Results for PUBLPOL

(Formerly PS 2) American political institutions (the Presidency, Congress, and the Court) and political processes (the formation of political attitudes and voting) have for some time now been criticized as inadequate to the task of making modern public policy. Against the backdrop of American culture and political history we examine how public policy has been and is being made. We use theories from Political Science and Economics to assess the state of the American system and the policy making process. We use case studies and lectures to analyze contemporary issues including environmental policy, taxes and spending , gun control , economic growth and inequality and mobility. In some of these issue areas we use comparative data from other countries to see how the U.S. is doing relative to other countries. In addition to class room lecture and discussion, student groups are formed to analyze policy issues of relevance to them. Undergraduate Public Policy students are required to enroll in this class for five units.

The relationship between microeconomic analysis and public policy making. How economic policy analysis is done and why political leaders regard it as useful but not definitive in making policy decisions. Economic rationales for policy interventions, methods of policy evaluation and the role of benefit-cost analysis, economic models of politics and their application to policy making, and the relationship of income distribution to policy choice. Theoretical foundations of policy making and analysis, and applications to program adoption and implementation. Prerequisites: ECON 50 and ECON 102B. Undergraduate Public Policy students are required to take this class for a letter grade and enroll in this class for five units.

Methods of empirical analysis and applications in public policy. Emphasis on causal inference and program evaluation. Public policy applications include health, education, and labor. Assignments include hands-on data analysis, evaluation of existing literature, and a final research project. Objective is to obtain tools to 1) critically evaluate evidence used to make policy decisions and 2) perform empirical analysis to answer questions in public policy. Prerequisite: ECON 102B. Open to Public Policy students and non-Public Policy students with instructor consent. Public Policy students must take the course for a letter grade.

Qualified Public Policy students obtain employment in a relevant research or industrial activity to enhance their professional experience consistent with their degree programs. Prior to enrolling students must get internship approved by the Public Policy Program. At the start of the quarter, students must submit a one page statement showing the relevance of the employment to the degree program along with an offer letter. At the end of the quarter, a three page final report must be supplied documenting work done and relevance to degree program. Meets the requirements for Curricular Practical Training for students on F-1 visas. May be repeated for credit.

Dynamics of regional leadership and decision making in Silicon Valley, a complex region composed of 40 cities and four counties without any overarching framework for governance. Formal and informal institutions shaping outcomes in the region. Case studies include transportation, workforce development, housing and land use, and climate change.

State politics and policy making, including the roles of the legislature, legislative leadership, governor, special interests, campaign finance, advocacy groups, ballot initiatives, state and federal laws, media, and research organizations. Case studies involving budgets, education, pensions, health care, political reform, environmental reforms, water, transportation and more. Evaluation of political actions, both inside and outside of government, that can affect California policy and social outcomes. Meetings with elected officials, policymakers, and advocates in class and during a day-long field trip to Sacramento.

Analytical tools derived from the social sciences to analyze global organizations, strategies, and the tradeoffs between different designs of organizations. Focus is on tribal mentality and how to design effective organizations for policy implementation within and across institutional settings. Recommended: PUBLPOL 102, MS&E 180, SOC 160, ECON 149, or MGTECON 330.

May be repeated for credit.

Small student teams conduct policy analyses requested by government and nonprofit organizations. With guidance from the instructor and client organization, each team researches a real-world problem and devises implementable policy recommendations to help address it. The project culminates in a professional report and presentation to the client organization. Prerequisites: core courses in Public Policy or consent of instructor.

(Formerly PS 2) American political institutions (the Presidency, Congress, and the Court) and political processes (the formation of political attitudes and voting) have for some time now been criticized as inadequate to the task of making modern public policy. Against the backdrop of American culture and political history we examine how public policy has been and is being made. We use theories from Political Science and Economics to assess the state of the American system and the policy making process. We use case studies and lectures to analyze contemporary issues including environmental policy, taxes and spending , gun control , economic growth and inequality and mobility. In some of these issue areas we use comparative data from other countries to see how the U.S. is doing relative to other countries. In addition to class room lecture and discussion, student groups are formed to analyze policy issues of relevance to them. Undergraduate Public Policy students are required to enroll in this class for five units.

