Public Policy Analysis

Catalog description

The use of analytic models for describing and explaining the forces shaping policy and the consequence of policy decisions. PUBPL 304W Public Policy Analysis (3) This course provides an overview of the policy process and an examination of specific policy areas in the American political system. We will focus on what constitutes public policy and basic aspects of the policy process, including agenda setting, implementation, and policy evaluation. The course covers important contemporary policies such as health care, education, energy, welfare reform, and defense. It also will provide us with an opportunity to consider the utility of policy studies, and the various ways knowledge about particular issues is put to use by academics, partisan political figures, journalists, policy advocates, and policy makers.