PPE in Practice III: Governance for Society

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/W_JSM_207

Course Objective

Upon completion of this course, students will:understand the interrelation between markets, market failures, transaction costs and institutions;understand how transaction costs influence economic policy making in different contexts;be able to apply the transaction-cost approach to explain real life institutions and policy;understand the interdisciplinary linkages between politics and economics in disciplines such as political economy and public choice;have improved their writing skills to articulate policy recommendations;have improved their academic presentation skills.

Course Content

The course provides an improved understanding of the politics of economic policy making in the face of markets and market failures. The conceptual framework used is the so-called ‘transaction-cost approach’. Such costs of planning, implementing and monitoring an exchange have proved critical to explaining many phenomena in the economic disciplines of industrial organization, international trade theory and institutional economics. This interdisciplinary course analyzes a variety of similar transaction costs encountered in the political process of economic policy making. Students will look into specific examples of policy-making where the transaction-cost approach helps explain the operation of different institutions and policies. The course includes a language component that focuses on aspects of coherence and economy of expression. In addition, practice is given on conference presentation techniques.

Teaching Methods

Lectures and seminars (active learning groups).

Method of Assessment

Exam (50%; testing/reflecting course objectives 1 to 4) Group policy project paper (30%; testing/reflecting course objectives 1 to 5) Group policy project presentation (20%; testing/reflecting course objectives 1 to 4 and 6) Linguistic, structural and coherence-related aspects of group policy project paper (pass/fail; testing/reflecting course objective 5)

Literature

Selected readings (to be announced)

Target Audience

Second year PPE students

Additional Information

Participation in seminars is mandatory

Recommended background knowledge

PPE in Practice I & PPE in Practice II