Political economy is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences. It focuses on the interrelationships of individuals, governments, and public policy.

Political economists study how economic theories such as capitalism, socialism, and communism work in the real world. Any economic theory is a means of directing the distribution of a finite amount of resources in a way that benefits the greatest number of individuals.

These ideas can be studied both theoretically and as they are actually used. Public policy that is created and implemented derive from these economic theories. Political economists study both the underlying roots of these policies and their results.