Prof. Francesco Zucchini

Argomenti del programma: In the first module, the theoretical assumptions of the rational choice approach will be briefly discussed and some simple examples of application of the theory will be illustrated. An introduction to the spatial models of voting and to the theory of veto players will conclude this part. In the second module, we will address the effect of the main political institutions in the modern democracy.

Argomenti del programma: The course is organized in three parts. The first part of the course is dedicated to the assumptions of the rational choice theory, to the voting behaviour and to the voting outcomes within groups. The second part deals with the dilemmas of the collective actions, the production of public goods and the explanatory nexus between various political regime types and economic growth.