Applied Economic Theory / Introduction to Political Engineering
Course description
This course introduces some of the fundamental tools of economic theory through concrete problems of individual and collective decision-making. It studies how objectives can be defined and reconciled, how decisions can be made under risk and uncertainty, how individual preferences can be aggregated, and how institutions shape collective outcomes.
The emphasis is not only on finding solutions, but also on understanding their limits: which desirable properties can be achieved simultaneously, which trade-offs are unavoidable, and when theory leads to impossibility results.
Book and extended lecture notes
The course is developed alongside my book in progress, Decision-Making and Political Engineering.
The chapters of the book are available progressively in English and French. They are deliberately more extensive than the material covered in class: some examples, results, proofs and discussions go beyond what is presented during lectures.
Course material
Additional course-specific material will be added progressively.