Delegation to the Executive: Dilemmas and Institutional solutions

The course is an elective coures in the Bacherlor's Programme in Political Science Science. The course is also given as a freestanding course and is open for exchange students. The course is an in depth course in Political Science.

The requirement for admission is a minimum of 60 credits in social science, or equivalent. Applicants must prove their knowledge of English: English 6/English B from Swedish Upper Secondary School or the equivalent level of an internationally recognized test, for example TOEFL, IELTS.

The course is devoted to the second chain of delegation: to ministers. It utilizes the theoretical lens of principal-agent theory to consider the origins of agency loss and the institutional solutions to it in four different political systems: parliamentary, including its Westminster and consensus varieties, presidential and semi-presidential. Students familiarize themselves with different types of agency loss (policy drift, shirking and rent-seeking), the origins of agency loss, taking into consideration factors of three different levels (institutional, contextual and personal), and ex-ante and ex-post types of solutions to the problem of agency loss.

The course familiarizes students with a deductive approach to explaining social reality, and the foundations of comparative empirical analysis. Different learning activities (see below) are designed to engage students to think both systematically and critically.

On successful completion of the course the student will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• Explain main tenets of the principal-agent theoretical framework;
• Critically use the principal-agent framework to explain the origins of agency loss in the second chain of delegation (to ministers) across four major political systems: parliamentary Westminster type, parliamentary consensus type, presidential and semi-presidential;
• Critically use the principal-agent framework to explain the main institutional solutions to the problem of agency loss across the main political systems;
• Explain major findings from research literature on delegation to ministers;
• Explain research design and research methods used in the literature on delegation to ministers.

Competence and skills

• Review and critically assess empirical findings from the literature;
• Independently design a comparative case study, illustrating either the origin of agency loss or the institutional solutions to it;
• Independently search for high-resolution evidence pertaining to the designated case study;
• Independently prepare two research reports concerning dilemmas of delegation to the executive: (1) a case study on the assigned type of political system and (2) comparing two cases from different political systems;
• Independently produce a text in accordance with the academic writing requirements;
• Identify under-researched areas in the literature;
• Prepare a presentation in collaboration with other students;
• Effectively communicate the findings of the final paper to the peers.

Judgement and approach

• Critically evaluate assumptions and the logical consistency of principal-agent theory;
• Critically evaluate the congruence between theoretical predictions of principal-agency theory and found empirical evidence;
• Critically compare the institutional solutions to agency loss in different political systems;
• Critically evaluate various research designs and research methods used in the course literature;
• Critically evaluate the state of the art in delegation to ministers literature and identify avenues for further research.

The teaching consists of lectures, seminars, and individual tutorials.

Students are also required to engage in independent studies by reading the course literature, searching for suitable case studies and high-resolution empirical evidence to illustrate the chosen element of principal-agent theory.

Language of instruction: English

The course is assessed through two written assignments – a short paper (2 credits) and a final paper (4 credits) – as well as participation in three compulsory seminars (1,5 credits).

A student who is not able to attend a compulsory seminar is required to perform compensatory work (see course guide for detailed description).

Students can be asked to revise already graded assignments and re-submit them. If the student does not re-submit the reworked assignment within the specified time, the student will be failed on the assignment.

If a student, who has failed the same examined component twice, wishes to change examiner before the next examination, a written application shall be sent to the department responsible for the course and shall be granted unless there are special reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6, Section 22 of Higher Education Ordinance).

If a student has received a recommendation from the University of Gothenburg for study support for students with disabilities, the examiner may, where it is compatible with the learning outcomes of the course and provided that no unreasonable resources are required, decide to allow the student to sit an adjusted exam or alternative form of assessment.

At least five occasions shall be offered the students to pass a course or part of a course (Chapter 6, Section 21 of Higher Education Ordinance).

In cases where a course has been discontinued or has undergone major changes, the student shall normally be guaranteed at least three examination occasions (including the ordinary examination) during a period of at least one year from the last time the course was given. This may not be in conflict with Chapter 6 Section 21 of Higher Education Ordinance.

The grading scale comprises: Pass with Distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Fail (U).

In order to achieve a Pass for the course, the student needs to attain a Pass in each assignment. To achieve a High Pass for the course, the student needs to attain a High Pass for the final paper, and Pass on all the other assignments.

Participation in the seminars and the short paper are graded on a Pass - Fail scale. The final paper is graded on a High Pass - Pass - Fail scale. Requirements for the grades are specified in detail in the course guide.

The student will be given the opportunity to do a course evaluation. The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.