Public Policies
Code: 106204 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2504216 Contemporary History, Politics and Economics | OB | 2 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Eva Anduiza Perea
- Email:
- eva.anduiza@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- english (eng)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Teachers
- Irina Khayrizamanova Khayrizamanova
Prerequisites
The students must have an acceptable level of the English language, which allows them to follow the classes and understand academic texts written in this language. It is recommended to read regularly news coverage on national and international politics.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This course is intended to introduce the most important theoretical and empirical references in the public policy analysis and to develop the students’ ability to use this knowledge to understand and interpret dynamics and processes of public policies formulation, implementation and change.
Specifically, the students will work on main concepts and models that currently are most frequently used in the public policies studies. On the other hand, the course will draw on empirical cases of comparative public policies, with the analysis of cases in different social and cultural contexts.
Competences
- Describe and analyse the functioning of public administrations on different territorial scales.
- Innovate in the methods and processes of this area of knowledge in response to the needs and wishes of society.
- Manage and apply data to solve problems.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Work cooperatively in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams implementing new projects.
Learning Outcomes
- Analysing and explaining the economic dimensions behind public policies.
- Analysing public policies, both in their elaboration and implementation processes.
- Collect and process data to critically analyse the process of formulating the public agenda.
- Collectively analyse public policies from a multidisciplinary perspective both in the process of production and implementation.
- Describing and understanding the functioning of the Public Administration on a state, sub-state and supranational level.
- Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Using different tools for the analysis and explanation of the formulation, decision, implementation and evaluation processes in public policies.
Content
CONTENTS
Note that the course will introduce the analysis of empirical cases of public policies in each topic. Examples of empirical cases will include among others: gender-based policies and policies on abortion.
BLOC 1. Public policy fundamentals
Topic 1. Public policy: definition, dimensions and typologies of public policies.
Topic 2. Building policy problems. Public value of the public policies
Topic 3. Theoretical approaches to public policy analysis.
Topic 4. The context for policy-making: Institutions, actors and resources
BLOC 2. Politics and policies. Public policy cycle
Topic 5. Problem definition and agenda-setting
Topic 6. Policy formulation and decision-making
Topic 7. Rationality and learning in policy decision making
Topic 8. Implementing public policies
Topic 9. Role of the policy networks
Topic 10. Policy evaluation
Topic 11. Policy change and policy convergence.
Topic 12. Public policies beyond the nation state
BLOC 3. Conclusions
Topic 13. What have we learned? Public sector challenges.
Methodology
This is a 6 ECTS course on Public policy analysis, i. e. 150h of the work of the students (25h/1 ECTS). This work is divided in different types of educational activities, following different teaching methods.
Directed activities:
Lectures: oral presentations with the presence of the teacher and with ICTs support. Examples of public policies and class debates.
Seminars: text and case discussion in smaller groups and in more empirically oriented cases. Introduction, presentation, analysis and discussion. Public policies simulations. Short written exams.
Public presentation and discussion of group exercises. Group presentations. Discussions and general evaluation.
Supervised activities:
Tutorials: support in the elaboration of the group exercises and following the general aspect of the course.
Autonomous activities:
Reading: individual reading of theoretical essays and policy cases.
Studying and preparing documents and schemes. Online exercises
Elaboration of the group project . Working on the analysis of a public policy case, following the lecturer’s instructions. The format of this kind of exercise will be specified during the course.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 30 | 1.2 | 4, 2, 6, 9, 8 |
| Public presentation of group project | 8 | 0.32 | 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 7, 8, 3, 10 |
| Seminars and case discussions | 25 | 1 | 4, 1, 2, 6, 7, 3, 10 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Preparation and written submission of the group project | 20 | 0.8 | 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 |
| Tutorials | 7 | 0.28 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading of the texts | 30 | 1.2 | 9, 8 |
| Subject study. Online exercises | 30 | 1.2 | 9, 7, 8 |
Assessment
The evaluation of this course consists of three parts:
1) Final exam. It represents 40% of the final grade.
2) Group exercise. Elaboration of a group exercise (4 students) that consists of working on the analysis of a public policy case, following the lecturer’s instructions. The format of this kind of exercise will be specified during the course. It represents 35% of the final grade.
