KAFP 3175 - Analytic approaches to public policy

This module provides students with a general introduction to public policy-making and public policy analysis.

It is organised in three sections.

• In the first of these, students will be introduced to the core techniques of public policy analysis, reflecting on the nature of public policy (what it is, why it is important, who is responsible for its delivery and how we might evaluate it), before turning to the key concepts used to analyse and evaluate public policy (agency, autonomy, responsibility, accountability, success/failure, legitimacy, governance, expertise, the state, etc.), the debate on the use of the concept of power in public policy analysis (power as decision-making, agenda-setting and preference-shaping) and the nature of the public policy-making process (and the stages through which it might be seen to pass).
• The second section of the module is concerned with public policy dynamics – how public policy change occurs and how we might evaluate the success or failure of such change. Attention focuses on the stages in and through which policy might be seen to develop, policy feedback mechanisms, policy failure and crisis as well as on the influence of public choice theory on the changing character of public policy-making today. A consistent theme is the evaluation of public policy and how such evaluation (and the policy learning it prompts) feeds into the evolution of policy over time.
• The third section of the module is concerned with the influence on the form and content of public policy of the changing context(s) in which it takes place today. Each set of contextual changes is seen to pose a series of practical challenges to policy-makers. Particular emphasis is placed on the influence of globalisation (and the rise of multi-level governance and greater policy interdependence), austerity (and the changing fiscal and broader economic context in which policy choices are made, implemented and evaluated) and the difficulties of designing and evaluating policy choices in a context of risk, uncertainty and crisis. Each set of challenges is set in the wider context of rising political disaffection and distrust of political elites.

None.

Lecture

The final grade will rest on two components:

• One 1200 word book or article review (midterm, 50% of the final grade)
• One final essay of 1500 words at the end of the course (50% of the final grade)

There will be one (or, infrequently, more) required readings as preparation for each of the two hour lectures. In addition, students will be required to read more broadly around the topic in which they intend to submit their book or article review and in preparation for the written examination at the end of the course. One two-hour lecture per week for 12 weeks.