Politics and Economics

Political Economy
Political economy refers to different, but related, approaches to studying economic and political behaviours, ranging from the combining of economics with other fields, to the using of different, fundamental assumptions that challenge orthodox economic assumptions.

Markets
In orthodox economic theory, there is often much said about the "free" market and pure markets. Orthodox economics advocates a "laissez-faire" approach from government; that the government should intervene as little as possible in the economy, because the market provides the most optimal, efficient outcome. Thus, they regulate de-regulation and privatisation as means to achieve "pure" markets. However, orthodox economics often cannot explain how income gaps around the world are so large, why poverty is still so persistent throughout the world, and the fact that governments still play very important roles in governing the economy. Political Economy looks at the interaction between political and economic forces, which is highly relevant to global issues of the 21st century such as globalisation, international organisations, multi-national corporations, world trade, global governance and international finance, just to name a few.