.

The substantive subfield exam is a two-hour oral exam, to be administered by two faculty, at least one of whom must be an affiliate of the program. This exam must be taken no later than the end of the second year.

Substituting prior coursework for program requirements

In limited circumstances, and with the approval of the program director, students with prior graduate training may replace one or more required courses with an equal number of elective courses. Students who have completed the equivalent of either of the first-year core sequences at some other university can petition to take the comprehensive exam in that area upon entry into the program. Performance on the exam equivalent to a grade of A- or better allows for elective coursework to be taken in place of the core sequence.

Requirements for progression beyond the second year

To progress beyond the second year, students must

• Receive a passing grade in all core courses and eight electives, as specified above; two of the elective courses, but not the field-seminar sequence in Political Science, can be taken pass/fail
• Receive a B+ or better in each of the core second-year courses in political economy
• Receive approval of the research paper
• Receive a passing grade or grade-based exemption on all three comprehensive exams

Coursework beyond the second year is optional but encouraged if important for a student’s research.

Mentored Teaching Experience

Students in the program serve as a teaching assistant, core intern, core lecturer, or lead instructor in at least three courses. Teaching outside of Political Science or the Harris School must be approved by the program director. Under typical circumstances, students do not teach until their third year in the program.

Dissertation

Under the supervision of a dissertation committee, students prepare a dissertation proposal during their third year. The committee must comprise at least three University faculty. At least two committee members, including the chair, must be affiliates of the program. The proposal must be defended no later than the end of the Autumn quarter of the fourth year in the program.

Defense of the completed dissertation takes place before the dissertation committee. Under typical circumstances, this occurs by the end of the fifth year in the program. Students may request an additional year to complete a dissertation project, should the nature of the student’s research require it (e.g., because the project requires extensive fieldwork). Any such request must be approved by the program director, in consultation with the student’s advisor. No extensions are provided beyond the sixth year.

Measuring Progress

Continued enrollment in the program requires students to make satisfactory academic progress. The program reviews student progress annually, and will communicate deficiencies to the student, along with a timeline for completing the deficiencies, and the consequences resulting from failure to do so.

Students with questions about program requirements and milestones should contact Marcy Krause ( [email protected] ) Program Administrator. Students may also contact Brett Baker ( [email protected] ), Associate Dean of Students in the Social Sciences, and Amanda Young ( [email protected] ), Director, Graduate Student Affairs in UChicagoGRAD. 

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Graduate Program

Pushing the Scholarly Frontier

PhD in Political Science

Our doctoral students are advancing political science as a discipline. They explore the empirical phenomena that produce new scholarly insights—insights that improve the way governments and societies function. As a result, MIT Political Science graduates are sought after for top teaching and research positions in the U.S. and abroad. Read where program alumni are working around the world.

How the PhD program works

The MIT PhD in Political Science requires preparation in two of these major fields:

• American Politics
• Comparative Politics
• International Relations
• Models and Methods
• Political Economy
• Security Studies

We recommend that you take a broad array of courses across your two major fields. In some cases, a single course may overlap across the subject matter of both fields. You may not use more than one such course to "double count" for the course distribution requirement. Keep in mind that specific fields may have additional requirements.

You are free to take subjects in other departments across the Institute. Cross-registration arrangements also permit enrollment in subjects taught in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and in some of Harvard's other graduate schools.

Requirements

1. number of subjects.

You will need two full academic years of work to prepare for the general examinations and to meet other pre-dissertation requirements. Typically, a minimum of eight graduate subjects are required for a PhD.

2. Scope and Methods

This required one-semester seminar for first-year students introduces principles of empirical and theoretical analysis in political science.

3. Statistics

You must successfully complete at least one class in statistics.

You must successfully complete at least one class in empirical research methods.

5. Philosophy

You must successfully complete at least one class in political philosophy.

6. Foreign language or advanced statistics

You must demonstrate reading proficiency in one language other than English by successfully completing two semesters of intermediate-level coursework or an exam in that language, or you must demonstrate your knowledge of advanced statistics by successfully completing three semesters of coursework in advanced statistics. International students whose native language is not English are not subject to the language requirement.

7. Field research

We encourage you to conduct field research and to develop close working ties with faculty members engaged in major research activities.

8. Second Year Paper/workshop

You must complete an article-length research paper and related workshop in the spring semester of the second year. The second-year paper often develops into a dissertation project.

9. Two examinations

In each of your two elected fields, you must take a general written and oral examination. To prepare for these examinations, you should take at least three courses in each of the two fields, including the field seminar.

10. Doctoral thesis

As a rule, the doctoral thesis requires at least one year of original research and data collection. Writing the dissertation usually takes a substantially longer time. The thesis process includes a first and second colloquium and an oral defense. Be sure to consult the MIT Specifications for Thesis Preparation as well as the MIT Political Science Thesis Guidelines . Consult the MIT academic calendar to learn the due date for final submission of your defended, signed thesis.

Questions? Consult the MIT Political Science Departmental Handbook or a member of the staff in the MIT Political Science Graduate Office .

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Political Science | Economics

Phd in political science & economics.

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The PhD interfield degree program combines courses from both sides in the Division of Politics & Economics (DPE) for an interdisciplinary political economy degree.

This innovative interfield degree program combines PhD-level research in political science, economics, methods, and political economy. Leading faculty-scholars from both fields impart the skills, knowledge, and experience that will qualify you for competitive careers in the nonprofit sector, corporate arena, government, consulting, academia, and more. Students must be accepted into the PhD interfield by the Department of Politics and Policy or the Department of Economic Sciences.

Program Highlights

• This program requires a minimum of 80 units composed of a core, a methods minor field, a political science major field, and an economics major field.
• Students in the PhD interfield degree program must pass qualifying examinations in both major fields of study and defend a dissertation proposal and a dissertation that meets rigorous methodological standards and draws from both major fields.
• The Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies is the research arm of the Economics and Political Economy programs at CGU and provides opportunities for research assistantships as well as access to field-related seminars, conferences, workshops, and sessional professional meetings.

Program at a Glance

UNITS 80 units

*Program completion times may vary depending on course registration, units transferred, and time to complete other degree requirements.

COURSES BEGIN Fall | Spring

DEPARTMENTS Economic Sciences , Politics & Policy

DIVISION Division of Politics & Economics

DEGREE AWARDED PhD in Political Science & Economics

Featured Courses

This course examines the state of modern macroeconomics and its evolution. The course is analytically rigorous and draws on empirical evidence but without being highly technical. Furthermore, it explores the political influences that affect the design of macroeconomic policy.

This course presents the neoclassical theory of welfare economics, demand, cost, the firm, and competitive and monopoly price in product and factor markets under conditions of certainty in a rigorous way. Introduction to positive transaction costs economics.

This course covers probability and statistics. Topics include the fundamental concepts of probability theory, Bayes’ rule, notions of discrete and continuous distributions, hypothesis testing, and other necessary statistical instruments, which are widely used in almost every phase of your academic career. A firm understanding of mathematical techniques and its applications covered in this class is essential for successful graduate studies in economics.

The main goal of this course is to introduce students to interpreting and collecting data to answer social science questions. With respect to interpretation, students will learn how to define correlations and causal effects.

Surveys and applies over 20 different methods and tools (including econometrics, big data, game theory, network analysis, social media, machine learning, sentiment analysis and data mining) to solve real world political, economic, and business issues. Students will learn and use widely accepted analytics software platforms, including Excel, R, STATA, TABLEAU, and GEPHI.

This course is designed to give students a flexible and broad toolkit for conducting quantitative social science research. It will cover the skills needed to collect, clean, aggregate, explore, visualize, and analyze data using the R statistical language. It will cover everything from general programming and workflow to web scraping and mapping.

Core Courses (24 units)

Political Economy Required Courses:

• International Political Economy (4 units)
• Comparative Political Economy (4 units)

Microeconomics & Macroeconomics

Required Courses:

• Microeconomic Analysis (4 units) OR
• Consumer Theory and General Equilibrium (4 units)
• Modern Macroeconomics: Analysis, Policy and Applications

Two of the following, with approval of the field advisor.

