Public Policy

Interdisciplinary

Faculty

John M. Elliott
Codirector, Professor of Political Science

James P. Keeler
Codirector, Professor of Economics

This concentration stresses the analysis and understanding of public-policy issues. Participants will learn how to apply the disciplines of economics and political science to analyze public-policy problems and to understand how public policy is formulated, decided upon, and implemented. Students will begin by taking foundation courses in the two disciplines. The principles learned in these foundation courses will then be applied to specific policy areas in the elective courses. The concentration culminates in an interdisciplinary capstone course, which will focus on the economic, moral, and political considerations entailed in analyzing and evaluating public policy and its purposes. In a typical program, a student would take ECON 101 and ECON 102 as a first- or second-year student, PSCI 310 in the sophomore year, 1 1/2 units of electives following these foundation courses, and the capstone course, PPOL 440, in the senior year.

Requirements of the Program

The concentration encompasses 3 1/2 units in economics and political science. All students are required to take the three foundation courses and the capstone course. The foundation courses are ECON 101 (Principles of Microeconomics and Public Policy), ECON 102 (Principles of Macroeconomics and International Trade), and PSCI 310 (Public Policy). The remaining 1 1/2 units will be selected from the electives designated as appropriate for the concentration. Economics majors must take at least 2 units in political science, and political-science majors must take at least 2 units in economics, excluding the capstone course. Other majors must take at least 1 1/2 units in each department.

Required Courses
ECON 101 Principles of Microeconomics and Public Policy
ECON 102 Principles of Macroeconomics and International Trade
PSCI 310 Public Policy
PPOL 440 Senior Seminar in Public Policy

Economics Electives
ECON 331 Economics of Development (offered spring 2003)
ECON 336 Environmental Economics (offered spring 2003)
ECON 342 Economics of Regulation
ECON 345 Economic Analysis of Politics and Law (offered spring 2003)
ECON 347 Economics of the Public Sector (offered fall 2002)
ECON 348 Comparative Economic Systems
ECON 372 Macroeconomic Policy
ECON 378 Economics of Women and Work
ECON 383 American Economic History (offered spring 2003)
ECON 385 The Environment and the Developing World
ECON 388 Economic Justice

Political Science Electives
PSCI 300 Congress and Public Policy-Making (offered fall 2002)
PSCI 305 Urban Politics
PSCI 311 American Public Policy: School Reform
PSCI 313 Making of American Foreign Policy
PSCI 363 Global Environmental Politics (offered fall 2002)
PSCI 372 U.S. Foreign Policy Since World War II
PSCI 450 From State to Market: Deregulation and Retrenchment in Advanced Industrial Democracies
PSCI 461 Defense Strategy Seminar (offered spring 2003)
PSCI 480 Science and Politics (offered fall 2002)

The codirectors from the two departments, economics and political science, will certify when students have completed the concentration. Courses taken for the concentration may also count for the major.

First-Semester Course

Senior Seminar in Public Policy: Race, Poverty, and Inequality
PPOL 440 (1/2 unit)
John Elliott, professor of political science; Richard Trethewey, professor of economics

This seminar brings together a political scientist and an economist to consider how these disiplines analyze and understand public policy. First we will explore public policy and institutions from the general perspective of the two disciplines, examining their contrasting approaches and attempting to find common ground. Then we proceed to study in depth the complex issues of race, poverty, and inequality. We will examine competing understandings of the problems and various efforts of government to solve or alleviate these social, economic, and political conditions. Throughout, we will pay attention to the question of what the knowledge and perspectives from both economics and political science contribute to our understanding of the problems and the policies governments debate, reject or adopt, and seek to implement.

This course is required for students completing the Public Policy Concentration, and it is open to upperclassmen. Prerequisites: ECON 101, ECON 102, and one course in American politics, or permission of the instructors. Enrollment limited.