PPA 220A: APPLIED ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
MASTER'S PROGRAM IN PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
MASTER’S PROGRAM IN URBAN LAND DEVELOPMENT
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
FALL 2011
Professor: Rob Wassmer, Ph.D.
E-Mail: rwassme@csus.edu
Home Page: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/w/wassmerr
Office: Room 3037, Tahoe Hall
Class Location: Monday, 6 - 8:50 p.m., 262 Amador Hall
Office Phone: (916) 278-6304
Office Hours: Monday, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.; and by appointment if necessary
Required Texts:
(1) Contemporary Policy Analysis, 2012, Michael Mintrom, Oxford University Press (denoted as “Mintrom”), available for purchase at Sac State Bookstore or on web at Amazon.Com;
(2) A Practical Guide to Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, Eugene Bardach, 3rd Edition (only), CQ Press, (denoted as “Bardach”), available for purchase at Sac State bookstore or on web at Amazon.Com.
(3) Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, (denoted as “Freak”), Harper Collins Publisher, available for purchase at Sac State bookstore or on web at Amazon.Com.
(4) The Economics Anti-Textbook, (denoted as “Economics”), Fernwood Publishing, available for purchase at Sac State bookstore or on web at Amazon.Com.
On July 11, 2011, the total price for these books at Amazon.Com was $120.17 for new copies.
Course Objectives:
The Department of Public Policy and Administration has established seven learning objectives for this course. These are part of a broader set of learning objectives for those who earn a MPPA or MSULD. These fall under five categories and are:
- Critical Thinking
(1) Problem definition: Understand the appropriateness of beginning a policy analysis by first defining the policy problem in a statement that does not include solution option(s) to the “true” policy problem.
(2) Delineation and evaluation of options: Understand the desirability of offering multiple solution options to a policy problem and evaluating these options in terms of criteria that include at least measures of efficiency and equity.
- Integrative Thinking
(3) Techniques of policy analysis: Understand that wisdom to be drawn upon in making policy decisions comes from the market, experts, and politics; that this wisdom is usually conflicted from two of the sources, and mitigated by the third source (as illustrated by Munger’s triangle).
(4) Economic concepts and analysis: Understand the important role that economic concepts (supply, demand, markets, perfect competition, monopoly, consumer and producer surplus, externalities, public goods, etc.) and thinking (rational prioritization, marginal analysis, equilibrium, “bang for the buck, etc.) play in policy analysis.
- Understanding Professional Role
(5) Role of public sector in democratic/market system: Understand that even competitive market systems can “fail” under certain circumstances (related to market structure, externalities, public goods, and information asymmetry), that a market system offers no guarantee that an outcome is viewed as “equitable” by society, and that the choice of different political institutions in a democracy yield different political/policy outcomes. Thus, there may be a role for public sector involvement in all these areas.
(6) Role of policy analyst: Understand that the role of the policy analyst is to offer advice to policymakers on the desirability of alternative solutions to a policy problem. Both ethical and value neutrality are desired in policy analysis. If personal values enter a policy analysis, they must be noted.
- Practical Applications
(7) Practical problem solving: Be able to conduct a basic policy analysis that involves the appropriate identification of the problem, the environment and sources of wisdom regarding the problem, solution alternatives, appropriate criteria to evaluate each alternative, and a recommendation on a course of action.
- Graduate Writing Intensive General Learning Goals
(8) GWI Goals: (a) understand the major research and/or professional conventions, practices, and methods of inquiry of the discipline, (b) understand the major formats, genres, and styles of writing used in the discipline, (c) practice reading and writing as a learning process that involves peer and instructor feedback, revision, critical reflection, and self-editing.
A survey at the end of the semester will get your opinion on how well this course has satisfied these learning goals. I will often refer to these goals throughout the course.
Approved GWI Course
Anyone receiving a B or better in this course automatically satisfies his or her graduate writing intensive requirement at Sacramento State.
