ECO 523-­‐01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY, FALL 2014 CLASS TIMES & LOCATION
Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 10:00 am – 10:50 am
117 Bryan Building
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Dennis Patrick Leyden – 460 Bryan Building, dpleyden@uncg.edu, 256-8558.
Office hours: Almost any time during normal working hours, M-F is possible. I am available for
individual and group meetings. Contact me about getting together. Email is the most reliable
way to contact me outside of class.
FOR WHOM PLANNED
This course is intended primarily for upper-division undergraduate students interested in learning
how to do economic public policy analysis.
ACADEMIC CREDIT
3 semester hours of academic credit. This course is both writing intensive (WI) and speaking
intensive (SI).
PREREQUISITE
ECO 301: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Examination of market failure, public goods, economic efficiency, and income incidence,
allocative effects, and public policy.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This course provides students with an introduction to the conduct of public policy analysis.
Students who successfully complete this course will:
• Formulate economic policy questions within the context of a broader ethical purpose.
• Construct reviews of the economic literature that are relevant to answering economic
policy questions.
• Construct economic theories that address economic policy questions.
• Use economic theories and empirical evidence to answer economic policy questions.
• Communicate in writing and orally the result of economic research in a clear, coherent,
effective manner that is consistent with standard forms of communication used by
economists.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
SYLLABUS
ECO 523-01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
FALL 2014
PAGE 2
READINGS & OTHER RESOURCES
Required readings for this course are taken from the following books:
• Leyden, Dennis P. (2012). Critical Thinking in Economics, 2nd edition. Charlotte, NC:
Kona.
• Sandel, Michael J. (2010). Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farrar,
Straus and Giroux.
There are also are a number of other materials that are required for this course and that are
available online or on the course Blackboard site:
• Anarchy, State, and Utopia (2014). Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy,_State,_and_Utopia.
• A Theory of Justice (2014). Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Theory_of_Justice
• Broder, J. M. (2011, November 16). Re-election strategy is tied to a shift on smog.
New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1o7IHYa
• Brooks, D. (2012, April 12). Sam Spade at Starbucks. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://nyti.ms/HN0Mbi
• DeLong, J., Solow, R. M., Butters, G., Calfee, J., Ippolito, P., & Nisbet, R. A. (1981).
Defending cost-benefit analysis: Replies to Steven Kelman. Regulation: AEI Journal on
Government and Society, 5(March/April), 39-43. Retrieved from
http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/regulation/1981/3/v5n2-6.pdf
• Douthat, R. (2014, February 12). Work and health insurance: Is there an alternative?
New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/Mcszrs
• Gillis, J. (2012, April 30). Temperature rising: Clouds' effect on climate change is last
bastion for dissenters. New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/KrmJu8
• Gigerenzer, G. (2014, May 21). Risk savvy: How to make good decisions [Audio
podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvent
s/player.aspx?id=2460
• Gruber, J. (2011). Empirical tools of public finance [PDF document]. In Public finance
and public economics (3rd edition) (pp. 63-90). New York: Worth Publishers.
Available on the course Blackboard site.
• Harris, G. (2012, April 2). White House and the F.D.A. often at odds. New York Times.
Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/HgDDgz
• Kelman, S. (1981). Cost-benefit analysis: An ethical critique. Regulation: AEI Journal
on Government and Society, 5(January/February), 33-40. Retrieved from
http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/regulation/1981/1/v5n1-7.pdf
• Krugman, P. (2014, June 25). On the social responsibility of wonks. New York Times.
Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1lbPooS
• Lipton, E. (2014, February 9). Fight over minimum wage illustrates web of industry ties.
New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1da7GHT
• Mankiw, N. G. (2014, March 22). When the scientist is also a philosopher. New York
Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1fOSiNz
• Marcus, G., & Davis, E. (2014, April 6). Eight (No, nine!) problems with big data. New
York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1qdrGgZ
• McWhorter, J. (2012, July 9). A matter of fashion. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/a-matter-of-fashion/?hp
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENBORO
SYLLABUS
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ECO 523-01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
FALL 2014
PAGE 3
Metcalf, S. (2011, June 20). The liberty scam. Slate. Retrieved
from http://www.slate.com/id/2297019/
Mullainathan, S. (2014, July 1). Why computers won't be replacing your just yet. New
York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1mH63kG
On Liberty (2014). Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Liberty
Pollack, A. (2012, April 12). States seek curb on patient bills for costly drugs. New
York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/HEpTgJ
Pollack, A. (2012, June 3). In study, drug delays worsening of breast cancer, with fewer
side effects. New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/K6bDdC
Procedural Justice (2014). Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_justice
Reinhardt, U. E. (2011, August 27). When value judgments masquerade as science.
