POLITICAL SCIENCE 317
UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC POLICY
SPRING, 2005
INSTRUCTOR:
Bill Daniel
OFFICE:
130 Founders
HOURS:
3:00 – 4:00 MTWTH, or by appt.
PHONE:
826-3914
E-MAIL/WEB
wrd1@humboldt.edu www.humboldt.edu/~wrd1
TEXTS:
Bardach; A practical Guide To Policy Analysis (Bardach
CQ Researcher; Issues for Debate in American Public Policy (CQ)
Kraft & Furlow; Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives (Kraft)
Governments throughout the world do many different things, often referred to by Political Scientists as public
policy. You find evidence of policies everywhere, from a Supreme Court decision to a local noise ordinance or even
to smoking regulations on campus. The purpose of this course is to help you understand public policy from the viewpoint
of a policy analyst (wonk). We will look at some basic concepts applied by analysts (both professional and amateur)
to describe, explain, and evaluate both the policy-making process, including the institutions that make, implement
and evaluate them, and the impact of policies as they unfold. This approach is useful for understanding current
policies, understanding why governments act as they do, and for predicting what particular governments might do.
Analysts also play a role in determining particular courses of action governments should take as new problems are
“discovered” or as existing problems are redefined. This course will not turn you into a wonk, (That’s for graduate
school.); rather the intent is to provide a “down to earth” set of tools you may employ in your own evaluation
of the things governments do.
Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance on two (2) hour exams (15% each), a term paper
and report (35%), and a final exam (35%). The exams will be essay in nature. For your term project you are to choose
a policy area, perhaps one from the CQ book not covered in class, or perhaps a state or local issue, and apply
Bardach’s “Eight Paths” to recommend a specific policy to deal with your chosen problem. The paper should be 10
to 15 pages in length, and should be of “pre professional” quality. That means grammatically correct and properly
documented (footnotes and bibliography.) No improperly documented paper will receive a grade above a c-. For a
proper documentation format you might, of all things, use the format employed by the text authors. Late papers
will be penalized 1/3 of a letter grade for each school day it is late, up to a letter grade. Make up exams will
be given only for legitimate reasons and only with advance warning.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
1/18-1/20
Introduction; Kraft, ch. 1; CQ, Preface; and Bardach, Introduction & Appendix A
1/25-1/27
Institutions and Actors; Kraft, ch. 2
2/1-2/8
Politics of Public Policy; Kraft, ch.3
2/10-2/15
Policy Analysis; Kraft; ch. 4, & Bardach, Part 1 FIRST TAKE HOME 2/10 - Due 2/15
2/17-2/22Problems and Alternatives; Kraft, ch. 5 and Bardack, Part 2
2/24-3/1
Assessing Alternatives; Kraft,ch. 6 and Bardach, Appendix B
3/3
Smart Practices; Bardach, Part 3
3/8-3/10
Economic Policy; Kraft, ch. 7, CQ, 13 & 14
3/15-3/17
R & R
3/22-3/24
Health Care Policy; Kraft, ch 8, CQ, 3 & 4: SECOND TAKE HOME 3/24 DUE 3/29
3/29-4/5
Welfare and Social Security; Kraft, ch. 9
4/7-4/12
Education; Kraft; ch. 10, CQ 1& 2
4/14-4/19
The Environment; Kraft, ch. 11, CQ, 9 & 10; Conclusion, Kraft, ch.12
4/21-5/5
Reports
5/3
PAPERS DUE
5/12
FINAL EXAM 10:20 – 12:10; SORRY, NO EARLY FINALS
LINKS