• Game Theory and Asymmetric Information (4 units)
• Macroeconomics Analysis II (4 units)
• Computational Tools for Social Sciences (4 units)

Research Tools (16 units)

Choose one of the following four-course statistical sequences.

Track 1 (required for those whose primary department is Economics)

• Nature of Inquiry: Quantitative Research in Social Sciences (4 units)
• Math for Economists (4 units)
• Probability and Statistics for Econometrics (4 units)
• Econometrics I (4 units)
• Econometrics II (4 units)

Track 2 (open to those whose primary department is Politics & Policy)

• The Nature of Inquiry: Quantitative Research in Social Sciences (4 units)
• Introduction to Statistical Analysis (4 units)
• Multivariate Regression Analysis (4 units)
• Applied Data Analysis (various letters and topics) (4 units)

Field Options (40 units)

Political Science (20 units)

The Faculty of Political Science requires a minimum of five (5) courses to complete a field (20 units). Here is a list of concentrations available:

• American Politics
• Comparative Politics
• International Politics
• International Political Economy
• Public Policy
• Research Methodology

Economics (20 units)

• Crime & Law Economics
• Behavioral, Experimental, and Neurological Economics
• International Economic & Development Policy (see your advisor)

The Inequality and Policy Research Center (IPRC) is an initiative of the Institute for Democratic Renewal. IPRC supports the scientific analysis of political, health, socioeconomic, and group-specific inequality in the United States and abroad. We develop evidence-based policy and program solutions to problems related to inequality. For more information: https://research.cgu.edu/democratic-renewal/iprc/

The Institute for Democratic Renewal provides students hands-on engagement with and scholarly reflection upon the core issues facing the institutions and processes of democracy in the United States and abroad. Prominent, significant research projects have included Renewing Democracy Through Interracial/Multicultural Community Building. This project led to the production and publication of the Community Builder’s Tool Kit: A Primer for Revitalizing Democracy From the Ground Up (more than 70,000 copies in six languages are in use nationwide).

Faculty & Research

Mark Abdollahian

Full Clinical Professor

Research Interests

Strategic Decision Making, International Political Economy, Sustainable Development

Carlos Algara

Mary Toepelt Nicolai and George S. Blair Assistant Professor

American politics, the United States Congress, ideological representation, electoral politics, elite institutions

Heather E. Campbell

Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy Director, Division of Politics & Economics

Public Policy, Urban Environmental Policy, Environmental Justice

Jean Reith Schroedel

Professor Emerita of Political Science Former Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy

Native American voting rights, American political development, women and politics, religion and politics, and congressional policy-making

Paul J. Zak

Professor of Economic Sciences, Psychology & Management Director, Center for Neuroeconomics Studies

Neuroeconomics, Neuroscience of Narratives, Neuromanagement

C. Mónica Capra

Professor of Economic Sciences

Experimental Economics, Behavioral Economics, Neuroeconomics

Joshua Tasoff

Associate Professor of Economic Sciences

Behavioral Economics, Experimental Economics, Animal Welfare Economics

Luther Lee Jr. Memorial Chair Professor

International Political Economy, International Relations, Political Economy of China and Latin America, Quantitative Methodology

Graham Bird

Clinical Professor of Economic Sciences Program Director: International Money and Finance; International Economics and Development Policy Co-Director: Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies

International Finance, International Macroeconomics, Economic Development

Robert Klitgaard

University Professor

Public Policy, Economic Strategy, Institutional Reform, Corruption

Tom Kniesner

Senior Research Fellow

Labor Economics, Health Economics, Econometrics

Jacek Kugler

Elisabeth Helm Rosecrans Professor of International Relations

Causes and Consequences of War, Political Performance, Power Transition

Assistant Professor

Development, political behavior, urban politics, digital technology

American Politics, Racial and Ethnic Politics, Political Behavior, Public Opinion, Political Psychology, Data Visualization

Javier Rodríguez

Associate Professor Field Chair for Policy

Public & Health Policy, Social Inequality, Quantitative Methods for Social Science Research

Melissa Rogers

Associate Professor, Politics & Policy Co-Director, Inequality and Policy Research Center Field Chair, Comparative Politics Field Chair, American Politics

Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Economic Inequality

Thomas Willett

Professor Emeritus Director, Claremont Institute for Economic Studies

International Money and Finance, International Political Economy and Economic Policy

Request information about the Political Science | Economics program

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Assistant Director of Admissions T: 909-607-3925 E: [email protected]

Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Political economy.

The Political Economy and Institutions research cluster examines the interplay between politics and economics. It is a field of study that focuses on the ways in which political institutions, policies, culture, and geography interact in shaping the observed variation in economic and political outcomes across the globe. Shedding light on how legacies of the past shape contemporary economic, cultural, and political institutions can help us better understand the forces that generate persistence and as well the catalysts for change. Scholars working within political economy often also take into account the distribution of power and resources within a society and how these factors shape various institutions. 

Robert Blair

Donghyun Danny Choi

Pedro Dal Bó

Gemma Dipoppa

Brian Knight

Stelios Michalopoulos

David Skarbek

PPE Workshop - Eduardo Montero (Chicago, Public Policy)

February 7, 2024 at 25 George Street

PPE Workshop - Alexandra Cirone (Cornell, Political Science)

February 21, 2024 at 25 George Street Providence RI

Related Courses

Will examine relationships and interactions among institutions, criminal actors, and violence. State-based institutions play an important role in explaining the level of disorganized or organized crime. Organized crime groups, in turn, influence both state-based institutions (for example, through corrupting officials) and other criminal activity, often by creating the “rules of the game” by which other criminals can act. Finally, both state-based and criminal actors and institutions influence the level of violence in society. Each of these three influences, and is influenced by, the others. This course offers the opportunity to better understand how these three factors relate to each other.

This interdisciplinary course provides an overview of some of the core conceptual tools used to analyze issues at the intersection of philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE). A range of theoretical topics are covered, including: game theory, property, markets, distributive justice, public choice theory, voting, and more. We will read classical and contemporary sources on these topics as well as explore their applications to contemporary social problems (including: climate change, healthcare rationing, price gouging, universal basic income, pharmaceutical regulations, and others).

Why are some societies rich and others poor? While typical answers emphasize proximate causes like factor accumulation, technological progress, and demographic change, weighing the shadow of history on contemporary economic performance occupies an increasing part of the agenda among growth and development economists. This course will critically survey the recent empirical literature highlighting the role of historical events and geographic endowments in shaping social, political, and cultural factors and the process of development.

Weighing the shadow of history on contemporary economic performance occupies an increasing part of the agenda among growth and development economists. This course will focus on recent contributions in the literature of the historical determinants of comparative development paying particular attention on how to integrate the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the research inquiry. The goal is to get you thinking about the big historical processes that have shaped the modern world. We will go over background concepts, critically review recent works and talk about new research designs, like that of spatial regression discontinuity.

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of major theories and empirical approaches to the study of identity politics. Throughout the semester we will read a combination of the classics and cutting-edge research in political science, economics, psychology, exploring a range of topics with implications for politics and societies around the world. These topics include: how identity should be conceptualized and measured; why some forms of identity are activated, mobilized, and contested; how identities are represented politically; how racial and ethnic identities intersect with other salient identities; how social diversity and civil society are interrelated; what factors affect the integration of immigrants; and which varieties of democracy enable the flourishing of plural identities. Readings for these topics will focus on the United States and the other parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

A theoretical and empirical examination of economic growth and income differences among countries. Focuses on both the historical experience of countries that are currently rich and the process of catch-up among poor countries. Topics include population growth, accumulation of physical and human capital, technological change, natural resources, income distribution, geography, government, and culture.

Featured Research

Religion and educational mobility in africa.

