Political
Economy
Training and Mobility
of Researchers Network
Summary
The aim of this Network is to bring together, over a four-year period, some of the best known researchers in Europe to advance the frontiers of political economy. The common research approach is to use modern tools from game theory and contract theory to improve our general understanding of political institutions and their specific implications for economic policy. The teams continue the research efforts of an earlier Human Capital Mobility Network, co-ordinated by IGIER, and with the participation of ECARES and IDEI.
The research programme also aims to explore the role of political coalitions, which as both political and economic theory stress, play an important role in influencing specific public policy decisions. These coalitions can form along many dimensions: region of residence, occupation, sector of work, level of income, etc. The research aims to explore the idea that different political institutions create different incentives to form coalitions along particular dimensions. This implies another, indirect channel whereby political institutions shape actual policy-making.
- Specific themes explored by the Network include:
- the theoretical foundations for the separation of powers
- monitoring public agencies
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monetary policy and central banking
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redistributive policy and income distribution
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institutional reform and transition
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federal political structures
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political institutions and European integration
Several months into the project, the research programme is on target; details of the progress made in each research area are in the research section.
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Summary