Syllabus, PSC 280

Fall 2012


meetings:Wednesdays, 2:00 - 4:40, Gavet 208
prof:Stu Jordan
email:stuart.jordan@rochester.edu
office:Harkness 316
office hours:Mondays, 11:15 to 1:15

Contents

Requirements and Grading

Assignments

To complete the course, you must:

  • turn in 4 problem sets
  • turn in 5 short (less than 5 page) papers
  • attend every "paper review session" (more about this below)

Each student in the course will be assigned to one of two groups -- group "A" and group "B". Students in both groups must do all problem sets, and all students must do both the paper due on October 3 and the paper due on December 11. After that, you have three more paper assignments to do, but which ones depends on the group to which you're assigned. You'll see in the Schedule below that for each of our meetings there are two assignments listed: one for group A and one for group B. You must turn in only the assignments listed for your group, and your grade will be based only on those assignments.

Deadlines and Format Requirements

Problem sets are due at the beginning of class on the day indicated by the schedule. Paper due dates vary from one assignment to another. I do not accept late assignments. Assignments turned in after the deadline will be marked '0' (the lowest possible score). Every paper must:

  • Be submitted electronically via blackboard without your name on it
  • Be submitted as a .pdf NOT as .doc or .docx
  • Run no more than 5 pages
  • Be double spaced
  • Be printed in no less than 12 point font
  • Have no less than 1-inch margins

Attendance

This course is going to use "peer review" to help you improve your writing. Peer review sessions will be held on dates marked below as "peer review sessions." Attendance at lecture is MANDATORY for all students on those days. I reserve the right to lower your grade by up to 1 full grade point if you fail to attend these sessions multiple times or without sufficient reason.

Grading

Every assignment (both problem sets and papers) is graded on a 4 point scale. At the end of the semester I drop your lowest problem set score. I then calculate a final 4 point score as a weighted average in which each of the three counted problem sets gets a weight of 0.05, and each of the five papers gets a weight of .20*0.85. The resulting 4-point overall score, is then coverted to a letter grade according to the following rules:

Overall 4 Point Score Final Letter Grade
at or above 3.85 A
at or above 3.5, less than 3.85 A-
at or above 3.15, less than 3.5 B+
at or above 2.85, less than 3.15 B
at or above 2.5, less than 2.85 B-
at or above 2.15, less than 2.5 C+
at or above 1.85, less than 2.15 C
at or above 1.5, less than 1.85 C-
at or above 1, less than 1.5 D
less than 1 E

Paper Revisions

If you wish, you may revise and resubmit one of the papers you write for re-grading. To be considered, it must be sumbitted within 7 days of me returning the graded original to you.

Schedule

Dates of Mandatory-Attendance Peer Review Sessions

Date Reviewers Reviewees
10/17 group B group A
10/24 group A group B
10/31 group B group A
11/7 group A group B
12/5 group B group A
12/12 group A group B

Summary of Due Dates

Date Group A Group B
9/19, beginning of class problem set 1 problem set 1
9/26, beginning of class problem set 2 problem set 2
10/3, beginning of class paper on Downs paper on Downs
10/10, beginning of class problem set 3 problem set 3
10/16, 11:59pm paper on Ferejohn nothing
10/23, 11:59pm nothing paper on Fearon
10/29, 11:59pm paper on CW nothing
11/5, 11:59pm nothing paper on GH
11/14, beginning of class problem set 4 problem set 4
11/28, beginning of class paper on PT paper on PT
12/4, 11:59pm paper on LW nothing
12/11, 11:59pm nothing paper on DL

Full Schedule

September 5
topic:Intro to the Course
September 12
topic:Basics of Rational Choice Models (preferences, utility, maximization)
reading:Chapter 1 of Lecture Notes, "Rational Choice Models."
group A assignment:
 none
group B assignment:
 none
September 19
topic:Probability, Expectation, and Rational Choice Under Uncertainty
reading:Chapter 2 of Lecture Notes, "Models of Rational Choice Under Uncertainty."
group A assignment:
 Problem Set 1
group B assignment:
 Problem Set 1
September 26
topic:An Early Analysis of Political Accountability
reading:Chapters 3 and 4 of An Economoic Theory of Democracy by Anthony Downs
group A assignment:
 Problem Set 2
group B assignment:
 Problem Set 2
October 3
topic:Game Theory Basics -- Mostly Sequential Move Games; A bit of Dynamic Programming
reading:Chapter 3 of Lecture Notes, "Game Theory"
group A assignment:
 paper on Downs
group B assignment:
 paper on Downs
October 10
topic:Accountability with "Hidden Actions"
reading:John Ferejohn (1986) "Incumbent Performance and Electoral Control."
group A assignment:
 Problem Set 3
group B assignment:
 Problem Set 3
October 17 (Peer Review Session)
topic:Screening vs. Sanctioning
reading:James D. Fearon (1999) "Electoral Accountability and the Control of Politicians: Selecting Good Types vs. Sanctioning Poor Performance." In Przeworski, Stokes and Manin Democracy, Accountability, and Representation. Cambridge University Press.
group A assignment:
 paper on Ferejohn
group B assignment:
 none
October 24 (Peer Review Session)
topic:An Empirical Investigation of Accountability
reading:Brandice Canes-Wrone, David W. Brady and John F. Cogan (2002) "Out of Step, Out of Office: Electoral Accountability and House Member's Voting." American Political Science Review. 96(1): 127 -- 140.
group A assignment:
 none
group B assignment:
 paper on Fearon
October 31 (Peer Review Session)
topic:Pandering
reading:Sanford C. Gordon and Gregory A. Huber (2004) "Accountability and Coercion: Is Justice Blind When It Runs for Office?" American Journal of Political Science. 48(2): 247 -- 263.
group A assignment:
 paper on Canes-Wrone et al.
group B assignment:
 none
November 7 (Peer Review Session)
topic:Intro to Public Goods and Models of Taxation
reading:none
group A assignment:
 none
group B assignment:
 paper on Gordon and Huber
November 14
topic:Electoral Competition and Public Good Provision
reading:Chapter 3 of Torsten Persson and Guido Tabellini Political Economics
group A assignment:
 Problem Set 4
group B assignment:
 Problem Set 4

November 21

NO CLASS!!!
November 28
topic:Redistribution
reading:Assar Lindbeck and Jorgen Weibull "Balanced-budget redistribution as the outcome of political competition." 52(3): 273--297.
group A assignment:
 paper on Persson and Tabellini Chapter 3
group B assignment:
 paper on Persson and Tabellini Chapter 3
December 5 (Peer Review Session)
topic:Redistribution and Inefficiency
reading:Avinash Dixit and John Londregan (1995) "Redistributive Politics and Economic Efficiency." American Political Science Review 89(4): 856--866.
group A assignment:
 Paper on Linbeck and Weibull
group B assignment:
 none
December 12 (Peer Review Session)
topic:wrap up
reading:none
group A assignment:
 none
group B assignment:
 paper on Dixit and Londregan