Internet and SacCT Access:
I will post PowerPoint slides on material covered in class and other course related material on SacCT. Information on SacCT can be found at https://online.csus.edu/webct/entryPageIns.dowebct . Please visit the site after you have secured a SacLink account number and password from Sacramento State. I will also correspond with you by e-mail through SacCT and ask you to read material from the Internet. Thus, access to the Internet and SacCT use is required for this class. If you do not have Internet access at work or home, the University's Library and its various computer labs offer access to students.
Student Name Placards:
One of my weaknesses is the ability to remember the names of people. I realize that this is a real hindrance to facilitating discussion in class. Thus, I ask that each of you create a first name placard (with material I will provide on first day of class), bring it to class each week, and place it in front of you for each class meeting. I know this will help me greatly in learning your names. I hope it will also assist you in a quicker learning of your classmates’ names. The names of students I always remember are those that visit me regularly in office hours and actively participate in class activities.
I will also take a digital snapshot of everyone the first night of class and post this with names on SacCT to assist in you attaching a name to a face of your fellow classmates.
Overview:
The course continues your exposure to the basic concepts and tools of microeconomics (from your previous microeconomics course) as they apply to public policy (and urban land development) analysis. We will study how economists think about household decisions, business decisions, and government decisions. We spend much of our time understanding the role that government can play in altering these economic decisions for the betterment of society.
The prerequisite for this course is the receipt of a B grade or above in a previous introductory (undergraduate) course in microeconomics. If your microeconomics is a bit rusty, review the “THE STANDARD TEXT” portion of each of the chapters in The Economics Ant-Textbook.
Microeconomics offers many insights into understanding how business, government, and people interact. Some of the most serious challenges that individuals and society face are economic based. An understanding of economics is therefore an essential part of deriving solutions to these challenges. As future public policy (and urban land development) gurus, an understanding of the economic principles taught in this curse is essential to your ability to offer good analysis and advice in your chosen professions.
A goal of mine has always been to try to improve the teaching of economics to university students. I would consider myself a success if I could get you to learn some economics, appreciate its value to the career choice you have made, and to have a part of your brain think like an economist. Note that I emphasize only a part of your brain. Good analysts have to consider relevant political and administrative issues, and the social/equity ramifications of proposed public and urban land development policies. The development of these other parts of your brain is largely accomplished through the other courses you take in your Master’s program, but at the same time, not fully ignored here.
I encourage you to share with me, even before teaching evaluations are given, your opinion on any of my teaching methods and offer constructive suggestions on how to improve them. I truly appreciate such input and use it to try and continually improve the way I teach this course. To help in achieving this goal, I ask in week seven (October 17) of the course that you complete the teaching evaluation instrument that you will again fill out at the end of the course. Using the responses, I can consider adopting my teaching style to address your concerns in the remaining portion of the course.
PPA 220A consists of one 165 minute meeting a week. Each week you should also devote at least three hours of study outside of the classroom to this course. A 15-minute break occurs in the middle of each class. If I go past 7:30 p.m., without giving you the break, please remind me that it is due.
To measure your attendance, and prepare you for participation in class discussions, I ask that you submit a typed, double-spaced, two-page maximum answer to the numbered discussion question (that corresponds to the first letter of your last name) that are listed below. You can only turn these in on the night of the meeting you attend. I will look them over and return them to you by the next class meeting with a grade based upon how well you satisfy the rubric (included below) I have established for these. Your overall grade on these assignments will be based on the highest ten grades you receive. You may turn in one of these write ups at our first class meeting (August 29). Please feel free to turn in more than ten. I will only count your best ten grades. Do not ask to turn in a hw assignment at a time different than the class period it is due.
If there are concepts or ideas covered in a Monday night session that you did not understand, it is important to your overall success that you get these misunderstandings resolved before the next time we meet. You can do this by talking to your fellow classmates (I encourage you to form study groups or electronic study networks), visiting me in my Monday office hours, sending an e-mail question to me at rwassme@csus.edu (please do not send by SacCT because I check less often), or phoning me at 278-6304. My promise to you is that if I am not in my office, I will respond to your Monday through Friday e-mail or phone call within 24 hours.
Questions, comments, and discussion about material assigned for a Monday night class are always encouraged during that class. In office hours I am pleased to discuss a suggestion on pedagogy, economics in general, the MPPA or MSULD Programs, or your career plans. To insure an adequate participation grade, please stop by to visit at least once during office hours.