Alberto Alesina, Sebastian Hohmann, Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou "Religion and educational mobility in Africa." Nature May 17, 2023

Analytic Narratives in Political Economy

David Skarbek, and Emily Skarbek. “Analytic Narratives in Political Economy.” History of Political Economy, April, 12, 2023

Stelios Michalopoulos, Melanie Meng Xue. "Folklore" The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 136, Issue 4 January 30, 2021

Ethnic Bias in Judicial Decision-making: Evidence from Criminal Appeals in Kenya

Donghyun Danny Choi, J. Andrew Harris, and Fiona Shen-Bayh. "Ethnic Bias in Judicial Decision-making: Evidence from Criminal Appeals in Kenya." American Political Science Review. 2022. 116(3), 1067-1080.

The Hijab Penalty: Feminist Backlash Against Muslim Immigrants

Donghyun Danny Choi, Mathias Poertner, and Nicholas Sambanis. "The Hijab Penalty: Feminist Backlash Against Muslim Immigrants." American Journal of Political Science. 2023. 67(2), 291-306

Preventing Rebel Resurgence after Civil War: A Field Experiment in Security and Justice Provision in Rural Colombia

Robert A. Blair, Manuel Moscoso-Rojas, Andres Vargas Castillo, and Michael Weintraub. "Preventing Rebel Resurgence after Civil War: A Field Experiment in Security and Justice Provision in Rural Colombia" American Political Science Review: 31 March 2022

The Franchise, Policing, and Race: Evidence from Arrests Data and the Voting Rights Act

Giovanni Facchini, Brian Knight, and Cecilia Testa. "The Franchise, Policing, and Race: Evidence from Arrests Data and the Voting Rights Act" June 24, 2020

Vote Early And Vote Often? Detecting Electoral Fraud From the Timing of 19th Century Elections

Francesco Ferlenga and Brian G. Knight"VOTE EARLY AND VOTE OFTEN? DETECTING ELECTORAL FRAUD FROM THE TIMING OF 19TH CENTURY ELECTIONS" NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES, August 2022

Political Economy at Berkeley

The Political Economy major is designed to study the relationship between government, society, and the economy in a holistic manner from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Political Economy majors investigate how real-world market systems are embedded in both politics and society. They graduate with a mastery of a broad range of contemporary analyses as well as a deep understanding of classic works of political economy.

The study of Political Economy is both scientific, with its rigorous attention to social science methodology, and normative, with its concern for the big questions of how best to organize politics, society, and the economy. Political Economy seeks to examine the role of the state in the economy, and to assess which government policies and market institutions can move us toward a better society.

The major focuses on contemporary problems while building on a strong historical foundation. Students can choose to study such topics as economic development, trade and investment, global inequality, climate change, resource distribution, gender relations, financial systems, information technology, or health policy.

Some of the issues addressed in the major and its courses include, but are not limited to:

• How rising consumer demand impedes efforts to combat climate change;
• How different national or subnational varieties of capitalism serve diverse priorities;
• How public and private sector institutions affect economic performance.
• How democratic and authoritarian political systems operate differently;
• How interdependence may undermine the efforts of national governments to cope with urgent national issues such as unemployment, inflation, health, and housing;
• How social, political and economic factors combine to exacerbate economic inequality both within and across countries; and
• How political interests can impede the pursuit of public purpose both domestically and internationally.

Political Economy Major Map

How to declare a major, the berkeley economy & society initiative (besi), the berkeley political economy journal, major program, minor program, graduate program.

PEG PhD Dissertations and Job Placements

In this section.

• Degree Requirements
• Current Students
• Dissertations & Job Placements
• Faculty & Research

Learn about the dissertations of our PhD in Political Economy and Government graduates and their job placements directly following graduation.

2023-present

Kevin deluca (government track).

Dissertation Title: Newspaper Endorsements, Candidate Quality, and Election Outcomes in the United States Advisor:  James M. Snyder Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Yale University

josé Ramón Enríquez (government track)

Dissertation Title: Essays on the Political Economy of Development Advisor: Jeffry Frieden ,  Rema Hanna Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Digital Economy Lab & Golub Capital Social Impact Lab, Stanford Graduate School of Business

casey Kearney (government track)

Dissertation Title: Essays in International Finance and the Political Economy of Capital Flows Advisor: Jeffry Frieden Job Placement: Assistant Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science

casey Petroff  (government track)

Dissertation Title: Essays in Political Economy Advisor: Jeffry Frieden Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Rochester

Awa Ambra seck  (economics track)

Dissertation Title: Essays in Economic Development and Political Economy Advisor:  Nathan Nunn , Emily Breza Job Placement: 

• Assistant Professor, BGIE Unit, Harvard Business School
• Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard Academy

Sarah Armitage

Dissertation Title: Essays in Environmental Economics Advisor: Joseph Aldy Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Boston University

Kevin Connolly (economics track)

Dissertation Title: The Economic, Social and Health Effects of America's Two-Year Public College Advisor:  Edward Glaeser Job Placement: to be confirmed

alley Edlebi (economics track)

Dissertation Title: Essays in Applied Economics Advisor: Crystal Yang Job Placement: to be confirmed

Michael-David Mangini

Dissertation Title: How Commerce Becomes Compromised: Economic Coercion and Credibility in the Age of the Global Economy Advisor: Jeffry Frieden Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance

Hillary Stein

Dissertation Title: Essays on International Finance and Political Economy Advisor:  Kenneth Rogoff Job Placement: Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Augustin Bergeron

Dissertation Title: Essays in Development and Public Economics Advisor:  Nathan Nunn Job Placement:

• Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Southern California
• Post-Doctoral Fellow, Stanford King Center on Global Development

Enrico Di Gregorio

Dissertation Title: Essays in Public Finance and Political Economy Advisor:  Stefanie Stantcheva Job Placement: Economist, International Monetary Fund

Felipe Jordán

Dissertation Title: Essays on the Influence of Western Institutions on Indigenous Societies Advisor: Rema Hanna Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Brian Wheaton

Dissertation Title: Essays on Political Economy and Macroeconomics Advisor: Robert J. Barro Job Placement: 

• Assistant Professor, Anderson School of Management, University of California Los Angeles
• Hoover Fellow 2021-2022, Hoover Institution  

Andrea Passalacqua (economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Banking and Corporate Finance Advisor: Jeremy Stein Job Placement: Economist, Federal Reserve Board  

Juan Sebastián Galán (government track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays on the Political Economy of Latin American Development Advisors: Melissa Dell ,  Nathan Nunn Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Economics, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

Siddharth George (economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Development Economics Advisor: Rohini Pande Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College

Soeren J. Henn (government track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays on State Building and Economic Development Advisors:  Torben Iversen ,  Nathan Nunn Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Innovations for Poverty Action, University of Chicago  

Pamela Ban (government track)

Dissertation Title:  The Changing Influence of Committees in Congress Advisor:  James M. Snyder, Jr. Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California San Diego

Laura Blattner (economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Finance and Economic Policy Advisors:  Gita Gopinath ,  Jeremy Stein Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Finance, Finance Group, Stanford Graduate School of Business

John Coglianese (economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays on the Macroeconomics of Labor Markets Advisor: Lawrence Katz Job Placement: Economist, Research Division, Labor Markets Group, Federal Reserve Board

Andrew Garin (economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays on the Economics of Labor Demand and Policy Incidence Advisors:  Nathaniel Hendren ,  Lawrence Katz Job Placement: Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

Edoardo Teso (economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Political Economy Advisor:  Alberto Alesina Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Department of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Jonathan Weigel (Government track)

Dissertation Title:  Taxation, Corruption, and Engagement With the Formal State: Experimental Evidence From the D.R. Congo Advisor: James Robinson Job Placement: Assistant Professor of International Development, International Development Department, London School of Economics and Political Science  

Marek Hlavac (Government track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Political Economy Advisor:  Torben Iversen Job Placement: Economics Teacher, United World Colleges (UWC) Adriatic

Danial Lashkari (Economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Innovation and Growth Advisors:  Pol Antràs ,  Marc Melitz Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Boston College

Sara Lowes (economics track)

Dissertation Title:  Understanding the Process of Economic Development: Essays on Culture and Institutions Advisor:  Nathan Nunn Job Placement: Assistant Professor, Bocconi University

MaliHeh Paryavi (economics track)

