PAPA6224: Public Policy Design and Implementation

School of Public & International Affairs
Dr. Matthew Dull

Course Hours

Wednesdays 6.30-9.15pm

Course Overview

This course examines the theory and practice of public policy design and decision-making. The course combines an introduction to the basic tools of policy analysis with consideration of the conflicting values and decision-dilemmas that define policy-making in the real world. Students will be asked to complete a handful of written assignments based on course readings, participate regularly in class discussions, and contribute to a group project examining one of a handful of applied policy issues in depth. Prerequisites for this course include completion of PAPA 6214, 6514, and an undergraduate or graduate introductory statistics course.

Grading

• 30% Take Home Essays: two essays to deliver, each 15% worthy.
• 20% Section Briefs: 5 briefs in total.
• 35% Group Project.
• 15% Course Contribution.

Course Components

Coursework is organized into two components:

1. A series of written assignments based on course material.
2. A semester-long team project examining one of a handful of policy issues.

Below are brief descriptions of each –additional details will be provided in class:

• Section Briefs: participants will complete a minimum of five 300-600 word section briefs responding to topics identified in the course syllabus. Briefs should be concise, but based on a thoughtful reading of the material in question. Briefs should be circulated among course participants on Blackboard no less than 24 hours prior to class.
• Take Home Essays: course participants will complete two take-home essays synthesizing course material. Essay questions will be distributed via Blackboard and are to be completed by each student individually over the course of week. Time and page limits will be observed
• Team Projects: a handful of teams will be organized around distinct policy questions. that sheds light on the policy issue at hand. I expect to meet regularly with teams to discuss the project’s continuing progress. Additional details regarding the group projects will be address in class.

Basic Bibliography

• E. Bardach, A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, CQ Press, 2nd edition, 2004.
• R. S. Clemons, M. K. McBeth et. al., Public Policy Praxis: Theory and Pragmatism, Prentice Hall, 2000.
• J. G. March, Primer on Decision Making: How Decisions Happen, Free Press, 1994.
• A. L. Schneider and H. M. Ingram, Policy Design for Democracy, University Press of Kansas, 1997.
• Other reading on VT Blackboard.

Additional Bibliography

Policy Analysis:

• M. C. Munger, Analyzing Policy: Choices, Conflicts, and Practices, W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
• E. Stokey, A Primer for Policy Analysis, W. W. Norton & Company, 1978.
• D. L. Weimer and A. R. Vining, Policy Analysis: Concepts and Practice, Prentice Hall, 2004.

Introductory Quantitative Analysis:

• K. J. Meier, J. L. Brudney and J. Bohte, Applied Statistics for Public and Nonprofit Administration, Wadsworth Publishing, 6th edition, 2005.
• D. S. Moore and G. P. McCabe, Introduction to the Practice of Statistics, W. H. Freeman & Company, 5th edition, 2005.
• W. P. Shively, The Craft of Political Research, Ginny6 Books, 4th edition, 1998.

Intermediate Quantitative Analysis:

• L. G. Grimm and P. R. Yarnold, Reading and Understanding Multivariate Statistics, American Psychological Association, 1995.
• D. N. Gujarati, Basic Econometrics, McGraw Hill, 4th edition, 2002.

Budget Policy:

• A. Schick and F. LoStracco, The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process, Brookings Institution Press, 2000.
• A. B. Wildavsky and N. Caiden, The New Politics of the Budgetary Process, Longman, 5th edition, 2003.

Policies and Governance:

• L. M. Salamon and O. V. Elliott, The Tools of Government: a Guide to the New Governance, Oxford University Press, 2002.
• K. M. Hult and C. Walcott, Governing Public Organizations, Brooks/Cole, 1990.
• J. G. S. Koppell, The Politics of Quasi-Government: Hybrid Organizations and the Dynamics of Bureaucratic Control, Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Information and Decision:

• G. T. Allison and P. Zelikow, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis, Longman, 2nd edition, 1999.
• J. S. Brown and P. Duguid, The Social Life of Information, Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
• M. S. Feldman, Order Without Design: Information Production and Policy Making, Stanford University Press, 1989.
• M. Lewis, Moneyball: the Art of Winning an Unfair Game, W. W. Norton & Company, 2003.
• T. M. Porter, Trust in Numbers: the Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life, Princeton University Press, 1996.

Published by Julián Urbano on January 1 of 2007