Students will need to come well prepared to class in the form of completing all reading assignments, looking over my PowerPoint slides, formulating answers to the discussion questions poised each week (you should think about all of the questions asked and not just the one assigned to you that week), and being prepared to actively participate in the class discussion. I will not hesitate to call on students who choose nonparticipation.
The first 60 minutes of each class is devoted entirely to discussion. For the first 20 minutes of this time, you will break into groups of about 6 people to discuss your answers to the three questions assigned from that meeting’s readings. Begin by appointing a spokesperson for each question (likely someone who answered that question) and have that person offer her answer to the question and get reactions from others in the group about this answer. Do this for all three questions. The remaining 40 minutes of our discussion period will revolve around a full class discussion of the three questions and other issues that arise in relation to them.
Homework Question Feedback, Revision, Reflection, and Self-Editing:
To qualify this course for GWI approval, there must be a component in it that involves you receiving comment on your written work from the instructor and a peer, you reflecting on these comments, and self-editing of previously written material. We accomplish this here using your weekly homework questions.
If you receive less than an “A-” grade from me on your weekly answer, you are required to rewrite it after reflecting upon the comments I have given you on it, and upon the comments you will solicit from an assigned writing partner among your peers. When you submit your revision back to me, please include with it the original marked up version and grading rubric that I completed, and the same from your assigned writing partner. When requested to view someone’s writing assignment as a peer reviewer, you will have a maximum of one week to get your comments back. If it takes longer, and the person you are reviewing complains to me, you will receive a failing grade in one of your ten required writing assignments.
You may revise a maximum of three assignments. However, if you have three or more assignments with less than an “A-” grade from me, all three need revision. The process of revision must begin the week after you receive less than an “A-” on any homework question. When you have feedback from me and your peer reader for your first revision, you must stop by my office hours or see me after class to discuss in person your planned revision. This only needs to be done once, but feel free to do it for all three of your revisions if needed.
On the first night of class, I will offer further instruction on writing your responses to the requested questions in a form that is appropriate to the applied professional discipline of public policy and administration. Further instruction will come as needed throughout the semester. All revised questions must be submitted to me within two weeks of receiving less than an “A-” on any of them. I will accept no revisions after December 5.
Examination Procedure:
Material for the midterm and final exams are taken out of assigned reading, class time, and homework. I will provide a sample midterm exam early in the semester. If you have an illness or emergency, if at all possible, I expect to be notified before the midterm exam takes place. If you fail to show up for this exam without contacting me, or if you cannot provide written documentation of why you missed, you will receive a zero.
Midterm: The first 90 minutes of class on November 7 will be devoted to taking an in-class and closed-book midterm exam. More details and an example of a previous midterm will follow.
Final: Details on the final exam are below. We will discuss this assignment in further detail in class. It is due at the same time (December 12) that a final would have been offered in class.
Grading Procedure:
Grades are based on the following table:
Percent Correct
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Letter Grade
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Number Grade
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100-97
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A+
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4.3
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96-93
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A
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4.0
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92-89
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A-
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3.7
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88-85
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B+
|
3.3
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84-81
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B
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3.0
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80-77
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B-
|
2.7
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76-73
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C+
|
2.3
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72-69
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C
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2.0
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68-65
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C-
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1.7
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64-60
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D
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1.0
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<60
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F
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0.0
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A number grade will be assigned to everything you do. Your course grade is calculated on these number grades. Anything above a B- (2.7) in the course is a passing grade for credit towards your MPPA or MSULD (but be aware you need to earn an overall gpa of 3.0 (B). Your midterm exam grade accounts for 30 percent of your course grade. Your final paper grade accounts for 30 percent of your course grade. The average grade earned on the ten weekly-required answers to discussion questions is worth 30 percent. All discussion questions are graded based upon the rubric at the end of this syllabus. Classroom and office hour participation makes up the remaining 10 percent of your final grade.
University policy for dropping this course followed. You must complete both the midterm and final paper to receive a passing grade.