Dissertation Title: Essays on Gender and Decision Marking in Political Economy Advisor: Iris Bohnet Job Placement: Consultant, Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice, The World Bank

Guilherme Lichand

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Development Economics Advisor:  Nathan Nunn Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics University of Zurich

Mauricio Fernández Duque

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Social Influence in Political Economy: How Expectations and Identity Affect Pro-Social Leading and Following Advisor:  Michael Hiscox Track: Government

Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Harvard University

Angela Fonseca Galvis

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Political Economy Advisor:  James Robinson Track: Government

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Pontificia Universidad Javeriana 

Sabrina Howell

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Energy Economics and Entrepreneurial Finance Advisors: Josh Lerner ,  David S. Scharfstein Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Finance New York University Stern School of Business

Dissertation Title:  The Clash of Brothers: Wars to Avoid Diffusion in a Contagious World Advisors: James Robinson ,  Andrei Shleifer Track: Government

Job Placement: Economist Core Data Science Division Facebook

James Mahon

Dissertation Title:  Essays in U.S. Fiscal Policy Advisors:  Raj Chetty ,  Edward Glaeser Track: Economics

Job Placement: Manager Transfer Pricing Division Deloitte Tax

Jesse Schreger

Dissertation Title:  Essays in International Finance and Macroeconomics Advisors: Gita Gopinath ,  Kenneth Rogoff Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Harvard Business School (Post-Doc at Princeton University, Department of Economics)

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Economic Geography Advisors:  Edward Glaeser ,  Marc Melitz Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Michigan State University (Post-Doc at Dartmouth College)

Jessica Blankshain

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Interservice Rivalry and American Civil-Military Relations Advisor: Daniel Carpenter Track: Government

Job Placement: Assistant Professor United States Naval College

Joana Naritomi

Dissertation Title:  Essays in Public Finance and Development Economics Advisor:  Raj Chetty , Michael Kremer Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Economics London School of Economics and Political Science

Arash Nekoei

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Unemployment and Labor Supply Advisor:  Raj Chetty , Lawrence Katz Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Economics Institute for Economic Studies

Hye Young You

Dissertation Title: Three Essays on Lobbying Advisor:  James M. Snyder, Jr. Track: Government

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Vanderbilt University

Paul Novosad

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Local Economic Growth in India Advisor:  Asim Khwaja Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Economics Dartmouth College

Eliana Carranza

Dissertation Title: Economics Sources of Son Preference, Sex-Differential Treatment and Household Fertility Behavior Advisor:  Lawrence Katz Track: Economics

Job Placement: Economist The World Bank

Dissertation Title:  Politics and Policy: Essays in Economics Advisor:  Andrei Shleifer Track: Economics

Job Placement: Associate McKinsey & Company

Supreet Kaur

Dissertation Title:  Essays on Labor Markets in Developing Countries Advisor:  Sendhil Mullainathan Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Economics and International Affairs Columbia University

Dissertation Title: Essays in Institutional Economics Advisor:  Sendhil Mullainathan Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Law New York University School of Law

Martin Kanz

Dissertation Title: Essays in Finance and Development Economics Advisor:  Andrei Shleifer Track: Economics

Rodrigo Wagner

Dissertation Title: Macroeconomic Recovery, Export Innovation and the Coordination of Entrepreneurs in the Global Economy Advisor: Dani Rodrik Track: Economics

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Tufts University

Lucy Clare Barnes

Dissertation Title: Essays on the Political Economy of Redistribution Advisor:  Torben Iversen

Job Placement: Prize Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Nuffield College, University of Oxford

Magnus gustav Feldmann

Dissertation Title: Post Communist Capitalism: The Politics of Institutional Development Advisor:  Torben Iversen

Job Placement: Assistant Professor School of Sociology, Politics, and International Relations University of Bristol

Daniel Fetter

Dissertation Title: Federal Policy and the Mid-century Transformation in U.S. Housing Markets Advisor:  Edward Glaeser

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Wellesley College

Dilyan Donchev

Dissertation Title: Essays on Corruption Measurement, Trust, and Investors in Eastern Europe Advisor: Jeffry Frieden

Job Placement: Researcher International Finance Corporation The World Bank

Joseph Mazor

Dissertation Title: A Liberal Theory of Natural Resource Property Rights Advisor: Dennis F. Thompson

Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Center for Human Values Princeton University

Sandip Suktahnkar

Dissertation Title: Essays in Development Economics Advisor:  Sendhil Mullainathan

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Dartmouth College

Alexis J. Diamond

Dissertation Title: Essays on Causal Inference in Observational Studies Advisor: Rubin

Maria Petrova

Dissertation Title: Political Economy of Media Capture Advisor: Kenneth A. Shepsle

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics New Economic School, Moscow

Philipp Schnabl

Dissertation Title: Essays on Banking and Corporate Finance Advisor:  Sendhil Mullainathan

Gilles Serra

Dissertation Title: Why and When Do Political Parties Adopt Primary Elections? A Theoretical and Comparative Study Advisor:  Kenneth A. Shepsle

Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Fellow Nuffield College, Oxford University

Katharine Romaine Emans Sims

Dissertation Title: Balancing Land Conservation and Economic Development: Three Essays Advisor: Robert Stavins

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Amherst College

Gernot Wagner

Dissertation Title: Essays on Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Advisor:  Robert Stavins

Job Placement: Consultant Boston Consulting Group

Randall Kekoa Quinones Akee

Dissertation Title: Three Essays in Economic Development: Lessons from Three Small Indigenous Nations Advisor:  Sendhil Mullainathan

Job Placement: Research Associate Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Bonn, Germany

Rebecca Thornton

Dissertation Title: Incentives and Information in Developing Countries Advisor:  Michael Kremer

Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Fellow Population Research Center University of Michigan

Shanna Rose

Dissertation Title: Essays in Institutions and Fiscal Policy in the American States Advisor: James Alt

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science State University of New York at Stony Brook

Alexander Wagner

Dissertation Title: Essays on Organizational Economics Advisor: Richard Zeckhauser

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Finance and Financial Markets University of Zurich

Shigeo Hirano

Dissertation Title: Party Labels, Institutions and Personal Politics in the United States and Japan Advisor:  James Alt

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science New York University

Dissertation Title: Essays on International Price Co-Movements Advisor: Dale Jorgenson

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Trent University

Martin Sandbu

Dissertation Title: Explorations in Process-Dependent Preference Theory Advisor: Amartya Sen

Job Placement: Post-Doctoral Fellow The Earth Institute Columbia University

Jeremy Weinstein

Dissertation Title: Inside Rebellion: The Political Economy of Rebel Organization Advisor: Robert H. Bates

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Stanford University

Rachel Deyette Werkema

Dissertation Title: Access, Choice, and Opportunity: Three Studies of Educational Inequality Advisor: Katherine S. Newman

Job Placement: Deputy Research Director MassINC

Etienne Yehoue

Dissertation Title: Currency Blocs and International Risk Sharing Advisor: Jeffrey Frankel

Amanda Friedenberg

Dissertation Title: Epistemic Analysis of Games Advisor: Adam Brandenburger

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Economics Olin Business School Washington University in St. Louis

Daniel Devroye

Dissertation Title: Essays on Inequality: Causes and Consequences of Income Differences in the American Political Economy Advisor: Richard B. Freeman

Lucy Goodhart

Dissertation Title: Moderating Passions? Coalition Government and Policy Cycles in Advanced, Industrialized Democracies Advisor:  Jeffrey Frankel

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Columbia University

Anne Joseph

Dissertation Title: Political Appointees and Auditors of Politics: Essays on Oversight of the American Bureaucracy Advisor: Christopher Avery

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Berkeley Law School

Ruben Lubowski

Dissertation Title: Determinant of Land-Use Transitions in the United States: Econometric Analysis of Changes Among the Major Land-Use Categories Advisor: Robert Stavins

Job Placement: Research Economist U.S. Department of Agriculture

Jian-li Yang

Dissertation Title: Strategic Ambiguity in Electoral Politics Advisor:  Richard Zeckhauser

