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The University of Maryland

European Division

Course Syllabus

Course No. & Title: PUAD 530 - Public Policy Analysis

Text: James E. Anderson, Public Policy Making, 4th ed., Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 2000

Thomas R. Dye, Understanding Public Policy, 8th ed., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1998.

Additional Reading: Students will be provided with supplemental readings. You may pick up copies of the first readings at the RAF Mildenhall, University of Maryland Office when you obtain your syllabus. Please collect and read these materials as early as possible in advance of the first class meeting. Additional readings will be provided throughout the course.

Location: RAF Mildenhall

Dates: 31 Mar-1 Apr, 21-22 Apr, 5-6 May, 19-20 May 2001

Professor: Dr. Kathleen Donneson

Office Hours: After class, or by appointment.

Telephone: Home: 01638-721011

E-Mail: 11-23 March e-mail: kathy.donneson@ramstein.af.mil all other times: rees.donneson@btinternet.com

1. Credit: 3 semester hours

2. Course Description: Covers a systemic analysis of public policy alternatives, factors and processes involved in policy development, including development of agency goals and objectives.

3. Objectives: This course acquaints students to the method and process of public policy formulation, adoption, implementation and evaluation. Concepts and techniques covered in PUAD 530 may serve as a foundation for public policy activities that the student may ultimately perform in pursuit of their graduation, or in fulfillment of work responsibilities. Course participants will obtain a sufficient understanding of the public policy endeavor to comprehend and critically evaluate public policy methods and information reported by scholars, consultants and field experts. The course is also designed to help students enlarge analytical, communication, and writing skills for graduate level education and prepare students for career advancement. Course objectives can only be attained with the active participation of all students. Every participant will be required to make oral presentations and to lead class discussions.

Major perspectives in this course include the following: (a) no specific analytical technique is uniquely appropriate for policy analysis. (b) policy research methods may be misapplied or used to garner support for assertions that have a poor foundation. Students are encouraged to make use of the offerings of a broad array of techniques in framing the policy analysis efforts or viewing the work of others.

The curriculum for PUAD 530 includes the following goals:

  • appreciate the social processes and contexts in which policy analysis takes place.
  • understand public policy and the policy process in a democracy.
  • develop knowledge, skills, and abilities in public policy formulation, adoption, implementation and evaluation.
  • analyze complex public policy issues (such as budget, national defense, health and welfare, environment, civil rights, economics, and education, etc.) within the political environment in the United States
  • apply widely-used public policy techniques as required for qualitative and quantitative analysis and decision-making.
  • develop and use various approaches and analytical models to study public policy, perform analyses, and select alternatives.

4. Course Format: This course is conducted in an intensive format and oriented to adult professionals. Study, discussion with others, and contemplation of subjects outside of classes are important. Classes involve a variety of activities: structured group work, including analysis of publications and current cases, illustrated lectures, class discussions, and examinations. Because adult students bring greatly varied and highly valued practical experience, education and cultural perspectives to these activities, class participants will share diverse knowledge, and professional interactions will be facilitated.

5. Instructional Method: Practical application of lectures, problem solving, case studies, and group discussion of course material.

6. Students: Punctual attendance at every class; advise in advance if you need to miss a class for a valid reason. Assignments turned in when due. Request assistance as soon as you do not understand a concept or have a problem in any area. Be serious about learning and willing to put in the necessary time out of class for successful academic performance.

7. Required and Suggested Publications: Please secure a copy of the following publications to be used for the second session: Supreme Court of the United States, Bush v. Gore Writ of Certiorari, #00-949, 12/12/00 (13 pp); Supreme Court of Florida, Palm Beach County v. Katherine Harris, #SC 00-2346, 48, 49 (one document, 40 pp.), 12/11/00; Circuit Court of 2nd Judicial Circuit in and for Leon County, Gore v. Harris, Case #00-2808, 12/3/00, (16 pp); Supreme Court of the United States, Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board, #00-836, 12/4/00; Supreme Court of the United States, Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board Brief of the Florida State Senate and House of Representatives as Amici Curiae in Support of Neither Party, 11/27/00 (15 pp); Supreme Court of Florida, Palm Beach County, Volusia County, Florida Democratic Party v. Katherine Harris, #SC00-2346, 48 and 49, 11/21/00

http://election2000.stanford.edu/00-949_dec12.pdf

http://election2000.stanford.edu/00-836.12.4.pdf

http://election2000.stanford.edu/sc00-2346-remand.pdf

http://election2000.stanford.edu/00-2431_transcript.pdf

http://election2000.stanford.edu/brief-flsen-1.pdf

http://election2000.stanford.edu/flasupctorder1121.pdf

Please familiarize yourself with the Federalist Papers and the U.S. Constitution: You can download a copy of the Federalist Papers from the Internet at http://www.mcs.net/`knautzr/fed/fedpaper.html or conduct a web search. Please familiarize yourself with The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States – Internet Sites: http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html; http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declaration/decmain.html.

