LFU:online

Distributional conflict is a global and multifaceted problem. Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in fatalities from political riots, civil war and interstate war. Violent conflict comes at enormous social and economic costs; even non-violent conflict about the distribution and redistribution of resources can constitute a huge challenge to society.
The students will learn how to systematically analyze incentives and behavior in conflicts about the allocation and redistribution of resources. They will gain a better understanding of causes and mechanisms of conflict outcomes. They will improve their ability to conduct quantitative analyses of one of the most pressing global problem and to derive normative and positive policy conclusions based on state-of-the-art methods in economics.

This course covers recent topics in the economics of conflict and redistribution, including questions about causes of resource-wasteful conflict and its economic consequences. Models of conflict are used to analyze violent and military conflict such as interstate war or civil conflict but are also applied to less violent forms of conflict such as distributional conflict in organizations.
The course develops a theoretical framework for the analysis of distributional conflict, explores selected strategic and dynamic aspects, and discusses recent empirical work in the literature on distributional conflict and war. Moreover, the course introduces important political economy approaches to redistribution.

Lecture with interactive elements; student discussions of selective topics and research articles; independent application of state-of-the-art methods in economics.

Written exam, problem sets, student presentations.

There is no specific textbook for the course. Much of the course will be based on research articles and surveys. Required readings will be announced during the introductory lecture.

As stated in the curriculum. Knowledge of fundamental concepts in game theory as well as basic econometric methods is highly recommended.

Please check the OLAT page of the course for the most recent information on the course organization.