New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1l0k7K5
Reinhardt, U. E. (2012, May 11). Behind the burden of regulation. New York Times.
Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/N2QhTh
Roscoe, P. (2014, February 11). Economics: The enemy? (Audio podcast). London
School of Economics Public Lecture. Retrieved from
http://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvent
s/player.aspx?id=2250)
Shapiro, J. M. (2013, April 6). How to give an applied micro talk: Unauthoritative notes
[PDF document]. Retrieved from
http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/jesse.shapiro/research/applied_micro_slides.pdf
Utilitarianism (2014). Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism_(book)
Varian, H. (2009). How to build an economic model in your spare time [PDF
document]. Retrieved from http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/Papers/how.pdf
Wilkinson, W. (2011, April 15). Democracy in America: Ayn Rand on tax day. The
Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/21017989
CONDUCT OF THE COURSE
The purpose of this writing- and speaking-intensive course is to help students improve their
ability to engage in independent economic policy research and communicate the results of that
research in a professional manner. The structure of this course is dramatically different from a
typical course. While there will be some lectures, student participation is not only required by the
University by virtue of the course being a writing- and speaking-intensive course, it is absolutely
crucial for success. The emphasis of the course be on in-class discussions and presentations in
which students and the instructor will work together to develop economic research and
communication skills. As required of all University writing- and speaking-intensive courses, this
course will have both informally and formally graded writing and speaking assignments. Finally,
the course will include a comprehensive final examination. Students will be provided with
feedback about their writing and speaking assignments and will be expected to use such feedback
to improve later writing and speaking assignments. To be successful in this course, students
should study assigned material ahead of time, be willing to share their thinking and work –
however incomplete – with the class, and be willing to support fellow students through both
praise and criticism of their work.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENBORO
SYLLABUS
ECO 523-01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
FALL 2014
PAGE 4
FACULTY AND STUDENT GUIDELINES
Each student is required to sign the Academic Integrity Policy on all major work submitted for the
course. Refer to UNCG Undergraduate Bulletin/Graduate Bulletin or:
• http://sa.uncg.edu/dean/
In addition, the Bryan School Faculty Assembly and the Bryan School Student Advisory Council
have adopted a set of Faculty and Student Guidelines that defines expected behavior for both
faculty and student. For more information about these Guidelines consult:
• http://bae.uncg.edu/students-resources/
EVALUATION & GRADING
Listed below are the various formally and informally graded assignments. Formally graded items
are graded on a 100 point scale with each letter grade range being 10 points. Informally graded
items are graded using a !± system, with a minus indicating less than satisfactory work and a
plus indicating especially meritorious work. At the end of the semester, a weighted average of
the formally graded items is calculated, rounded to two decimal places, and the grade converted
to a letter grade with the top third of each 10-point letter-grade range being awarded a plus and
the bottom third of each 10-point letter-grade range being awarded a minus. Then the informally
graded items are evaluated to determine whether an adjustment in that course letter grade is
warranted before assigning the final course grade.
• Paper Topic Assignments
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° Assignment 1 ......................................................................................... !± system
° Assignment 2 ........................................................................5% (formally graded)
Frame of Reference Reports
° Positive .................................................................................................. !± system
° Normative .............................................................................................. !± system
° Political .................................................................................................. !± system
Model-Building Reports
° Status Report (oral) ................................................................................ !± system
° Initial Model Draft ................................................................5% (formally graded)
Bibliography Assignments
° Assignment 1 ......................................................................................... !± system
° Assignment 2 ........................................................................5% (formally graded)
Speaking Center Consultation(s) ..................................................................... !± system
Term Paper Assignments
° Status Report (oral) ................................................................................ !± system
° Complete Paper (1st Draft) ..................................................15% (formally graded)
° Presentation.........................................................................25% (formally graded)
° Complete Paper (Final Draft) .............................................30% (formally graded)
Final Examination .........................................................................15% (formally graded)
Informally graded assignments that are not completed will receive a zero; informal assignments
that are completed after they are due will receive a zero or check-minus at the discretion of the
instructor. Formally-graded written assignments that are turned in late will receive a 10-point
deduction for every calendar day that they are late (measured in 24 hour increments from the due
date and time). The formally-graded presentation will receive a 20-point deduction for every
calendar day that it is late. Finally, there is in general no ability to reschedule the final
examination; students who miss the final examination will receive a zero. The only exceptions to
this policy are:
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENBORO
SYLLABUS
ECO 523-01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
FALL 2014
PAGE 5
• Students with three final examinations within a 24-hour period may apply to the
University Registrar's Office for permission to change their examination schedules. All
requests for changes in examinations must be filed with the University Registrar's
Office by 5:00 pm on Reading Day.