3) Seminars and in-class and online assesses exercises (reading control or work on empirical cases) 25% of the final grade.
Important considerations:
- There is no official schedule of final exams. The lecturer will inform students about the dates of all assessed activities at the beginning of the course.
-To pass this course you will need to pass the final exam with a minimum grade of 5/10.
- On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (via Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
Retake process
-"To be eligible to participate in the retake process, it is required for students to have been previously been evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the subject. "Section 3 of Article 112 ter. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations).
- A student can do a re-sit exam if s/he has obtained at least a 3.5 as a final grade of the course.
- It is possible to take a re-sit exam only if a student has taken and has failed the final exam. The re-sit exam gives an opportunity only to pass an exam (a 5 is the maximum grade that can be obtained). If the students do not pass the re-sit exam (5/10), the final grade of the course will be FAIL (NO APROVAT). Clarification: the maximum grade in the retake exam is 5/10.
- The retake exam includes only the synthesis final exam. It is not possible to re-take the continuous assessment activities (group work, participation in seminars, in-class and online assessed exercises).
- The retake exam will be scheduled by the Dean's Office.
-Students will obtain a “Not assessed/Not submitted” course grade unless they have done evaluation activities that count for more than 30% of the course mark.
Irregularities in evaluation activities:
- In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final exam | 40% of the final frade | 0 | 0 | 4, 2, 5, 9, 8, 3, 10 |
| Group project | 35% of the final grade | 0 | 0 | 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 7, 8, 3, 10 |
| Seminars and exercises | 25% of the final grade | 0 | 0 | 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 7, 8, 3, 10 |
Bibliography
BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Ahrens, Petra. (2019). The birth, life, and death of policy instruments: 35 years of EU gender equality policy programmes. West European Politics, 42(1), 45–66.
-Barbieri, Nicolas. (2015). "A narrative-interactionist approach to policy change analysis. Lessons from a case study of the cultural policy domain in Catalonia", Critical Policy Studies, 9 (4), 434-453.
-Bobbitt-Zeher, Donna. (2011). Gender discrimination at work: Connecting Gender Stereotypes, Institutional Policies, and Gender Composition of Workplace. Gender & Society, 25(6), 764–786.
- Cairney, Paul. (2012). Understanding public policy: Theories and issues. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
-Dery, David. (1984). Problem definition in policy analysis, Lawrence KS.
- Fischer, Frank, and Gerald J. Miller (2017) . Handbook of Public Policy Analysis : Theory, Politics, and Methods (eds). Boca Raton : Routledge.
-Klijn, Erik (1997) “Policy networks: An overview”, In Kickert, Walter and Klijn, Erik. (eds.) Managing complex networks. London: Sage, pp. 14-34.
- Knoepfel, Peter . Public Policy Analysis. Bristol: Policy Press, 2007.
Knill Christoph and Tosun Jale. (2020). Public Policy: A new introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing
-Moran, Michael, Rein, Martin, and Goodin, Robert.E. (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy, Oxford University Press
-Richardson, Jeremy. (2012) Constructing a Policy-Making State?: Policy Dynamics in the EU. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
-Stone, Deborah. (1988), Policy Paradox, New York, pp. 232-256.
-True, James, Jones, Bryan i Baumgartner,F rank (2007). “Punctuated-equilibrium theory: Explaining stability and change in American policymaking.” In Sabatier, Paul (ed.) Theories of the policy process. Oxford: Westview, pp. 155-187.
-Zahariadis, Nicolas. (1999), “Ambiguity, time and multiple streams”, In Sabatier, Paul . (ed.) Theories of the policy process, Oxford: Westview Press, pp. 73-96.
REFERENCES FOR TOPICS
The professor will define specific readings for each topic in the detailed course programme (to be shared on moodle at the beginning of the course). Some of these lectures will be objects of the seminar discussions.
THE MOST RELEVANT JOURNALS
Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis
Journal of European Public Policy
Journal of European Social Policy
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory
Journal of Public Policy
Journal of Policy Reform
Policy Studies Journal
Software
No specific requirements