Analyzing Public Policy in the American States

Catalog description

This course provides students with the tools to empirically evaluate policy proposals and outcomes in the American states. PL SC 404 Analyzing Public Policy in the American States (3) Developing public policies is the proximate goal of any government. In the United States national, state, and local lawmakers steeped in their own traditions, procedures, and political environments establish rules that determine their citizen's quality of life. In the states specifically, laws affect citizens's access to and their ability to afford an education; the quality of the roads they travel on; the wages they earn; whether and to what extent they qualify for subsidized health care; how they cast their ballot in elections; and myriad other aspects of their lives. This course focuses on policymaking in the American states and how those policies can be evaluated using social science methods. The course begins with a discussion of what makes states distinct from one another & their populations, governmental institutions, and political values. The focus then shifts to how statistical techniques can be used to describe variation in state policy; to develop causal arguments to explain variation; and to assess the efficacy and value of different approaches to the same social problems. Students learn how to measure and gather data relevant to public policy debates, to describe and categorize policy, to model policy outcomes, and to draw conclusions about alternative approaches to solving the policy problems being addressed. Students then apply this knowledge to major policy debates in state government. The course concludes by with an exploration of the ethical implications of using data to make policy decisions and with attention to how technical and statistical information can be effectively communicated to professional and nonprofessional audiences. Students are required to have an understanding of introductory statistics (equivalent to the knowledge they would gain from PL SC 309 or STAT 200 ) prior to taking this course.