PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS

PS 151/FALL 2001

            Description. The mainstream conception of public policy analysis calls for the application of research methods and analytic techniques to the primary questions of policy design: (1) What goals should we set for policy intervention? (2) What is the nature of the policy problem at hand? (3) What are the likely consequences of the available policy interventions? The assumption is that by applying rational analysis to these questions we can make better public policies.

            Critics of this rational model of policy analysis argue that it is badly flawed as it ignores the political disputes and different interpretations that lie behind basic policy questions and all public problems. Policymaking they suggest is more a struggle or political exercise involving power and conflict than it is a puzzle amenable to rational calculation. If policy analysis is to serve policymaking, this view contends, it must adjust to the political realities of the policy process and incorporate the conflicts of interest and value disputes we find therein.

            This course compares and contrasts the rational and political view of policy analysis as it surveys the three basic areas of policy analysis and debate--goals, problems, and solutions. In so doing it carefully examines the concepts, rhetoric, and arguments that appear repeatedly from one issue area to the next, whether it is health care reform, environmental protection, or national security policy. We focus on the ideas and arguments of policy analysis, rather than research methods or techniques. The theme of the course is that there is a routine tension between rational analysis of public policy and political behavior within the policy process.

            Along the way this semester we also consider eight different substantive areas of public policy, including economic and budget, environmental, agricultural, urban, education, health, welfare, and law enforcement. These policy snapshots will allow us to apply the policy analysis concepts we learn throughout the course. They will also help us to develop some policy expertise in important areas of contemporary public policy in the United States.

            Methods. Class sessions will emphasize a discussion format wherein the students and the instructor exchange ideas and questions related to the topic and reading of the day. As this strongly implies, everyone needs to complete readings on time, attend class, and come prepared to discuss the topic of the day. There will be three exams, each dealing with about one-third of the material. The last of these will be held during the final exam period but it will not be cumulative. Students will complete eight short case studies (1-2 pages) involving the substantive policy chapters in the Kovens text listed below. Finally, students will write a policy analysis paper in a policy area of their choosing. As the above might suggest, attendance in this class is mandatory and will be reflected in grades as indicated below: 

            Student Obligations. Students should take exams on the scheduled date and turn in assignments on time. If for some extraordinary reason a student needs to miss an exam, prior approval from the instructor must be obtained. If some extreme event results in the missing of an exam, the student must report in with a legitimate excuse no later than one day after the scheduled date of the exam to qualify for a makeup. No papers will be accepted after the scheduled final exam.

            Assigned Readings. All reading assignments are found in the following books, which should be available at the Temple University Bookstore.

Deborah Stone. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001.

Steven G. Koven, Mach C. Shelley, II and Bert E. Swanson. American Public Policy: The Contemporary Agenda. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

COURSE OUTLINE

* Case Studies due on these date.