Job Placement:

Mary Kay Gugerty

Dissertation Title: Savings, Sanctions, and Support: Essays on Collective Action and Community Organizations in Kenya Advisor: Merilee Grindle

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Public Affairs Evans School of Public Affairs University of Washington

Nathaniel owen Keohane

Dissertation Title: Essays in the Economics of Environmental Policy Advisor:  Robert Stavins

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Yale University School of Management

Raja Nazrin

Dissertation Title: Essays on Economic Growth in Malaysia in the Twentieth Century Advisor: C. Peter Timmer

Job Placement: Crown Prince Perak, Malaysia

Miriam Jorgensen

Dissertation Title: Bringing the Background Forward: Evidence from Indian Country on the Social and Cultural Determinants of Economic Development Advisor: Joseph Kalt

Job Placement: Senior Researcher Harvard Project on American Indian Development

Vladimir Klyuev

Dissertation Title: Essays on Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy in Transition Economies Advisor: Dani Rodrik

Job Placement: Economist International Monetary Fund

Kathleen O’Neill

Dissertation Title: Decentralization in the Andes: Power to the People or Party Politics? Advisor:  Robert H. Bates , Jorge I. Dominguez,  Dani Rodrik

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Cornell University

Dissertation Title: Distributional Trade-offs and Partisan Politics in the Post-Industrial Economy Advisor:  Robert H. Bates ,  Peter A. Hall ,  Torben Iversen ,  Paul Pierson

Sousan Abadian

Dissertation Title: From Wasteland to Homeland: Trauma and the Renewal of Indigenous Peoples and Their Communities Advisor:  Amartya Sen

Job Placement: Consultant Private Company

Alison Alter

Dissertation Title: The Allocation of Legislative Property Rights in Comparative Perspective: The German Bundesrat and the United States Senate Advisor:  Kenneth A. Shepsle

Dissertation Title: Investment Appraisal of Management Strategies for Addressing Uncertainties Advisor: Glenn P. Jenkins

Job Placement: Vice-Chairman Jyoti Group of Companies

Ishtiaq Pasha Mahmood

Dissertation Title: Technological Innovation in East Asia and the Role of Business Groups Advisor: F.M. Scherer

Job Placement: Assistant Professor National University of Singapore

Rosemary Fernholz

Dissertation Title: Sustained Farmer Participation in Social Forestry: Case Study in the Philippines Advisor:  C. Peter Timmer

Job Placement: Visiting Professor College of Business and Economy De La Salle University, Philippines

Scott c. Bradford

Dissertation Title: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Trade Protection in Industrialized Democracies Advisor: Robert Lawrence

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Economics Brigham Young University

Mihir A. Desai

Dissertation Title: Essays in Corporate and Public Finance Advisor: Christopher Avery

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Harvard Business School

Sven e. Feldmann

Dissertation Title: Electoral Competition, Interest Group Influence, and Direct Democracy: Three Essays in Positive Political Economy Advisor:  Kenneth A. Shepsle

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Harris School of Public Policy University of Chicago

David D. Kane

Dissertation Title: Disagreement Advisor:  Richard Zeckhauser

Job Placement: Consultant Private Investment Company

Melissa a. Thomas

Dissertation Title: Building the Rule of Law: Government Design for Legal Implementation Advisor: Robert H. Bates

Fausto Alzati

Dissertation Title: The Political Economy of Growth in Modern Mexico Advisor:  C. Peter Timmer

Job Placement: Private Law Practice

Mark S. Bonchek

Dissertation Title: From Broadcast to Netcast: The Internet and the Flow of Political Information Advisor: Sidney Verba

Job Placement: Consultant Private Software Company

Alan C. Hartford

Dissertation Title: Academic-Industry Relationships in the Biomedical Sciences: Academic Norms and Conflicts of Interest Advisor: David Blumenthal

Job Placement: Academic Researcher Beth Israel Hospital

Steven J. Kafka

Dissertation Title: Delegation and Institutional Design: Bureaucratic Structure and the Political Control of Agencies Advisor:  Kenneth A. Shepsle

Adam S. Posen

Dissertation Title: Monetary Realism: Central Banks and the Political Economy of Disinflation Advisor: Benjamin Friedman

Job Placement: Economist Federal Reserve Bank

Nicholas n. Eberstadt

Dissertation Title: Policy and Economic Performance in Divided Korea, 1945-1995 Advisor:  C. Peter Timmer

Job Placement: Consultant American Enterprise Institute

Lionel R. Ingram

Dissertation Title: Major Factors Influencing Allied Decisions Regarding the Allocation of Resources to Defense Advisor: Richard Neustadt

Lora L. Sabin

Dissertation Title: The Development of Urban Labor Markets in Contemporary China Advisor: Dwight H. Perkins

Job Placement: Researcher College of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Alexander Schuessler

Dissertation Title: Symbols, Intention and Mass Participation: The Political Economy of Non-Rational Motivation Advisor:  Kenneth A. Shepsle

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Politics New York University

Steven A. Block

Dissertation Title: Agricultural Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa Advisor:  C. Peter Timmer

Job Placement: Research Associate Harvard Institute for International Development

Jeffrey R. Franks

Dissertation Title: Collective Action in the Informal Sector of Developing Countries: A Rational Choice Approach Advisor:  Kenneth A. Shepsle

G. Oliver Fratzscher

Dissertation Title: The Political Economy of Trade Integration: Welfare Implications in a Trading Block Model, Political Sustainability in a Pressure Group Model, and Effects of FDI in a Gravity Model Advisor:  Robert Lawrence

Janet C. Gornick

Dissertation Title: Women, Employment, and Part-Time Work: A Comparative Study of the United States, The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia Advisor: William Julius Wilson

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science City University of New York

Robert Lowry

Dissertation Title: The Political Economy of Environmental Citizen Groups Advisor: Joseph Kalt

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Michigan State University

Kalypso a. Nicolaidis

Dissertation Title: Mutual Recognition Among Nations: The European Communities and Trade in Services Advisor: Robert O. Keohane

Job Placement: Assistant Professor of Public Policy Harvard Kennedy School

Subramanian Rangan

Dissertation Title: The Pricing and Sourcing Responses of United States Multinationals to Exchange Rate Changes Advisor:  Robert Lawrence

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Corporate Strategy and International Management Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD)

Francois DeGeorge

Dissertation Title: Essays on Initial Public Offerings of Stock Advisor:  Richard Zeckhauser

Job Placement: Assistant Professor Hautes Études Commerciales

Catherine A. Rielly

Dissertation Title: Do Households Pool Their Savings? An Empirical Investigation of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (RoSCAs) in Cameroon Advisor:  C. Peter Timmer

Job Placement: Consultant Abt Associates

Gangadhar P. Shukla

Dissertation Title: Taxation of Exhaustible Natural Resources with Stochastic Prices Advisor: Glenn P. Jenkins

Job Placement: Research Associate Institute for International Development Harvard University

100 Best colleges for Political Economy in the United States

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in the United States ranked based on their research performance in Political Economy. A graph of 2.49M citations received by 130K academic papers made by 393 universities in the United States was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of California - Berkeley

