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 Torben Iversen

Comparative Political Economy, Developed countries (Fall 2009)

This is a new lecture course that introduces advanced undergraduates to the field of comparative political economy with a focus on developed democracies in Europe, North America, and East Asia. It is part of a sequence of two courses where the other is focused on developing countries and usually taught by Robert Bates (Gov1100)

 

Gov3007 Research Workshop on Political Economy (Academic year 2009/10)

The Research Workshop on Positive Political Economy is a yearlong graduate seminar aimed at encouraging crossdisciplinary research and excellence in graduate training. We explore how political and economic outcomes reflect choices constrained by institutions, as well as the way in which specific institutions affect change more generally.

 

Gov3006 Research Workshop on Comparative Politics (Academic year 2009/10)

Students in comparative politics, regardless of regional or thematic focus, are cordially invited and encouraged to join. Faculty and graduate students meet each week to discuss work by 1-2 Workshop members, which is circulated in advance. In addition to providing a forum in which students can get feedback on their work in progress, there are sessions that deal with fieldwork, methodology, getting published, and professional development.

 

Gov2160 Politics and Economics (with Jim Alt) (Fall 2008)

This seminar is on the political economy of policymaking and institutional change. Readings include a mixture of foundational approaches and recent research, covering a variety of methodological perspectives. The topical emphasis is on democracy, accountability, inequality, redistribution, and growth. The course provides students interested in these topics an overview over the existing literature (with a focus on recent, exciting work), an understanding of key unanswered questions and puzzles, as well as a set of theoretical and methodological tools that can be employed to answer those questions and puzzles.

 

Gov90au Political Economy (Expected Fall 2010)

Examines modern theories of political economy and their applications to macro problems in advanced industrialized democracies. Why do some governments and countries generate better economic performance than others? Why are some economies more egalitarian than others? How do politicians manipulate the economy for partisan gain, and how are politicians constrained by institutions and the global economy? These are some of the questions that we will seek to answer using the most promising theories in political science and economics.

 

Gov2340 Proseminar on Inequality and Social Policy (Expected Spring 2011)

Deals with the economic, political, and sociological causes of labor market inequality, including educational inequality, intergenerational inheritance of advantages, discrimination, immigration, and labor market regulation. Special attention is given to the economic and social effects of such policies.

 

Gov2105 Comparative Politics Field Seminar (Expected Fall 2009)

Surveys major topics in comparative politics. Works of theoretical importance from both the developed and the developing world considered. Addresses such issues as development of the modern state; institutions of government; social cleavages and interest mediation; democracy and authoritarianism; revolution and political stability; political parties; mass and elite political behavior.

 

Gov2150 Social and Political Change in the Political Economies of Europe (with Peter Hall) (Might be offered again)

Examines the transformation of the west European democracies since World War II. How did the distinctive couplings of an open economy, government activism, and welfare regimes create and change an ‘embedded liberalism’? How did the globalization of capital markets, technology, women in the labor market, postindustrialization, and electoral systems influence the policy response and allocate the costs of adjustment in Europe and the US?

 

Gov90im Comparative Elections and Parties (Might be offered again)

This course is a comparative study of the role of elections and political parties in the governance of liberal democracies. Focusing on Western Europe and North America, the course seeks to understand peoples' motivations in voting, as well as the objectives of parties in attracting support and in exercising power. We will explore the historical origins of modern parties and party systems, the determinants of individual voting behavior, the internal dynamic of parties, their role in electoral competition and government formation, and the effects of partisan governments and elections on public policies and political-economic outcomes (including equality, growth, and business cycles). We will also discuss recent changes in the role of parties and elections, and whether these changes represent a fundamental transformation of party politics.

 

 

 

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