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Course Information

Undergraduate Electives

Public Policy 98: Group Study in Public Policy (1-4 units)

Credit option: Course may be repeated for credit.
Grading option: Must be taken on a 'passed/not passed' basis.
Description: Group study on selected public policy topics. Open to freshmen and sophomores.

Public Policy 101: Introduction to Public Policy Analysis (4 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.
Description: A systematic and critical approach to evaluating and designing public policies. Combines theory and application to particular cases and problems. Diverse policy topics, including environmental, health, education, communications, safety, and arts policy issues, among others.

Public Policy 103: Wealth and Poverty (3 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.
Description: This course is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding both of the structure of political economy and of why the distribution of earnings, wealth, opportunity have been diverging in the United States and in other nations. It is also intended to provide insight into the political and public policy debates that have arisen in light of the divergence as well as possible means of reversing it.

Public Policy 117AC: Race, Ethnicity, and Public Policy (4 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Description: The objective of this course is to use the tools and insights of public policy analysis as a means of understanding the ways in which policies are shaped by and respond to issues of race, ethnicity, and cultural difference. The course is organized around a series of discrete policy problems involving issues of race and ethnicity. It is designed to allow for comparative analysis within and across cases to explore the variety of ways in which policy intersects with different racial and ethnic groups.

Public Policy C142: Applied Econometrics and Public Policy (4 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Economics 140 or 141 or consent of instructor.
Description: This course focuses on the sensible application of econometric methods to empirical problems in economics and public policy analysis. It provides background on issues that arise when analyzing non-experimental social science data and a guide for tools that are useful for empirical research. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of the types of research designs that can lead to convincing analysis and be comfortable working with large scale data sets. Also listed as Economics C142 and Political Science C131A.

Public Policy 156: Program and Policy Design (4 units)

Course Format: Three hours of seminar per week.
Description: Studio/laboratory in the design of nonphysical environments. Complements courses in policy analysis, public management, economics, and political science; especially intended to integrate elements of professional programs in public policy and related areas. Students will design, in groups and individually, programs and policies that create value in the public sector, including statutes, regulations, and implementation projects. Comparative reviews will feature invited guests. Undergraduate level of 256.

Public Policy 157: Arts and Cultural Policy (3 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Description: Survey of government policy toward the arts (especially direct subsidy, copyright and regulation, and indirect assistance) and its effects on artists, audiences, and institutions. Emphasizes "highbrow" arts, U.S. policy, and the social and economic roles of participants in the arts. Readings, field trips, and case discussion. One paper in two drafts required for undergraduate credit; graduate credit awarded for an additional short paper to be arranged and attendance at four advanced colloquia throughout the term. Undergraduate level of 257.

Public Policy 162: Drug, Tobacco, and Alcohol Policy (3 units)

Course Format: Three hours of seminar per week.
Prerequisites: 101 or equivalent or consent of instructor.
Description: Together, the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco cost us well over $200 billion a year in losses due to medical treatment, accidents, and crime. Despite many pharmacological, behavioral, and economic parallels, policies regarding these three classes of substances have evolved independently. Critics of the current drug regime call for prohibition. The purpose of this course will be to evaluate these debates from a policy analytic perspective, drawing on theory and research from the behavioral sciences, epidemiology, and economics.

Public Policy C164: Impact of Government Policies on Poor Children and Families (4 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Credit option: This course may be applied to the Demography major.
Description: Examination of the impact of policies of state intervention and public benefit programs on poor children and families. Introduction to child and family policy, and study of specific issue areas, such as income transfer programs, housing, health care, and child abuse. Also listed as Demography C164.

Public Policy 169: Public Budgeting (4 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Description: Public sector budgeting incorporates many, perhaps most, of the skills of the public manager and analyst. The goal of this course is to develop and hone these skills. Using cases and readings from all levels of American government, the course will allow the student to gain and understanding of the effects and consequences of public sector budgeting, its processes and participants, and the potential impacts of various reforms. Undegraduate level of Public Policy 269. This course can be applied to the political science major.

Public Policy 170: Ethics in Public Policy (4 units)

Course Format: Three hours of lecture per week.
Description: Those who seek to serve the public's multiple and often contradictory interests are constantly confronted with questions of value and moral reasoning. In posing and sharpening those questions, this course provokes reflection on the challenges and responsibilities of policy making in a democracy. Using case studies ranging from abortion and AIDS to nuclear protest and Iran-Contra, the course emphasizes the importance of clear reasoning about the values involved in public problem solving, and so invites hard questions about the responsibilities of a career in public service.

Public Policy 184: The Economics of Public Problem-Solving (3 units)

Course Format: Two hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.
Prerequisites: Economics 100A or 101A or equivalent.
Description: Lectures will cover extensions and applications of microeconomic theory as required for use in practical public policy analysis. Case studies of the techniques will be drawn from diverse policy applications: welfare reform, national health insurance, public employment, energy shortage; public regulation and others.

PUB POL 190 Special Topics in Public Policy ( 1 - 4 units )

Course Format: One to four hours of lecture per week depending on the topic.
Credit option: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor.
Description: Course examines current problems and issues in the field of public policy. Topics may vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of the semester ( view current options ). Open to students from other departments.

Public Policy 198: Directed Group Study (1-4 units)

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Credit option: Course may be repeated for credit.
Grading option: Must be taken on a 'passed/not passed' basis. Description: Group study of a selected topic or topics in Public Policy. Meetings to be arranged.

Public Policy 199: Supervised Independent Study and Research (1-4 units)

Prerequisites: Upper division standing.
Credit option: Course may be repeated for credit.
Grading option: Must be taken on a 'passed/not passed' basis.
Description: For upper division students wishing to pursue special study and directed research under direction of a member of the staff. Enrollment restrictions apply; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.

updated: 10/2007