For Political Economy

2. Yale University

3. Stanford University

4. Columbia University

5. University of California - Los Angeles

6. University of Chicago

7. New York University

8. Princeton University

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

10. Cornell University

11. Harvard University

12. University of California-San Diego

13. University of Washington - Seattle

14. University of Texas at Austin

15. University of Wisconsin - Madison

16. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

17. Ohio State University

18. Georgetown University

19. George Washington University

20. Duke University

21. Michigan State University

22. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

23. Johns Hopkins University

24. Pennsylvania State University

25. University of California - Irvine

26. Washington University in St Louis

27. University of Maryland - College Park

28. George Mason University

29. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

30. University of Notre Dame

31. American University in Washington

32. University of Southern California

33. University of Arizona

34. University of Pittsburgh

35. Rutgers University - New Brunswick

36. University of California - Davis

37. University of Pennsylvania

38. Arizona State University - Tempe

39. Emory University

40. Syracuse University

41. University of Virginia

42. Vanderbilt University

43. Indiana University - Bloomington

44. University of California - Santa Barbara

45. Tufts University

46. University of Colorado Boulder

47. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

48. University of Iowa

49. Northwestern University

50. University of Illinois at Chicago

51. Florida State University

52. University of Massachusetts - Amherst

53. University of Florida

54. Binghamton University

55. University of California - Santa Cruz

56. Boston University

57. CUNY Graduate School and University Center

58. Dartmouth College

59. Texas A&M University - College Station

60. New School

61. University of Utah

62. California University of Pennsylvania

63. University of California - Riverside

64. University of Houston

65. University of Rochester

66. University of Georgia

67. Temple University

68. Boston College

69. John Brown University

70. Georgia State University

71. University of North Texas

72. University of Missouri - Columbia

73. Rice University

74. University of Kentucky

75. University of Kansas

76. University of Denver

77. Loyola University Chicago

78. University of South Carolina - Columbia

79. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

80. Florida International University

81. University at Buffalo

82. University of Miami

83. University of Massachusetts - Boston

84. Brown University

85. University of Connecticut

86. University of Alabama

87. SUNY at Albany

88. University of Oregon

89. Iowa State University

90. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

91. Marquette University

92. Stony Brook University

93. University of Tennessee - Knoxville

94. John F. Kennedy University

95. Colorado State University - Fort Collins

96. Tulane University of Louisiana

97. Brigham Young University - Provo

98. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

99. University of Oklahoma - Norman

100. Texas Tech University

The best cities to study Political Economy in the United States based on the number of universities and their ranks are Berkeley , New Haven , Stanford , and New York .

Economics subfields in the United States

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The U.S. Economy’s Rebound Since COVID Is Kind of Incredible. Why Doesn’t Anyone Seem to Realize This?

There is a distinctly political tenor to biden’s trouble on the issue that defies material conditions..

President Joe Biden spent most of his recent State of the Union address celebrating his economic record, with good reason. There is no denying the numbers: The United States currently enjoys the highest rate of economic growth among nations in the G7, the lowest inflation , and the strongest wage growth . The unemployment rate hasn’t been this low for this long in half a century . Even accounting for inflation, wages are higher today than they were before the coronavirus pandemic, and the biggest wage gains have accrued among the lowest-paid workers , resulting in a dramatic reduction in overall wage inequality . The economy is even outperforming among communities that are often excluded from boom-time gains. Biden has overseen the lowest Black unemployment rate on record and the lowest ever unemployment rate for workers with disabilities . The American economy isn’t perfect, but by any historical standard it is very, very good.

So, it’s remarkable that Biden finds himself needing to do so much persuasion on the campaign trail. Voter views on the economy are modestly improving , but survey after survey reveals a disconnect between the country’s economic performance and public sentiment. A recent USA Today poll shows that only one-third of voters believe that the economy is currently in “recovery.”

Economists and political messaging gurus have been trying to explain this for some time now, and while there are subtle differences among their various explanations, most ultimately argue that voters really, truly do not like inflation and are also a little confused when they talk about the economy.

There is surely something to both of these ideas—but there is a distinctly political tenor to Biden’s trouble on the economy that defies material conditions. Macroeconomic metrics have been improving steadily for a long time now—inflation peaked all the way back in the summer of 2022—and for much of that period, voter assessments of Biden’s performance actually deteriorated as the economy strengthened. Even today, when some voters say they like the economy, they remain reluctant to give Biden credit for it.

Much of this scenario can be laid at the feet of the Democratic Party. Not the official fundraising and administrative apparatus that runs conventions and formulates policy platforms, but the broad constellation of think tanks, nonprofits, academic experts, and journalists that collectively regulates the liberal intellectual atmosphere. For much of his presidency, Biden has been the victim of a centrist revolt against his economic program that the progressive wing of the party has been either unable or unwilling to put down. Everyone expects Republicans to give a Democratic president a hard time, but sharp and sustained economic criticism from Biden’s ostensible allies established a narrative of failure that has proved alarmingly resistant to reality.

Biden frequently draws distinctions between himself and the progressive left on police reform, immigration, and other issues where he thinks liberal ideas don’t fit the national mood. But this is not the way he has handled economic policy. From his first day in the Oval Office, Biden has embraced nearly every progressive criticism of Barack Obama’s approach to the economy, and translated those critiques into policy. Obama scoffed at labor unions ; Biden walked a picket line and appointed the most pro-worker National Labor Relations Board in decades. Obama’s Education Department screwed over student debtors ; Biden has canceled $138 billion in student debt. Obama defended big business ; Biden has been an antitrust warrior . Obama was a free trader, while Biden subsidizes domestic manufacturing . Obama offered to cut Social Security ; Biden just torched Republicans during his State of the Union for planning the same thing.

The list goes on. But the most important economic distinction between Biden and Obama is on crisis relief. The unemployment rate was high and rising when Obama entered office, escalating to 9 percent by April 2009, a level it would not retreat below for more than two years. When jobs did eventually return, most of those that were created paid poverty wages . The abysmal labor market made his presidency synonymous with the Great Recession.

The chief lesson Biden’s advisers took from this miserable experience was that the government didn’t spend enough in Obama’s 2009 stimulus package to get unemployment under control. More money would have meant more jobs, and more jobs would have put upward pressure on wages.

So Biden opted to spend much bigger out of the gate—$1.9 trillion to Obama’s $800 billion—and continued to secure additional rounds of support right up to the 2022 midterms. Obama began calling for budget cuts with unemployment still stuck above 9 percent, but Biden never pivoted to austerity, and ultimately secured well over $1 trillion in additional public investment after his initial stimulus bill had been enacted.

All this fiscal support resulted in a much stronger labor market. The unemployment rate fell below 5 percent by September 2021—a level Obama did not enjoy until the final days of his presidency—amid record wage growth for low-income workers. The economy never recovered all the manufacturing jobs it lost during the Wall Street crash. Biden had recovered all of those lost in the COVID collapse by May 2022. The COVID crash was sharper, deeper, and more physically disruptive to global trade than the 2008 Wall Street meltdown was, but the U.S. economy rebounded faster, stronger, and more equitably thanks to Biden’s more aggressive relief effort.

But not everyone was happy about this strategy at the time. When Biden signed his first economic relief bill into law in March 2021, former Obama adviser Larry Summers declared it “the least responsible macroeconomic policy we’ve had in the last 40 years” and upbraided “the Democratic left” for preventing a smaller package. All this spending, Summers claimed, risked a run of inflation. People were going to have too much money on their hands, and this excess spending power would lead to higher prices that made everyone poorer. When prices did indeed begin rising in the second half of 2021, the business press hailed Summers as a prophet , and a host of liberal commentators began tipping their hats to him.

Inflation arrived when the national mood was already in the toilet. Deadly car accidents were up, road rage incidents were soaring, and murder rates were rising. More people died from COVID-19 in 2021 than in 2020, even though vaccines were widely available. In monthly Gallup polling , Biden’s approval rating fell from 56 percent in June 2021 to 40 percent in January 2022, and all of this negativity made progressive institutions increasingly reluctant to claim credit for his approach to economic relief. Voters didn’t seem to care about Biden’s strong labor market—they were mad about inflation and everything else.

And so the economic commentary field remained open to Summers and other expert doomsayers —including some with politics well to Summers’ left. Economics dominated the news cycle in a way that it hadn’t since the banking crash, and seemingly everyone had something terrible to say about it. Biden wasn’t creating enough union jobs . His spending was really just a corporate welfare extravaganza . He was stealing jobs from Europe . There were too many regulations on manufacturers. There weren’t enough regulations on manufacturers. A recession was coming . A recession was already here . Some high-profile Democrats even insisted that a recession was necessary —on CNBC, former Obama and Clinton adviser Jason Furman argued that millions of workers would have to be laid off to get inflation back under control. Summers even floated the possibility of 10 percent unemployment.