The following schedule lists the topics covered and the assigned reading that accompanies them. I reserve the right to make minor changes and additions to the schedule. Underlined material is hyperlinked and obtained by clicking on it from your web browser. The format of the schedule is that column 1 contains the topic, column 2 contains the source, and column 3 contains the specific location within the source. The discussion questions are in italics below each topic. Only submit an answer to the question that corresponds to the first letter of your last name, but think about answers to all questions as you are doing the reading related to it.
You need to also print out and review the PowerPoint slides I have prepared for each week. They are on SacCT and will be available (at the latest) by the Sunday evening before the following Monday’s meeting.
Schedule:
Week 1 (August 29)
“Overview of Course” Syllabus
Crafting Appropriate Responses to Weekly Questions Syllabus
“Introduction” Mintrom Chapter 1
(1) Last Name A-F: Chose a policy issue that has been in the news recently and that you are interested in. Write a briefing memo to your legislator boss on what the issue is, and what stakeholders/interest groups have offered an opinion on it, and what these are. What perspectives are dominant? Are there other sides to the issue that have not been focused upon?
“What Policy Analyst Do?” Mintrom Chapter 2
(2) Last Name G-M: Policy analysts in Sacramento are employed in places like the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, California Budget Project, California Taxpayer’s Association, and Public Policy Institute of California. Choose one of these and go to their web site and look it over closely to figure out what a policy analyst does there. Then write an essay describing: What is likely their hardest or most challenging task, what would be their most enjoyable task, and whether you would like to work there.
“The Eightfold Path: Steps 1 – 4” Bardach Part 1 (pp. 1 -37)
(3) Last Name N-Z: Consider two possible problem statements: (a) Too many of California’s recent public high school graduates are unprepared for the rigors of college academic work, and (b) California’s public high schools have too high a student to teacher ratio. Based on Bardach’s criteria, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of beginning a policy analysis with (a), and then do the same for (b).
Week 2 (September 12)
“The Eightfold Path: Steps 5 – 8” Bardach Part 1 (pp. 38 -64)
(1) Last Name G-M: Offer a briefing memo to your public sector boss about the process of policy analysis described in Bardach’s Eight Steps. So she can better comprehend it, explain the process in regard to a specific policy concern and how to go about looking for a solution to it.
“What Governments Do” Mintrom Chapter 3
“Things Governments Do” Bardach Appendix B
(2) Last Name N-Z: Think of a particular policy concern that the Sacramento City Council is very likely grappling with. Describe the problem appropriately to your councilperson boss and offer at least three different ways (from the reading material above) that city government could use to address it.
“Deciding How to Decide” Munger Chapter 2
Available at the Sac State Library’s Reserve Room
(3) Last Name A-F: Munger’s Triangle (Figure 2.1 in reading above) offers a model to help policy practitioners understand the sources of wisdom to policy analysis, the conflicts between these sources, and the sources that mitigate the conflicts. Write a short briefing paper to your policy analyst co-workers that help them understand it.
Week 3 (September 19)
“Objectives of Government Policy Actions” Mintrom Chapter 4
(1) Last Name A-F: The California Legislative Analyst’s Office, California Budget Project, California Taxpayer’s Association, and Public Policy Institute of California are groups that produce policy analysis that suggests what government should do. First, familiarize yourself with each of these groups by looking over their websites. Then, for each of them, offer your opinion on what they likely consider the top objective for government is (among those described in the reading above) when they write up a policy analysis.
“Doing Ethical Policy Analysis” Mintrom Chapter 7
(2) Last Name G-M: Suppose you work as a policy analysis for the California Department of Finance. (Go to their website and familiarize yourself with what they do and their mission statement.) You discover that other policy analysts working around you have acted unethically. Compose a memo to your boss describing what was done and what actions should be taken.
“What is Economics?: Where You Start Influences…” Economics Chapter 1
(3) Last Name N-Z: [a] Are “animal spirits” ever found in private markets? What are the policy implications if such animal spirits are widely present in a market? [b] Why would you not want to pay someone to be a blood donor?
