While politics and economics were contained in a single discipline over much aof the period of modern scholarship, these fields were split during the 20th century. It is now apparent that this split, while advantageous for certain scientific developments, places artificial constraints on the study of many important social issues. The separate development of the disciplines has worked to make communication and joint training across disciplinary boundaries generally difficult. The rejoining of political science and economics into political economy has been underway for a couple of decades now. The fruits of this research are numerous, and its promise is greater than ever. The political scientist's emphasis on institutions affects economic performance, while the economist's individual choice viewpoint has made political scientists examine more critically their theories about the formation, evolution and maintenance of institutions. The improved understanding that results from such interdisciplinary exchange improves the way we address important policy problems ranging from the management of firms to the design of constitutions. This grant provides funds to develop the associated graduate training which accompanies the on-going research activities at the University of Rochester in political economy. The University of Rochester has made a major commitment toward developing the perspective of political economy, the study of how individual behavior is affected by and in turn determines institutional and political structures. During the Spring of 1991 the University created the Wallis Institute of Political Economy, provided it with a $3.5 million endowment for base support, and moved to develop both research and ultimately, training in the area, a project made possible by the current, broad based research of the faculties of the underlying Departments and by their historically close working and intellectual relationships. Graduate Research Traineeships allow the development of a Ph.D. Program in Political Economy, something that is not possible with the current Institute funding. The other activities of the Wallis Institute will provide a rich environment for the new training program. The program also develops innovative instructional methods having spillovers for other activities of the Department.