To give all these haters their due, it really is hard to understand what is happening in the economy in real time, and even the best economists sometimes make predictions that look silly in retrospect. But what is remarkable about the Biden era is the degree to which critics on the left, right, and center basically agreed with one another beneath all the ideological dross. Almost everyone had come up with a way to argue that Biden had engaged in wasteful spending that left ordinary people behind.

Almost everyone. Throughout all this ugliness, a niche discourse continued in the econosphere about whether Summers had correctly nailed the cause of inflation. If Americans really were victims of overspending, then the only way to get inflation back down would indeed be to cause a recession. The problem, according to Summers and Furman, was that everyone had too much money. The solution was to take that money away.

But another camp argued that this was the wrong way to look at an economy that had just emerged from a massive shock like the COVID-19 pandemic. In this telling, inflation was driven not so much by an excess of consumer demand as by a dearth of product supply. It was a lot harder to make and distribute a whole host of goods when businesses around the world kept shutting down, and even once everything had fully reopened, it took a long time for companies to reestablish sources and connections. If supply shortages were indeed responsible for higher prices, then Biden’s spending was a feature, not a bug—it was the only thing standing between American households and the economic abyss.

Many economic disputes are vague enough to allow for essentially endless ideological stalemate over statistics, but in this case, a straightforward real-world test was available. Summers and Furman were arguing that layoffs were the only way to bring inflation down. If inflation fell without a flood of layoffs, then the rest of their diagnosis would have to fall with it.

In the American economy, policymakers typically induce job losses through the Federal Reserve. When the Fed raises interest rates, it’s trying to tamp down inflation by creating job losses: Higher rates mean higher business costs, and businesses lay people off in order to remain profitable. This was the Fed’s strategy when it began hiking rates in spring 2022.

The layoffs, however, refused to materialize. When inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in June 2022, the unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent. Today, using the same metrics, inflation is just 3.2 percent, and unemployment is at just 3.9 percent. For 12 of the previous 19 months, the jobless rate has held steady at or below its June 2022 level, while inflation has been running below 4 percent since June 2023. Economists are still debating why the Fed’s higher rates didn’t translate into job losses, but the important point is that millions of people were not, in fact, fired. Moreover, millions of people did not need to be fired in order to fix inflation. As Mike Konczal concluded in a report for the Roosevelt Institute in September 2023, the vast majority of inflation during the Biden years was driven by pandemic-related supply problems. Whatever was going wrong in 2022, it wasn’t because you were too rich.

There is some evidence that the economic commentariat is coming to its senses as the 2024 election approaches. Some of the same centrists who ripped Biden’s stimulus package in 2021 are now applauding his recovery. The anti-Biden left has largely abandoned the economic playing field, finding cleaner grounds for criticism on other subjects . Contrary to the narrative abuse directed at Biden over the past few years, the economic numbers across his presidency tell a simple, optimistic story about the art of government in the democratic world. The American economy is strong today for the same reason that the labor market has been strong throughout Biden’s presidency: the U.S. government spent a ton of money to support workers and their families. Biden has not only established a blueprint for successful crisis management, but he has achieved something on the economy that pessimists across the ideological spectrum have been declaring impossible for much of the 21 st century: He learned from the government’s prior mistakes and found a way to govern better.

The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

2024 us presidential election: is donald trump using christianity in his political campaign.

As the 2024 US Presidential Election is coming close and both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are gearing up for the fight, the former president is reportedly using religious symbols in the political rallies. Know about it.

Trump invokes God at political rally

Evangelical voters back trump, trump compared to jesus, advantage over joe biden, read more news on.

(Catch all the US News , UK News , Canada News , International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates.

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The Political Economy Of Normalization

March 30, 2024 at 12:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Brian Beutler : “If the past seven years have taught us anything it’s that these kinds of organizations—mainstream news outlets, think tanks, elite universities, civil-society organizations—aren’t well calibrated to make moral choices when their mandates come into tension. Abstract values will more often than not yield to other considerations: mass appeal, revenue, brand management, and, given the bent of the modern right, insurance against organized retaliation.”

“I’m not sure if or how the rest of us can change this calculus. The durability of the dynamic may simply underscore two things: First, how important it is for the Trump opposition to embrace politics that convey MAGA’s incompatibility with democratic life; second, our collective obligation to defeat it so soundly that it shrivels on its own, before the corrosive effect it has on these mediating institutions destroys them.”

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About Political Wire

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC .

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More Black and Latino voters favor Trump. But GOP still needs to change its message.

Republicans should relentlessly and directly speak to minority voters' dreams of opportunity. it's a simple and powerful message..

Pollsters and pundits are fixated on whether former President Donald Trump will once again break Democratic dominance in the "blue wall" states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin . But Republicans have a chance to break something much more substantial: the Democratic coalition.

Eight years after Trump coalesced white working-class voters under the Republican banner, he’s now making inroads with Black and Hispanic voters.  Poll  after  poll  shows Republicans closing the gap with Democrats among these demographics, which is a five-alarm fire for the left.

Since 2008, Democrats’ strategy has depended on cleaning up at the ballot box with four key groups, including Black, Hispanic, single women and millennial voters. Two of the four legs are now wobbling, increasing the likelihood that their electoral hopes come crashing down.

Democrats never imagined that Black and Hispanic voters would abandon them. Two decades ago, the left widely believed that minority voters would form the backbone of an unbeatable liberal majority in the 21st century. Since then, Democrats have tried to drive turnout among their coalition by focusing on divisive issues. For single women, they focused on abortion, and for younger voters, climate change and canceling student debt. For Black and Hispanic voters, meanwhile, Democrats have emphasized grievance politics − warning about systemic racism and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Democrats are guaranteed to double down on this approach between now and November, hoping to lure back more minority voters. But liberal leaders should instead ask why so many Black and Hispanic voters have turned rightward in the first place. The answer is simple: The Democratic Party is ignoring the issues they care about most.

Voters of color aren't happy with Biden. But we're not rushing to Trump's camp.

While President Joe Biden and prominent Democrats are focused on grievance politics,  polls show  that Black and Hispanic voters are focused on jobs, inflation and the economy .

In other words, their top issues revolve around opportunity − on making ends meet and making life better for themselves and their children. They want politicians and policies that give them the best shot at the best life.

Inflation has driven up families' monthly expenses

Why aren’t Democrats relentlessly talking about opportunity? Perhaps because of Biden's record in the White House, where he has overseen a devastating rise in the inflation rate.

According to research by Moody's Analytics, the typical family paid $709 a month in extra expenses last year compared with 2021. That's more than $8,500 a year in additional cost for the same goods and services.

Just 20% of Black Americans – same as white Americans – and 14% of Hispanic Americans have a positive view of the Biden economy .

Biden claims to stand for women. But his new regulation will kill jobs that women want.

Democrats are losing minority support because of this widespread economic frustration. Although Trump and Republicans are benefiting from this drift, it’s not fair to say they’re driving it. They’re gaining Black and Hispanic votes by default, when they should be doing a full-court press to win these voters decisively and permanently.

That’s why Republicans should respond to economic frustration by rallying around economic freedom.

Republicans should relentlessly and directly speak to minority voters’ dreams of opportunity. It’s a simple, powerful message − we believe in you, we care about you, we want to help you achieve the American dream.

That’s a powerful contrast with Democrats’ message of grievance and resentment. And it lends itself to a clear policy vision.

Republicans need to promote economic opportunity

Republicans should advocate for destroying bureaucratic barriers to opportunity, entrepreneurship and wage growth. They should call for leveling the playing field, ending subsidies for politically connected big businesses so that regular people can get small businesses off the ground.

Ultimately, they should promise to get government out of the way, because government is the biggest threat to opportunity for Americans of every background. A good practical example are South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s Opportunity Zones , which have spurred investment and entrepreneurship in struggling minority communities since 2017.

Sadly, the GOP isn’t doing enough to advocate for such policies. Instead of standing by its longtime principles of free markets and free people, Republicans are rallying around their own vision of government control − “ industrial policy ,” in which Washington, D.C., props up some industries at everyone’s expense.

At the same time, Trump is engaged in his own brand of grievance politics, endlessly talking about punishing his enemies instead of uplifting all Americans.