• Students who, due to extreme circumstances that are beyond their control, cannot take
the final examination at the scheduled time and date may petition to have the final
examination rescheduled. In such circumstances, students should contact the instructor
as soon as possible and provide tangible evidence to support the claim that there is a
conflict that is due to extreme circumstances that are beyond their control. Examples
of situations that are generally not justifications for rescheduling the final examination
include conflicts with other courses that do not follow the prescribed final examination
schedule, conflicts with work schedules, and conflicts with end-of-semester travel
arrangements.
ASSIGNMENTS
Special note: Any additional details about assignments will be provided in class and/or on the
course Blackboard site.
• Paper Topic Assignments – To help develop a clearly focused paper topic, students are
required to draft a paper topic and provide supporting material to explain and justify that
choice (Assignment 1). Then, after further reading, discussion, and consideration of that topic,
students are required to revise their paper topic and again provide supporting material to
explain and justify that choice (Assignment 2). Both paper topic assignments should be typed
using the template MS Word file that is provided on the course Blackboard site, should be
submitted in hardcopy form, and are due at the beginning of class on the day assigned.
• Frame of Reference Reports – To help develop a more solid foundation for their research,
students are required to reflect on what positive, normative, and political frames of reference
will be used in writing their papers. Due dates are noted in the course calendar, and all reports
should be typed using the template MS Word file that is provided on the course Blackboard
site, should be submitted in hardcopy form, and are due at the beginning of class on the day
assigned.
• Model-Building Reports – To help build a formal economic model to be used to analyze
chosen topics, students are required to share their experiences building their models in oral
status reports and to then provide initial typed, hardcopy descriptions of their models. Due
dates are noted in the course calendar. Rubrics are provided on the course Blackboard site to
provide guidance in completing these reports.
• Bibliography Assignments – To aid in the development of a relevant set of references that will
be useful in completing the term paper, students are required to draft an annotated
bibliography, that is, a list of references along with supporting material to explain and justify
that list (Assignment 1). Then, after further reading, discussion, and consideration of their
paper and its needs, students are required to revise their annotated bibliography, again
providing supporting material to explain and justify their choices (Assignment 2). Both
annotated bibliography assignments should be typed using the template MS Word file that is
provided on the course Blackboard site, should be submitted in hardcopy form, and are due at
the beginning of class on the day assigned.
• Speaking Center Consultations – Students are required to take part in at least one Speaking
Center Consultation with the UNCG Speaking Center and provide documentation of that
process by the beginning of class on the due date. Because speaking, like writing, improves
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENBORO
SYLLABUS
ECO 523-01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
FALL 2014
PAGE 6
with repeated efforts and reflection, students who do more than one Speaking Center
Consultation have the opportunity to earn a check-plus.
• Term Paper Assignments – Students are required to research, write, present, and revise a 25003750 word paper (approximately 10-15 page double-spaced paper). Be sure to note that word
count excludes the paper’s cover, abstract, references, diagrams, etc. The paper should have the
structure described in class. To help in writing that term paper, students are required to share
their experiences building their models in oral status reports, after which the first written draft
of their papers must be submitted electronically using SafeAssign on the course Blackboard site
by the date and time noted below in the course calendar and must be in the form of an MSWord
file. A schedule of when each student is to present will be arranged ahead of time.