Week 4 (September 26)
“Introduction to the Analytical Strategies” Mintrom Chapter 8
(1) Last Name G-M: Suppose you work for a Sacramento County Supervisor of your choice and they are concerned about a particular policy problem the County is facing that you should define appropriately. In a briefing memo to this supervisor, propose the method of policy analysis to deal with this policy issue as described in this chapter.
“How Markets Work (In an Imaginary World) Economics Chapter 3
(2) Last Name N-Z: Explain in traditional microeconomic terms why a minimum wage set above the market wage is expected to cause unemployment. Is this always the case in its real world application?
“Introduction: The Hidden Side of Everything” Freak
“What do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers…” Freak Chapter 1
(3) Last Name A-F: The basic theme of Chapter 1 is that incentives matter to decisions made by all who interact in a market economy. Write an essay that makes this point to an individual who doubts this basic premise of microeconomics. You can cite an example from this chapter, but you should also cite some of your own examples from California public policy.
Week 5 (October 3)
“Analysis of Markets” Mintrom Chapter 9
(pp. 119-131)
(1) Last name N-Z: Consider a California policy concern that you are particularly interested in. What market processes are relevant? How could a discussion of consumer or producer behavior help guide thinking on solutions to this problem? What effects do price signals and/or the lack of them play in this problem?
“People as Consumers” Economics Chapter 4
(2) Last Name A-F: In an essay, provide a summary of the arguments offered for why consumer preferences may not be given, the prevalence of incomplete and asymmetric information, and why relative position may matter more than absolute. What are the public policy implications of this?
“How is the Klu Klux Klan Like a Group of Real..” Freak Chapter 2
(3) Last Name G-M: The presence of easily obtainable perfect information is an essential element in the proper functioning of competitive economic markets. Explain in an essay why this is the case, and when it is absent an appropriate role for government public policy is to help facilitate the obtaining of this information.
Week 6 (October 10)
“Analysis of Markets” Mintrom Chapter 9
(pp. 131-148)
(1) Last Name A-F: Explain to your non-economist public sector boss the economic model that yields the general belief of microeconomists that a firm will only produce a larger quantity of a good or service if the price consumers are willing to pay for it rises. You may use simple diagrams (in an appendix) as long as you explain them in layperson terms.
“The Firm” Economics Chapter 5
(2) Last Name G-M: Describe the traditional economic explanation for why a firm’s short-run average cost curves are “U” shaped, and the different reason why a firm’s long-run average cost curves are “U” shaped?
“Where Have All the Criminals Gone?” Freak Chapter 4
(3) Last Name N-Z: An overriding theme of this chapter is that many actions produce “unintended consequences.” In an essay describe what is meant by this and the relevance of understanding this phenomenon to crafting “good” public policy.
Week 7 (October 17)
Preliminary teaching evaluation done at end of class
“Market Structure and Efficiency” Economics Chapter 6
(1) Last Name G-M: Describe the “deadweight loss” that is associated with monopoly production in traditional economic theory. Then offer some of the arguments offered for why monopolies may actually benefit society.
“Analysis of Market Failure” Mintrom Chapter 10
(pp. 149-166)
(2) Last Name N-Z: Pick an area of public policy (transportation, health, schooling, poverty, economic development, etc.) that interests you and write an essay that describes whether particular market failures, social equity concerns, or other concerns that you specify are the most important factors that influence policy formulation in that area.
“What Makes a Perfect Parent?” Freak Chapter 5
(3) Last Name A-F: Some public policies are designed to help individuals and even businesses overcome the uncertainties described in this chapter. Craft an essay that describes the role that uncertainty, probability, and helping economic actors deal with it is an appropriate for public policy. Offer a California based example to illustrate this point.
Week 8 (October 24)
“Analysis of Market Failure” Mintrom Chapter 10
(pp. 167-188)
(1) Last Name N-Z: Do an internet search to learn more about Nobel Prize winning economist Ronald Coase (of the Chicago School of Economics) and his theorem regarding a non-government way to deal with externalities. Then write a briefing memo to your Democrat California Assemblyperson boss that verifies that this is possible and her Republican colleagues are not always wrong on this point.