The former president and his fellow Republicans don’t seem to want to change their approach, since Black and Hispanic voters are already trending rightward. But they’re not drawn by Trump’s strengths so much as reacting to Biden’s failures.

Republicans have yet to convince minority voters that the GOP is a permanent home for anyone who wants bigger paychecks, better jobs and a brighter future.

If the party stands strong for economic freedom, it won’t just break the “blue wall” of traditionally Democratic-leaning states in the 2024 election. It will break the Democratic coalition for decades to come.

John Tillman is chairman and CEO of the American Culture Project .

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Trump’s Social Media Company Opens New Avenue for Conflicts of Interest

Ethics experts say Trump Media, now a publicly traded company, would present a new way for foreign actors or others to influence Donald J. Trump, if he is elected president.

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By Sharon LaFraniere

When former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company went public this week, supporters and investors betting on Mr. Trump’s political success helped drive the value of a loss-making firm through the roof. Mr. Trump ended the first day of public trading $4.6 billion richer on paper.

If Mr. Trump is elected president, it may not be the last time the company is used as a vehicle to benefit Mr. Trump’s pocketbook, experts said.

Trump Media & Technology Group — the owner of Truth Social, the site Mr. Trump uses to rally his backers and blast his opponents — could present a new, fairly straightforward route for foreign leaders or special interests to try to influence him. Should he retain his control of the company while in office, the ethical questions that arose from Mr. Trump’s hotels and other properties in his first term as president would only multiply when applied to a publicly traded media company, they said.

“This will be a very easy vehicle for foreign governments that want to curry favor with the president to throw money at him in a way that benefits his financial bottom line,” said Jack Goldsmith, a law professor at Harvard University and a top Justice Department official under President George W. Bush.

Corporations and other players wanting to sway Mr. Trump could buy advertising on Truth Social, other experts said. They could try to get on his radar by buying shares in the company. As the nation’s leader whose every utterance is monitored around the world, Mr. Trump would also be in an extraordinary position to drive traffic — and ultimately revenue — by the habitual use of the site.

Ethics experts see few legal obstacles to these scenarios. Presidents are not covered by federal conflict-of-interest law, and efforts to use constitutional checks failed during Mr. Trump’s first term.

Asked how Mr. Trump would manage his roughly 60 percent stake in Trump Media if elected, Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said he would “follow ethics guidelines,” but did not offer specifics.

A number of presidents tried to steer clear of the appearance of profiting off their position by voluntarily putting their assets and investments in blind trusts. President Biden did not need to do that because he invested only in diversified funds that included a variety of companies, a White House spokesman said. Mr. Trump’s decision to maintain his financial interest in his real-estate businesses while president overturned prevailing ethical norms.

Mr. Trump’s critics filed multiple lawsuits claiming that he violated the emoluments, or anti-corruption, clauses of the Constitution, language designed to prevent a president from profiting from his official position, and foreign or state officials from influencing a president through gifts or benefits. They argued that Mr. Trump had illegally benefited from payments from foreign leaders and others who patronized his properties.

But the lawsuits were either dismissed or, after Mr. Trump lost his 2020 re-election bid, declared moot by the Supreme Court . It was never established what constituted an emoluments violation and what would be the remedy.

“I don’t have any doubt whatsoever that the emoluments clause would prove even less an obstacle to Donald Trump were he elected in November than it was when he was president before,” said J. Michael Luttig, a conservative former federal appeals court judge who has argued that Mr. Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election disqualify him from holding public office.

Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, who led a congressional inquiry into Mr. Trump’s conflicts of interest, said: “The emoluments clause right now has been reduced to nothingness. In order to breathe life back into it, Congress must develop a legislative machinery to enforce the principle.”

Foreign or special interests are not the only concern that arises with presidential control of a media company, said Richard Painter, who served as the chief ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush and who later ran for Congress as a Democrat.

If Mr. Trump were re-elected and used Truth Social to communicate in the way that he used Twitter during his first term, Mr. Painter said, “he would be helping himself to profits through United States government traffic” while putting Truth Social’s competitors at an unfair disadvantage.

He said Mr. Trump would most likely face the same type of criticism that dogged Silvio Berlusconi, whose company controlled much of the national television broadcasting in Italy while he served as the country’s prime minister. Mr. Berlusconi, who served nine years as prime minister, dismissed allegations of conflicts of interest by saying that he had relinquished control of his media empire to his sons. Three independent watchdog groups said Mr. Berlusconi’s control of major media outlets threatened or limited the independence and diversity of Italy’s press.

After Mr. Trump’s election in 2016, his advisers said that presidents were not required to separate themselves from their financial assets and that Mr. Trump’s precautions would be sufficient to protect him from influence seekers . Mr. Trump described the emoluments clause as “phony.”

He gave his sons day-to-day control of the Trump Organization, the main umbrella group for his businesses, but was still closely tied to the organization . Mr. Trump also pledged to donate any profits from foreign government spending to the U.S. Treasury.

Mr. Raskin and other Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability estimated that Mr. Trump’s businesses garnered at least $7.8 million from foreign governments or their leaders while he was in office, mostly from China and Saudi Arabia. The Trump Organization donated only about $459,000 to the Treasury, they said.

Perhaps even more than with his hotels, golf courses and other enterprises, Mr. Trump’s personal involvement in the social media company is considered critical to its success.

In filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the company behind the merger, tied the operation’s hopes directly to Mr. Trump. Were Mr. Trump to divest of his financial interest, or no longer devote a substantial amount of time to Truth Social, the business could suffer, the filings stated.

Mr. Trump created Truth Social in 2021 after Twitter barred him from its platform, citing the risk of violence. Mr. Trump has fewer than seven million followers, compared with about 87 million on X, formerly Twitter. He continued to post almost exclusively on Truth Social even after X reinstated him in November 2022, a sign of his commitment to the platform.

During the first nine months of last year, Trump Media took in just $3.3 million in revenue — all from advertising on Truth Social — and had a net loss of $49 million. But after concluding the merger, Trump Media closed its first day of trading on Nasdaq under the ticker DJT, with an estimated market value of close to $8 billion. That is more than 2,000 times its estimated annual revenue and more than the valuation of corporations like Alaska Airlines and Western Union.

The stock was so high-flying that trading in its shares had to be briefly halted because of extreme volatility.

Mr. Trump, who has been scrambling to post a $175 million bond stemming from a civil fraud case, is currently prohibited from cashing out his shares for six months.

Although Mr. Trump will not serve as the firm’s chairman, the board is stacked with staunch allies. Besides his son, Donald Trump Jr., they include: Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California and Trump Media’s chief executive; Kash Patel, who served as Mr. Trump’s counterterrorism adviser on the National Security Council and who has suggested that some journalists will be legal targets if Mr. Trump is re-elected; Robert Lighthizer, the former U.S. Trade Representative; and Linda McMahon, a Trump campaign fund-raiser who led the Small Business Administration under Mr. Trump.

Matthew Goldstein contributed reporting. Kitty Bennett contributed research.

Sharon LaFraniere is an investigative reporter currently focusing on Republican candidates in the 2024 presidential election. More about Sharon LaFraniere

Our Coverage of the 2024 Elections

Presidential Race

Donald Trump, who ends many of his rallies with a churchlike ritual, has infused his movement with Christianity .

Trump posted a video to his social media website that features an image of President Biden with his hands and feet tied together .

A campaign event intending to galvanize support among organized labor and Latino voters behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid instead drew condemnation from the family of the labor organizer Cesar Chavez .

Other Key Races

Tammy Murphy, New Jersey’s first lady, abruptly ended her bid for U.S. Senate, a campaign flop that reflected intense national frustration with politics as usual .

Kari Lake, a Trump acolyte running for Senate in Arizona, is struggling to walk away from the controversial positions  that have turned off independents and alienated establishment Republicans.

Ohio will almost certainly go for Trump this November. Senator Sherrod Brown, the last Democrat holding statewide office, will need to defy the gravity of the presidential contest  to win a fourth term.