The relationship between microeconomic analysis and public policy making. How economic policy analysis is done and why political leaders regard it as useful but not definitive in making policy decisions. Economic rationales for policy interventions, methods of policy evaluation and the role of benefit-cost analysis, economic models of politics and their application to policy making, and the relationship of income distribution to policy choice. Theoretical foundations of policy making and analysis, and applications to program adoption and implementation. Prerequisites: ECON 50 and ECON 102B. Undergraduate Public Policy students are required to take this class for a letter grade and enroll in this class for five units.

Methods of empirical analysis and applications in public policy. Emphasis on causal inference and program evaluation. Public policy applications include health, education, and labor. Assignments include hands-on data analysis, evaluation of existing literature, and a final research project. Objective is to obtain tools to 1) critically evaluate evidence used to make policy decisions and 2) perform empirical analysis to answer questions in public policy. Prerequisite: ECON 102B. Open to Public Policy students and non-Public Policy students with instructor consent. Public Policy students must take the course for a letter grade.

This introductory course will familiarize students with the history, structure, and performance of America's sentencing and corrections system. Sentencing is the process by which criminal sanctions are imposed in individual cases following criminal convictions. Corrections deals with the implementation and evaluation of criminal sentences after they are handed down. In fact, the two subject areas are inseparable. The course will examine sentencing and corrections from global and historical views, from theoretical and policy perspectives, and with close attention to many problem-specific areas. We will explore sentencing theories and their application, the nature, scope and function of corrections, the impact of mass incarceration on crime and communities, the effectiveness of rehabilitation, the relationship between sanctions and crime, and the consequences of prisoner reentry. These topics will be considered as they play out in current political and policy debates. Guest lectures may include presentations by legal professionals, victims, offenders, and correctional leaders. We also plan to visit a correctional facility. This course is open to 1Ls, 2Ls, and 3Ls in the Law School. Special Instructions: Grades will be based on class participation, and either: (1) three reflection papers of 5 to 7 pages each, or (2) a longer research paper. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02) which meets the research (R) requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Class participation, reflection papers or research paper. Cross-listed with Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity (CSRE 221) and open to Juniors and Seniors, Law (LAW 621), Public Policy (PUBLPOL 221).

(SAME AS LAW 348, MGTECON 331) Provides the legal, institutional, and economic background necessary to understand the financing and production of health services in the U.S. Potential topics include: health reform, health insurance (Medicare and Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured), medical malpractice and quality regulation, pharmaceuticals, the corporate practice of medicine, regulation of fraud and abuse, and international comparisons.

Analytical tools derived from the social sciences to analyze global organizations, strategies, and the tradeoffs between different designs of organizations. Focus is on tribal mentality and how to design effective organizations for policy implementation within and across institutional settings. Recommended: PUBLPOL 102, MS&E 180, SOC 160, ECON 149, or MGTECON 330.

(Same as LAW 528 .) This course will provide a broad overview of the scholarly field known as "law and economics." The focus will be on how legal rules and institutions can correct market failures. We will discuss the economic function of contracts and, when contracts fail or are not feasible, the role of legal remedies to resolve disputes. We will also discuss at some length the choice between encouraging private parties to initiate legal actions to correct externalities and governmental actors, such as regulatory authorities. Extensive attention will be given to the economics of litigation, and to how private incentives to bring lawsuits differs from the social value of litigation. The economic motive to commit crimes, and the optimal governmental response to crime, will be studied in depth. Specific topics within the preceding broad themes include: the Coase Theorem; the tradeoff between the certainty and severity of punishment; the choice between ex ante and ex post sanctions; negligence versus strict liability; property rules; remedies for breach of contract; and the American rule versus the English rule for allocating litigation costs. Because this course is taught jointly with Law 528 in the Law School, it will not be mathematically oriented; there are no prerequisites to take the course.