8. Papers:

  1. In your first paper, read the Park Plaza Case (A) (B). Using the document entitled "Tradecraft: Writing and Analysis for Public Policy and Management" and writing for Kramer, analyze the five options available to the governor in dealing with Mahoney. Follow the format of the Tradecraft paper in drafting your analysis. Provide pros and cons for each alternative, select your best one and present a recommendation and implementation plan to the Governor. What option do you think the governor selected? This paper should be no more than six to eight pages.
  2. In your second paper, think about the actors involved – i.e. state and local public and private officials, laborers, voters, etc., and the agencies/organizations involved and answer the following questions: What are the roles, responsibilities, and political interaction of each player? What is their authority, power and limits to their power. What practical limits are there to citizen participation in administrative decisions and processes? What specific difficulties do public agencies encounter in providing equal protection of the laws to their many publics? Use a model or models in drafting your response. This paper should be no more than 6-8 pages.
  3. In your third paper, read the documents listed in section D for the Class Case Study. The Florida Supreme Court documents are quite lengthy and should be skimmed for the salient arguments. You will prepare a matrix that will identify each case, the questions raised, issues discussed, argument pros and cons, and the decisions rendered. You will then draft a paper on the complex interaction of the U.S. Supreme Court to the State Supreme Courts, the role of the federal court, the role of federal and state agency heads, the role of the local election boards, the State and Federal legislatures and the underlying laws that come into conflict. We will discuss the contents and length of this paper in the first class meeting.

9. Grading:

Park Plaza Case Analysis (a) 15%

Park Plaza Questions and Model (b) 8%

Third Paper 15%

Mid-Term Examination 22%

Final Examination 30%

Participation 10%

10. Your Professor: Awarded a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Davis; Master of Public Administration/Health Services from the University of San Francisco, and Master and Doctoral degrees in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Before joining the European Division, she taught graduate courses in administrative research and systems analysis and design for the University of Southern California, 1993 to 1998. Doctor Donneson is a Major in the United States Air Force Reserve, assigned to Headquarters USAFE/SG. She formerly worked as the Research and Information Strategy Manager for the Cambridgeshire County Council, Department of Social Services.

11. Optional Textbooks From Which Lecture and Reading Material is Obtained:

Public Administration Policy, Politics and Practice, 2nd ed, William C. Johnson, Brown and Benchmark Pub., Guilford, CT, 1996.

Annual Editions: Public Administration, 4th ed., Dr. Howard R. Balanoff, Editor, Brown and Benchmark Pub., Guilford, CT, 1996.

Enterprise, Government and the Public, Walters, Stephen J.K., McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 1993.

Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, Rossi, Peter H., and Howard Freeman, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA 1993,

Reinventing government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector, David Osborne and Ted Gaebler, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1992.

Exemplary Public Administrators: Character and Leadership in Government, Cooper, Terry L. and N. Dale Wright Editors, Jossy-Bass, Inc., San Francisco, CA, 1992

Economics, Organization and Management, Milgrom, Paul and John Roberts, Prentice Hall, New York, NY, 1992.

The Moral Dimensions of Public Policy Choice: Beyond the Market Paradigm, Gilroy, John Martin and Maurice Wade, Editors, University of Pittsburg Press, Pittsburg, PA, 1992.

Administrative Analysis for Local Government, Ammons, David N., Carl Vinson Institute of Local Government, University of Georgia, 1991.

Policy Analysis: Concepts and Practice, Weimer, David L. and Aidan R. Vining, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1989.

Public Financial Management, Coe, Charles K., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1989.

Public Policy in America: Government in Action, Dennis J. Palumbo, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., Orlando, FL., 1988.

Microeconomic Policy Analysis, Lee S. Friedman, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 1984.

Analysis for Public Decisions, Quade, Edward S., American Elsavier Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1975.

