The Economic Analysis of Public Policy

Program Overview

The Economic Analysis of Public Policy

Course Overview

There are several key economic concepts that policymakers need to be able to understand and apply during the policy process, including devising policy, critiquing policy proposals, and evaluating policy. This module equips you with the key tools and methodologies needed to focus these concepts on their real-world application. You will learn to navigate the common difficulties and pitfalls that arise in policymaking and will study detailed policy-relevant analyses produced by professional economists and other analysts.

Course Features

This module will strengthen your analytical skills and enhance your performance at work. Notably, you will be able to assess the applicability of theoretical frameworks to real-life work situations, analyse and assess service provision from different perspectives, and devise policy solutions that make better use of economic data.

Course Content

Week 1: The Role of Economics in Policymaking

In the first week, we will examine the importance of economics to policymakers and how economics can be used to analyse policy proposals. We will investigate markets, understanding their role, in conjunction with the symbiotic role of government/law in creating and shaping markets.

Week 2: Examining Inequality

The second week will focus on the distributional issues and inequality. We will consider why distributional issues matter to politicians and policymakers; and, why even conventional economics says inequality matters?

Week 3: Evaluating the Impact of Public Policy

In the final week, we will turn our focus to programme or policy evaluation and examining the common pitfalls of commonplace methods of evaluation.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this module, students will be able to:

• Apply the theoretical frameworks discussed to real-life work situations.
• Analyse and assess service provision from different perspectives.
• Devise policy solutions that make better use of economic data.

Entry Requirements

This short course is for mid-career professionals. Standard entry requirements are a 2:1 degree plus 3 years of relevant work experience. Applicants without a 2:1 or higher degree are welcome to apply and typically require 5+ years of relevant work experience.

Assessment

One written assignment, plus participation in webinars and discussion forums.

Further Information

Format: Taught fully online, comprising of self-directed online study, and including 3 x 1hr live webinars, plus an optional induction webinar in the week before the start of teaching and an optional assessment webinar in Week 4. There is a single assessment at the end of the course in which the student applies understanding of economic analysis of public policy to their own area of policy responsibility.

This module has been designed specifically for an online audience. It uses a range of interactive activities to support learning including discussion forums, online readings, interactive lectures videos, and online tutorials.

Key Information

• Credit level: 7
• Credit value: 5
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Fees & Discounts: Full Price: £1,200.00

Who Will I Be Taught By

• Professor Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy
• Dr Olga Siemers, Associate Professor in Public Policy

Offered By

Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, School for Government