London School of Economics

This is an introductory course on statistics and how it can help us answer the kind of questions that arise when we want to better understand the world. We will use real-world examples from the social and natural sciences to establish the foundations of probability and distribution theory, and introduce important statistical skills, from descriptive statistics to sampling and inference. In addition to these examples, students conduct interactive experiments in the classroom to demonstrate the use of key techniques.

This course provides a philosophical discussion of the methods and the normative commitments of contemporary economics. The course focuses on economic methodology and the foundations of utility theory, with an eye to important current debates in economics. The second area of focus is on welfare economics, and the ethical assumptions and implications of economics.

The course introduces students to the principles and methods of behavioral economics in relation to individuals, firms, and institutions. Addressing behavioral economics both at the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels, students engage in topics such as heuristics, biases, nudging strategies, and rational expectations. Students learn how to apply these tools in a variety of economic settings both in the private and public sectors. Using these tools, students incorporate psychologically-motivated assumptions into economic models, and interpret the implications of these assumptions for policy development and business strategy.

Is the West in decline and what are the main emerging powers? Are we heading toward a new world order or even great power conflict? These are some of the big questions students seek to answer in this course.

This course tackles questions of war, peace, and security from an analytical perspective, by highlighting changes and continuities in international security. The first half of the course reviews the major theoretical frameworks that have been used to explain the causes of war on the world stage, as well as its character and duration in the international and domestic arenas. Students use these theoretical frameworks as a lens through which to examine problems of war and peace, and threats to individual, national and international security in the contemporary era. The second half of the course turns to questions of security more generally. Students examine political violence, terrorism, insurgency, humanitarian emergencies, climate change, and other threats to individual and collective security.

This course provides a systematic examination of the policy process in the context of developed nations and the key theories and models in the study of public policy. The course encourages a critical appreciation of the main trends in contemporary public policy-making. Students look at the different stages of the "policy cycle" such as agenda-setting, implementation and evaluation. Students study the determinants of public policy such as public opinion, political parties, and technology as well as central themes in the study and practice of public policy, such as corruption and risk management.