PUBLIC POLICY AND FEDERALISM: 31 Mar – 1 Apr 2000

The System, The Process and the Participants

A. Organization and Objectives of Class

1. Introduction of class members

2. Objectives, syllabus, and requirements

B. The Study of the Public Policy System, Policy Leaders, and the Policy Process

    1. Dye Chapter 1, "What is Public Policy?"
    2. Anderson Chapter 2
    3. "U.S. Campaign 2000: Of Pregnant Chads, Butterfly Ballots and Partisan Vitriol," Working Paper, Pippa Norris, JFK School of Government, Harvard University, November, 2000.
    4. "Do PACs pick candidates? Who gets money from organized Interests?" Doric Apollonio and Ray La Raja, Working Paper 99-14, U.C. Berkeley, Paper presented to the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, April 15-17, 1999.
    5. "Reflections on the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, Politique Etrangere, Thomas E. Mann, Senior Fellow, Governmental Studies, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., January 2001.
    6. "Steps Toward a Successful Presidency," C. Eugene Steuerle, The Urban Institute, Washington, DC, January 22, 2001.
    7. "Eight Pathways to the Government we Deserve," C. Eugene Steuerle, Edward M. Gramlich, Hugh Heclo and Demetra Smith Nightingale, The Future of the Public Sector, No. 14, The Urban Institute, Washington, DC,
    8. Anderson Chapter 1, Dye Chapter 2.

C. Policy Models and Formulation

1. Dye, Chapter 14, The Policymaking Process

2. Anderson, Chapter 3, Policy Formation, Problems, Agendas and Formulation

3. Rationales for Public Policy: Market Failure/Government Failure

4. Quade, Models

5. The Essence of Decision, Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis, Graham Allison

Case: Park Plaza A and B Analyses (a and b) due 21 April 2001

POLICY FORMULATION AND MODELS 21-22 April 2001

Rationales for Public Policy, Setting the Agenda, Formulating the Alternatives

D. Budgeting, Economic and Tax Policy

    1. Dye, Chapters 9-10.
    2. Anderson, Chapter 5.
    3. "Dealing Effectively with Fast Growth," Anthony Downs, Policy Brief, The Brookings Institution, November 2000
    4. "The Coming Collapse of the US Economy? Rudolph G. Penner, Urban Institution, Brief Series, No. 4, May 1999.
    5. Jerome Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Institute Research Program Proceedings.
    6. "How Would Families at Different Income Levels Benefit from the Bush Tax Cut?" Robert Greenstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 6, 2001.

E. American Federalism: Institutional Arrangements and Public Policy

    1. Dye, Chapter 12-13
    2. "Does Federalism have a Future?" Pietro S. Nivola, The Public Interest, Winter, 2001, (reprinted by the Brookings Institution).
    3. Anderson Chapter 4.

POLICY CHOICES, ADOPTION AND DECISION-MAKING 5-6 May 2001

Class Case Study The Role of the Courts

    1. "How we got here: A timeline of the Florida recount," CNN.Com Election 2000, December 13, 2000.
    2. Presidential Election 2000, U.S. Supreme Court and Supreme Court of Florida Documents.
    3. CNN.com.law center

"U.S. Supreme Court rules manual vote recounts unconstitutional,", December 13, 2000

"Law professor Victor Williams discusses the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore" December 13, 2000.

"Thomas says legal battle over presidency shows ‘strength of democracy," December 14, 2000

"Trial judge feels vindicated by U.S. Supreme Court"

"Election 2000, The Real Winner:

Matrix and Paper #3 Due

 

F. Public Policy Choices

  1. "A Study of How Individuals Solve Complex and Ill-Structured Problems," Ronald Fernandes and Herbert A. Simon, Working Paper, Carnegie Mellon University.
  2. Dye, Chapter 3
  3. Dye, Chapter 4-6
  4. Anderson, Chapter 5
  5. Dye, Chapters 7-8, 11
  6. "Getting the Prices Wrong: The Limits of Market-Based Environmental Policy," Frank Ackerman and Kevin Gallagher, Working Paper, Tufts University, October 2000.
  7. "Making Green Policies Pay Off: Responsible Climate-Change package can benefit environment, workforce, James Barrett and J. Andrew Hoerner, Center for a Sustainable Economy, EPI Issue Brief #143, Economic Policy Institute, April 21, 2000
  8. "Lights Out: Lessons on Electricity Deregulation, Eric B. Schnurer and Charles R. Lyons, The Center for National Policy, January 29, 2001

PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION, 19-20 May 2001

EVALUATION AND CHANGE

G. Programs, Policies and Evaluations

1. Anderson, Chapters 6-7

2. Dye, Chapter 15

3. Program Performance

Impact Assessment and Targets

Organizational Performance and Indicators

Implementing Change

Final Examination

H. Self-Assessment: By this point it should be clear that no one is expected to master any where near all of the material that is relevant to this course. One purpose of this course is to acquaint students with some boundaries and capacities and to assist in their development of disciplines and designs to deal with those limitations and competencies. You are not expected to comprehend the entire field from an examination of it in one course.

 

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