(2) Last Name A-F: Do an internet search to learn more about economist A.C. Pigou and his conjecture regarding the need for government imposed taxes (subsidies) to deal with negative (positive) externalities. Then write a briefing memo to your Republican California Assemblyperson boss that verifies that this is sometimes desirable and her Democratic colleagues are not always wrong on this point.
“Externalities and the Ubiquity of Market Failure” Economics Chapter 7
(3) Last Name G-M: What is a consumption externality? Should public policy try to address these?
Week 9 (October 31)
“The Marginal Productivity Theory of Income Dist..” Economics Chapter 8
(1) Last Name A-F: Offer an internal briefing memo to your California Teachers Association (CTA) boss on the standard economic model on what determines differences in wages paid to different people in a competitive market. You may not use diagrams, but only explain in terms that an educated layperson can understand. Then describe to them how this thinking is used to criticize the standard CTA policy of seeking the same pay for all teachers with the same degree and same years of experience.
(2) Last name G-M: Write an op-ed piece for the Sacramento Bee on the reality that previous to 1985, top executive pay was about 40 times the average pay in the United States, but since then it has been increasing to 100 times the average. Is this a problem that public policy should deal with it? Give your reasons why or why not?
“Perfect Parenting Part II” Freak Chapter 6
(3) Last Name N-Z: As discussed in this chapter, “signaling” can play a role in economic interactions. Understanding this, write an essay on the role that signaling could play in mitigating the positive effects to the poor of the policy to get everyone in California to obtain at least an associate’s degree. (Hint: Think about what the middle-class reaction would be if the new minimum standard of education was community college graduation.)
Week 10 (November 7)
Midterm Given First 90 Minutes of Class
“Government, Taxation, and Redistribution…” Economics Chapter 9
(1) Last Name G-M: Table 1.2 in this chapter makes the point that United States taxes as a whole are on the lower end of OECD countries. This goes against the present conventional wisdom. The present conventional wisdom on California is that its taxes are also high relative to other states in the U.S. Do an internet search (include some of the California policy groups mentioned earlier) to seek evidence on this. Then write an opinion piece that supports or rejects this conventional wisdom.
(2) Last Name N-Z: Is it best to define poverty in absolute or relative terms? If a policy increases the income of the rich without decreasing the income of others, is this a desirable policy?
(3) Last Name A-F: Is a public policy that increases the incomes of the rich without increasing the incomes of the non-rich by the same percentage always a desirable policy? Why is it so hard for U.S. politicians to convey this way of thinking?
Week 11 (November 14)
“Analysis of Government Failure” Mintrom Chapter 11
(1) Last Name N-Z: Sometimes markets fail, and sometimes government interventions to correct these failures are justified. But government interventions to do this can also fail. Write an essay that discusses a public policy problem and the government intervention to deal with it. Then discuss whether there is any evidence that the government intervention to deal with this problem has failed in any of the ways described in this chapter. Is this failure large enough to justify the government never getting involved?
(2) Last Name A-F: On pp. 191-197, this chapter contains a list of possible types of government failure when it attempts to deal with policy concerns. Write a briefing memo to the current California Governor on what these failures are and offer a possible real world example of each from California public policy interventions that you are familiar with.
“Democratic Decisions and Government Failure” Munger Chapter 6
Available at the Sac State Library’s Reserve Room
(3) Last Name G-M: Are the preferences of most people for public policy outcomes “single peaked”? Does you answer imply any problems for the voting mechanism used to determine the public policy?
Week 12 (November 21)
“Comparative Institutional Analysis” Mintrom Chapter 12
(1) Last Name A-F: Go to the website for the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard. Review the database of cases contained there. Write a briefing memo to your public sector agency director on how the agency you work for could make use of such a database to conduct comparative institutional analysis.
“Managing Policy Projects” Mintrom Chapter 5
(2) Last Name G-M: Write a memo to fellow PPA 220A classmates about the upcoming final assignment and how they can incorporate insights from project management given in this chapter in completing it more effectively.
“Presenting Policy Advice” Mintrom Chapter 6
(3) Last Name N-Z: The California Legislative Analyst’s Office, California Budget Project, California Taxpayer’s Association, and Public Policy Institute of California all produce policy reports that are available at their websites. Look over these reports and find a short one (less than 10 pages) that you can be critical of based upon the points made in this chapter. Make a copy of this report and attach it to a memo to your public sector boss on what was done wrong and how it could be improved upon.
