A street view of a Nairobi City Hall, Kenya. Photo credit: Michelle Kazungu via Getty Images.
BREAD-IGC virtual PhD-level course on political economy 2026
This virtual PhD-level course is designed to provide a comprehensive review of the economic questions relevant to political economy.
Please note, attendance is capped at 3,000 individuals and each lecture will operate on a first-come first-served basis.
We're offering a virtual PhD-level non-credit course beginning on 8 September 2026. This twelve-week-long course designed for PhD students and early career researchers will be led by expert development economists who can provide deep insights into challenges, opportunities, and unanswered questions related to political economy in the developing world.
About
Political economy provides a powerful set of tools for understanding economic development. Addressing many of the world’s most important challenges - from reducing poverty and preventing conflict, to tackling climate change - requires understanding political power, how that power is constrained, how states acquire the capacity to implement policy, and how citizens hold governments accountable.
These questions are especially important in low- and middle-income countries, where state capacity is often limited, political institutions are evolving, and formal and informal institutions interact to shape economic and political behaviour.
Course details
This course will introduce students to core theories, methods, and ideas in political economy and development, alongside recent research at the frontier.
Lectures will examine institutions and their historical persistence, core models of political economy, state capacity, politicians and political agency, bureaucracy and policy implementation, political selection and representation, conflict and fragility, media and political accountability, and the political economy of Africa and autocratic regimes.
Those who apply and register for the course by 8 September 2026 are expected to attend regularly and can actively participate in the Zoom class. Certificates of completion will be awarded to those who attend 10/12 lectures in the series. Late registrations will be considered on the basis of space available.
The course will run from 8 September to 24 November 2026, with one lecture each Tuesday from 3.30–5.00pm UK time.
Please note: The course begins during British Summer Time (BST). From 27 October, UK time will switch to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), so the lecture time remains 3.30–5.00pm UK time throughout the course.
You can use the links below to navigate to specific lectures.
Lecture schedule
- Lecture 1: Introduction to Political Economy
- Lecture 2: History, Persistence, and Development
- Lecture 3: Core Political Economy
- Lecture 4: State Capacity
- Lecture 5: Politicians and Political Agency
- Lecture 6: Bureaucracy and Implementation
- Lecture 7: Political Selection, Voice, Representation, Inclusion
- Lecture 8: Conflict and Fragility
- Lecture 9: Crime and Organized Crime
- Lecture 10: Political Economy of Africa
- Lecture 11: Autocracy and China
- Lecture 12: Media and Political Economy