Presentations based on the paper are expected to be 15 minutes long; if the length of the
presentations needs to be shortened because of time constraints, students will be informed
before any presentation is made. Finally, a revised, final draft of the paper based on feedback
from the instructor should be submitted electronically using SafeAssign on the course
Blackboard site by the date and time noted below in the course calendar.
• Final Examination – The final examination will be comprehensive and will test students’
knowledge and abilities in two areas: their knowledge of previously assigned reading material,
and their knowledge of their term paper and the process used in writing the paper.
TOPICAL OUTLINE & CALENDAR
The calendar below provides an outline of course activities along with the associated readings and
assignment due dates. If the University cancels class, check the course Blackboard site for
information about rescheduling. However, be sure to note that any assignment due on-line on the
day the University cancels class will continue to be due as originally assigned.
Date Classroom Activity Assignments (due at beginning of class unless otherwise stated) Students should review the course Blackboard site, read the syllabus, and especially read materials assigned for next time, keeping in mind these questions: • What is the purpose of policy analysis?
• How is policy analysis conducted? • What are the problems with policy analysis? AUG 18 Introduction AUG 20 What is Economic Policy Analysis? • Brooks (2012, Apr 12) • Douthat (2014, Feb 12) AUG 22 A Structure for Analysis • Leyden, Ch. 1 & 2 DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENBORO
SYLLABUS
AUG 25, 27 ECO 523-01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
FALL 2014
Student Research Topics Tools of the Policy Analyst -­‐ Introduction • Leyden Ch. 3 AUG 29 • Procedural Justice (2014) • Sandel Ch. 1 Tools of the Policy Analyst -­‐ Positive Perspectives • SEP 8 SEP 3, 5, 8, o Gruber (2011) 10, 12 o Marcus & Davis (2014, April 6) o Mullainathan (2014, July 1) • SEP 10 o Gigerenzer (2014, May 21) Tools of the Policy Analyst – Normative Perspectives • SEP 15 o Mankiw (2014, Mar 22) o Pollock (2012, Jun 3) o Reinhardt (2011, Aug 27) o Sandel Ch. 2 • SEP 19 o Anarchy, State, and Utopia (2014) SEP 15, 17, o Metcalf (2011) 19, 22 o On Liberty (2014) o Pollack (2012, Apr 12) o Sandel Chs. 3, 6, 8, 9 o A Theory of Justice (2014) o Utilitarianism (2014) o Wilkerson (2011) • SEP 22 o DeLong et al. (1981) o Kelman (1981) o Roscoe (2014, Feb 11) o Sandel Ch. 4 Tools of the Policy Analyst – Dealing with Politics • Broder (2011, Nov 16) • Gillis (2012, Apr 30) SEP 24 • Harris (2012, Apr 2) • Krugman (2014, Jun 25) • Lipton (2014, Feb 9) • Reinhardt (2012, May 11) PAGE 7
Paper Topic Assignment 1– AUG 25 Paper Topic Assignment 2 Positive Frame of Reference Report – SEP 15 Normative Frame of Reference Report DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENBORO
SYLLABUS
ECO 523-01: TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
FALL 2014
PAGE 8
How to Do Research – Overview • Leyden Ch. 4 • Varian (2009) Politics Frame of Reference Report SEP 29; OCT 1, 3, 6 How to Do Research – Student Models Model Status Report (oral) – TBA OCT 8, 10, 15, 17 How to Do Research – Student Bibliographies Initial Model Draft – OCT 8 Bibliography Assignment 1 – OCT 10 Bibliography Assignment 2 – OCT 17 SEP 26 Structuring Your Paper and Presentation • Leyden Chs. 3, 5 OCT 20, 22 • McWorter (2012, Jul 9) • Shapiro (2013, Apr 6) Oct 24, 27, 29, 31; Student Research Progress NOV 3, 5, 7 Paper Status Report (oral) -­‐ TBA Speaking Center Report(s) – NOV 7 Complete Paper (1st Draft) – NOV 9 at 11:00 pm. Submit using SafeAssign. NOV 10, 12, 14, 17, Public Policy Conference 19, 21, 24; DEC 1 Paper Presentations – TBA DEC 3 Final Exam 12:00-­‐3:00 pm in 117 Bryan Building DEC 5 Complete Paper (Final Draft) due Complete Paper (Final Draft) – DEC 5 by 5:00 pm. Submit using SafeAssign. DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENBORO