61 - 70 of 117 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.

Analysis of organizational processes emphasizing organizations that operate in a non-market environment. Prerequisite: ECON 1.

This seminar-style course will explore additional foundational readings on organizational ethics (business, non-profit, and governmental organizations) and policy ethics. Themes will include race and police brutality incidents, national security; the Iran nuclear agreement; Brexit; non-profit organizations in the policy and US landscape; and various corporate matters. Organizing themes include, among others: ethics of leadership; ethics of persuasion and compromise; influence of bias in organizational and policy ethics; ethics of social movements; discrepancies between discourse and action; and interpreting and explaining ethics. In addition, the course will offer training in a wide variety of skills for effective communication of ethics for policy purposes (presentations, website discourse, commenting in meetings and conferences, interviews, statement of personal views, interacting with the media, prioritizing arguments, and mapping complex ethical analysis). Most of the assignments allow students flexibility to explore topics of their choice. The objective is to engage actively and improve skills in a supportive environment. A short, analytically rigorous final paper in lieu of final exam. Attendance required. Grading will be based on short assignments, class participation, and the short final paper. This two-credit seminar accompanies PUBLPOL 134 Ethics on the Edge but can also be taken as a stand-alone course upon permission from the instructor. This course is not required for students taking PUBLPOL 134 to gain Ways of Thinking credit or to gain credit towards Ethics in Society, Science, Technology and Society, or general course credit. *Public Policy majors taking the course to complete the core requirements must obtain a letter grade. Other students may take the course for a letter grade or C/NC.

This course will explore changing notions of truth in a world in which technology, global risks, and societal developments are blurring the boundaries of humanity and boring through traditional notions of nation states, institutions, and human identity. We will ask one over-arching question: does truth matter anymore? If so, why and how? If not, why not? Either way, how does truth relate to ethical decision-making by individuals and institutions and to an ethical society? Five themes will organize our exploration of more specific topics: honesty; identity; memory; authenticity and integrity; and religious truth. Examples of topics to be explored include, among others: fake news; President Trump's campaign strategy; Syrian refugees; University history (Rhodes, Georgetown slavery, Yale Calhoun College...); new questions in gender and racial identity; Chinese beautifying app Meitu and other social media "truth modifiers"; policy questions relating to the sharing economy; and Brexit. Scotty McClennan will explore truth through major literary characters and the impact of religion on truth. We will consider how we determine and verify the truth; how we "do" truth; the role of truth in ethical decision-making; the importance of truth to effective ethical policy; and the relationship of the truth to a life well lived. This two-credit seminar may be taken as a stand-alone course or may accompany PUBLPOL 134 Ethics on the Edge. This course is not required for students taking PUBLPOL 134 to gain Ways of Thinking credit or to gain credit towards Ethics in Society, Science, Technology and Society, or general course credit. Enrollment limited to 15 or upon consent of instructor. Students wishing to take the course who are unable to sign up within the enrollment limit should contact Dr. Susan Liautaud at susanl1@stanford.edu. *Public Policy majors taking the course to complete the core requirements must obtain a letter grade. Other students may take the course for a letter grade or C/NC.

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. Enrollment is limited to Public Policy students. Public Policy students must take the course for a letter grade.

This course explores the role of law in promoting well-being (happiness). Law, among its other functions, can serve as a mechanism to harmonize private incentives with cooperative gains, to maintain an equitable division of those gains, and to deter "cheating" and dystopia. Law is thus essential to civilization. Economic analysis of law focuses on the welfare-enhancing incentive effects of law and its enforcement and on law's role in reducing the risks of cooperation, achieved by fixing expectations of what courts or the state will do in various futures. Prerequisite: ECON 51

Fundamentals of the design, implementation and interpretation of social science field research. Building on a basic knowledge of statistical methods and economics, the course introduces observational field research and compares it with experimental field research. Significant attention devoted to explaining the details of research design as well as what can and cannot be learned through each type of field research. Emphasis placed on the theory of the design and analysis of statistical experiments. Topics include: sample size selection, power and size of statistical hypothesis tests, partial compliance, sample selection bias and methods for accounting for it. Development of critical reading skills emphasized through class discussions of academic journal articles and popular media accounts of field research. Examples of best practice field research studies presented as well as examples of commonly committed errors; students are expected to articulate and challenge or defend underlying assumptions and the extent to which real-world research matches up with concepts covered in lecture. Practical aspects of field work, including efficient and cost-effective data collection, teamwork, field team supervision, budget management, and common ethical considerations. Grading based on weekly problem sets that focus on developing data analysis skills using statistical software, a midterm examination, and a final project in which students write a detailed research proposal. Students can also apply to participate in a course project designing a field research project and implementing it in a developing country context during four weeks of the summer. Prerequisites: either ECON 1 and either STATS 60 or Econ 102A or equivalent.

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).