Week 13 (November 28)
“Preface” CIWMB Tire Study
Pp. 1 - 2
“Executive Summary” CIWMB Tire Study
Pp. 3 – 6
“Waste Tires in CA” CIWMB Tire Study
Chapter 1
“The Environment Surrounding…” CIWMB Tire Study Chapter 2
“Waste Tire Management Alternatives” CIWMB Tire Study
Chapter 3
“Criteria for Evaluating Alternatives…” CIWMB Tire Study
Chapter 4
“Analysis of Policy Alternatives” CIWMB Tire Study
Chapter 5
“Recommendations” CIWMB Tire Study
Chapter 6
“Addendum” CIWMB Tire Study
Chapter 7
(1) Last Name G-M: Using Bardach’s suggestions regarding “Step Three: Construct the Alternatives,” evaluate how well the CIWMB Tire Study has put forth its alternatives for its given policy problem statement.
(2) Last N-Z: Using Bardach’s suggestions regarding “Step Four: Select the Criteria,” evaluate how well the CIWMB Tire Study has put forth its criteria for its given policy problem statement.
(3) Last Name A-F: Based upon the information in the Addendum to the CIWMB Tire Study, and using what you learned from Munger and his triangle, comment on the reaction from stakeholders to the report.
Week 14 (December 5)
“Gender Analysis” Mintrom Chapter 14
(1) Last N-Z: The California Senator you work for has decided that there has not been enough attention paid to the “male achievement gap” in high school and college graduation rates. You are skeptical that this exists. Write a memo to him describing how you propose to investigate whether it is really occurring in California.
“Race Analysis” Mintrom Chapter 15
(2) Last Name A-F: When you conduct a statistical analysis (regression learned in PPA 207) about what determines differences in Academic Performance Index (API) scores in California’s public schools, the percentage of the school’s students who are African American nearly always exerts a negative influence. Your boss at the California Department of Education knows of this also and asks you to write a briefing memo on this finding based upon what you learned in this chapter.
“Implementation Analysis” Mintrom Chapter 16
(3) Last Name G-M: Choose a particular idea for a policy change that the Sacramento Area Council Of Governments would be interested in regard to reducing sprawl in our region. (If not familiar with this, go to their website and read about the “Blueprint Project.”) Use either “Backward” or “Forward Mapping” to write a memo to their Board and what would be required to make this change.
Week 15 (December 12)
Final Paper Due at 6 p.m.
Name: _____________________________________________ Grade: _________________
Grading Rubric for Weekly Discussion Questions
PPA 220A
Fall 2011
Excellent = 10, Good = 9, Acceptable = 8, Needs Improvement = 7, Poor = 6, Absent = 0
Required Content
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10
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9
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8
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7
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6
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0
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Name and discussion question at top of document that is no more than two typed pages long, with one inch margins and 11 font
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|
|
|
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Begins with an appropriate introductory paragraph that describes topic and layout of write-up
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Finishes with an appropriate concluding paragraph that summarizes answer to discussion question asked
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Paragraphs and transitions between them flow smoothly
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Appropriate writing style and language use for a college educated reader not familiar with the topic
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No grammar or spelling errors
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Answer appropriately draws upon outside material relevant to the discussion question and cites this material using APA style
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Answer appropriately addresses discussion question by drawing upon assigned reading related to it
(Three times other value)
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30
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27
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24
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21
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18
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0
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Total score (100 possible)
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Final Exam Assignment
PPA 220A – Fall 2011 – Professor Rob Wassmer
Due December 12, 2011 at 6 p.m.
One Grade Deduction for Every Day Late
Submit Only a Paper Copy under My Office Door
Overview
You are to write no more than an eight-page, typed, and double-spaced document (11 Times New Roman Font) that represents a proposal on how you would conduct a Criteria-Alternatives-Matrix (CAM) analysis for a hypothetical client on a public policy or urban land development concern of your choosing. I suggest you review the sections we covered in Bardach’s book, the CIWMB Tire Study, and the appropriate PowerPoint notes from class before beginning this assignment. I will base your grade on how well you satisfy the suggestions offered by these authors for completing such an analysis.
