Much of 20th century mainstream economics treated political institutions as a black box which utilizes assumed omniscience and omnipotence to maximize social welfare. In this course, we open the black of politics by considering how politicians and political institutions are influenced by limited knowledge and divergent incentives. The course will then lead us to study how these politicians and institutions influence the knowledge and incentives of other people. More informal governing authorities, such as religious and cultural institutions will subsequently be studied. Students will learn how economic logic effects and is affected by the underlying institutional context.