This course aims to present the theory and practice of empirical research in economics with particular emphasis on topics relating to public policy questions. We will start with basic regression analysis and introduce the statistical software STATA. The course will put a substantial amount of effort on work with STATA in analyzing actual data sets, reproducing and criticizing results in scientific research and learning the actual practice of econometrics. We will focus on the identification of causal effects and the various econometric techniques available to learn about causality. While this is primarily a methodology module, most examples and applications will be drawn from the area of public policy. The final will be a 3-5 hour take-home exam. Prerequisite: Econ 102A.

This course introduces skills and bodies of knowledge useful for careers in law, public policy, and achieving social change at scale. These include framing problems; designing, implementing, and evaluating strategies; system design; cost-benefit analysis; decision making under uncertainty; heuristics and biases that affect empirical judgments and decision making; methods for influencing people's behavior ranging from incentives and penalties to "nudges;" and human-centered design. The course will be taught through problems, cases, and a field project to solve real-world problems on or near the Stanford campus, with the goal of integrating strategic thinking and behavioral insights with human-centered design and systems design. The course may be of interest to students in Law and Policy Lab practicums who wish to broaden their policy analysis skills. Enrollment: Limited to 32 students, with priority given to students in Law School, the MPP program, and the IPS program in that order. Students other than law students must seek the consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Class participation, midterm assignment, and final assignment. Cross-listed with International Policy Studies (IPS 207A) & the Law School (LAW 333).

Applied policy exercises in various fields. Multidisciplinary student teams apply skills to a contemporary problem in a major policy exercise with a public sector client such as a government agency. Problem analysis, interaction with the client and experts, and presentations. Emphasis is on effective written and oral communication to lay audiences of recommendations based on policy analysis.

Supervised research internship. Individual students perform policy research for outside client, applying analytical skills from core curriculum. Requires permission of program director.

Restricted to students writing a master's thesis in Public Policy. May be repeated for credit.

Weekly colloquia speaker series required for M.P.P. and M.A. in Public Policy students. Themes vary each quarter.

Qualified Public Policy students obtain employment in a relevant research or industrial activity to enhance their professional experience consistent with their degree programs. Prior to enrolling students must get internship approved by the Public Policy Program. At the start of the quarter, students must submit a one page statement showing the relevance of the employment to the degree program along with an offer letter. At the end of the quarter, a three page final report must be supplied documenting work done and relevance to degree program. Meets the requirements for Curricular Practical Training for students on F-1 visas. May be repeated for credit.

The role of innovation and technological change in long run economic growth and the sources of innovation in science, technology, and commercialization. Founding of new industries and new markets. Commercialization of new technologies. Incentives and organization of science. Entrepreneurship. Openness and proprietary/controlled innovation. Selected public policies toward invention and innovation. The industrial revolution, the shifting international location of innovation, and the information revolution. Focus of the second half of the course is on the newest research on the newest industries. Prerequisites: 51,102B.

If you are interested in a career in finance or that touches finance (computational science, economics, public policy, legal, regulatory, corporate, other), this course will give you a useful perspective. We will take on hot topics in the current landscape of the global markets as the world continues to evolve from the financial crisis. We will discuss the sweeping change underway at the policy level by regulators and legislators around the world and how this is changing business models for existing players and attracting new players to finance. The course will include guest-lecturer perspectives on where the greatest opportunities exist for students entering or touching the world of finance today including new and disruptive players in fin tech, crowd financing, block chain, robo advising, algorithmic trading, big data and other areas. New challenges such as cyber and financial warfare threats also will be addressed. While derivatives and other quantitative concepts will be handled in a non-technical way, some knowledge of finance and the capital markets is presumed. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Final Paper. Consent Application: To apply for this course, students must complete and email to the instructors the Consent Application Form, which will be made available on the Public Policy Program's website prior to the beginning of Winter Quarter. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline. (Cross-listed as ECON252/152, PUBLPOL364, STATS238, LAW 564.)

Instructor and program consent required prior to enrollment.