Building on the diverse disciplinary and methodological background of its members, which range from political science, economics, sociology, and international relations, the Political Economy Research Team at the Centre for Social Sciences engages in research that aims to explore current issues of governance and public policy with a non-exclusive focus on East Central Europe. More specifically, we study the theoretical and practical dimensions of governance and public policy from a comparative perspective, and the decisive internal and external (especially EU-related) political, economic and institutional factors for government performance and policy change. Of particular interest are issues related to budgeting, taxation, monetary policy, financial regulation, EU development policy, industrial policy, FDI, institutional varieties of capitalism, and social and territorial inequality. The Team is committed to methodological pluralism and applies both cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative methods. Our members also actively participate in international research networks and regularly present their work in top international conferences.