I will use the rubric contained on the next page to score your assignment and assign it a grade. Pay careful attention to what this rubric is asking for and the further instructions offered below.
Instructions
You should structure your answer as an essay with an appropriate cover page, introductory section that describes what is in the essay, section headings that cover the requested material, and a concluding section. You will need a reference list at the end and citations must be in APA style (http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/apagd.php ). Tables and figures should be included in an appendix to the essay and they do not count toward your eight-page limit. I will not read beyond eight pages. (Your cover page and reference list is not part of this eight-page limit.) Other than these constraints, including the mandatory components described below, the remaining form of the write up is up to you.
Specifics That Need to Be Included
Specifically identify who your client is. Describe the process of CAM analysis in both its qualitative and quantitative forms. What is it and exactly what is it trying to accomplish? Mention that this document represents a proposal to conduct such an analysis for them and describe at the close of your introduction how your structure your write up into specific sections. Use section headings throughout paper.
Place in bold in your introduction a one-sentence problem statement in the form suggested by Bardach. Also, include additional paragraphs that describe the magnitude of the policy problem you have chosen, the magnitude of change required for a solution, and why the problem warrants public intervention (see Munger, Chapter 2 for help on this).
The section after the introduction should be at least two pages long and describe in appropriate detail your chosen policy or urban land development problem within the context of the economics and policy framework learned in this class. Carefully look over your notes and describe economic and policy concepts learned that will help your client better understand both the problem and the CAM you are proposing. Consider this a section that you could not have possibly written before taking this class; so demonstrate to me what you have learned.
Offer information on how you plan to go about gathering evidence to conduct the cell-by-cell analysis that is required for a CAM. This should include at least five sources in a literature review section that contain information, case studies, statistical analysis, best practices, etc. relevant to the production of your CAM. Citations are required for this and they should be in APA form.
Consider alternative zero to be let present trends continue and choose three other alternatives that could solve the policy problem. Describe each of these alternatives in more detail in a paragraph or more. Appendix B in Bardach can help in your constructing of these alternatives.
Use three different criteria that fall into the categories of cost effectiveness (biggest bang for the buck), equity, and another of your choosing. Describe each criterion in a paragraph or two. Do you plan to weight criteria differently?
Briefly describe the methods you anticipate using to project outcomes and confront tradeoffs that are inherent to a CAM analysis.
How do you plan to integrate political and administrative acceptability into your analysis?
Include somewhere in your write up a table that offers an example of what the quantitative CAM looks like. Fill it in to the best of your available judgment to derive a preliminary recommendation for client.
Conduct a sensitivity analysis of your findings.
Turn on the grammar check in Microsoft Word and be sure to correct all issues. Pay particular attention to eliminating the presence of passive voice.
Be sure to make a preliminary recommendation, but remind the client a final recommendation is only possible after a complete study.
Grading Rubric for Final Exam, PPA 220A, Fall 2011
Excellent = 10, Good = 9, Acceptable = 8, Needs Improvement = 7, Poor = 6, Absent = 0
Required Content
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10
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9
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8
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7
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6
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0
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Development and organization: appropriate introduction and conclusion, organization of paper clearly described in introduction and done as stated
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Writing mechanics: grammar, word choice, and sentence structure
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Presentation: appropriate and attractive format
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Citations: accurate citations and listing of references using APA style
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Public policy / ULD problem statement
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Layperson’s description of what CAM analysis is
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Justification for public intervention into this problem
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Economic background: From class on your problem statement
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Policy background: From class on your problem statement
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Choice and write up of alternatives to solve policy problem
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Choice and write up of criteria to evaluate alternatives
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How evidence will be gathered
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Description of methods used to project outcomes and confront tradeoffs
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How is political and administrative acceptability built into your analysis
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Qualitative CAM table
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Quantitative CAM table
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Sensitivity analysis completed
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Preliminary policy recommendation given
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Total Score (180 Possible)
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