Dr. Mark Cassell POL 6/73000
Office: Bowman 302 (35) Fall 2001
 Office Phone: 330-672-8945 Th 6:15-8:45
Office Hours: Tues. 1:30-4:30pm; Thur. 1:30-5pm; Class meets in Bowman 311
and by appointment
E-mail: mcassell@kent.edu
Website: www.personal.kent.edu/~mcassell
 
 

Pick up any two survey textbooks on public policy and what is quickly apparent is how little consensus exists around what public policy is, the process, how one studies it, or how it should be evaluated. At the same time, few things are as important as public policy. Should the government let parents decide how resources for their child's education should be spent? If so, who should get to participate in the process of developing the policy: parents, school board members, tax payers, teachers, or even students? Should insurance companies and employers be forced to continue to provide health coverage between jobs? If so, who should pay for this? How does one handle part time or temporary workers? The actions taken by government directly impact the lives of people in immediate and profound ways but they are complex interactions.

Notwithstanding the complexities, this course argues that the foundation on which public policies are built, implemented and judged consists of a mixture of ideas, interests and institutions. The central purpose of this course is not to resolve the great debates in public policy but to provide you with a clearer understanding of how ideas, interests and institutions make a difference in the ways we think (and often argue) about public policy. The basic outline of the course reflects this goal.

The course begins with an introduction to public policy. The objective is to begin to define public policy and consider how the field is generally studied. We will also consider some of the factors that make American public policy somewhat unique.

Section II considers the role that ideas or public philosophies play in shaping public policy. By public philosophies I mean a set of coherent and distinct ideas used to interpret the social world and take positions regarding what government should do in that world and how it should do it. Drawing on several empirical examples, we examine three strands of liberalism that underlie much of US public policy: progressivism, populism, and utilitarianism. Each presents a unique way of understanding what public policies should undertake, how they should be implemented and how one should evaluate their success or failure.

During the third section of the course, we look closely at the role that institutions play in shaping public policies. Public policies are more than just the result of preferences and actions of a select few or all individuals. Formal rules and procedures interact with preferences to shape public policies and how we understand them. One of the most important set of institutions that shape American public policy are the rules that govern the relationship between states and the federal government. We, therefore, consider the importance of institutions in the context of readings that examine the linking between federalism (an institutional structure) and inequality (a policy outcome).

Section IV of the course examines the role that interests play in shaping public policies. Specifically, we consider where interests come from, how they converge to form groups, and how interest groups, in turn, impact public policy.

Having developed a foundation for understanding American public policy, the course closes with a set of meetings designed to understand the "stages model" of the policy process. This section of the course combined with the policy paper you write, is designed to bridge the more theoretical ideas from this class with subsequent courses that examine in greater detail the various stages of the policy process. I recognize that for many of you this will be the first time you think about policy as process. However, the prior weeks’ work on ideas, institutions, and interests should yield some important insights into the various stages even if you have not been exposed to them previously.
 
 

In addition to developing a better understanding of how ideas, interests and institutions interact to form the foundation of public policy, there are several additional more practical objectives aimed at making you a better scholar of public policies. The objectives include:
 

• Improving your analytic and research skills. The seminar style, the selection of readings, and the choice assignments are designed to give you practice in analyzing theoretically and empirically complex material. In addition, the central writing assignment involves conducting in-depth research on a particular policy.

• Improving your writing and communication skills. An important tool for scholars of public policy is the ability to organize complex and difficult material into a form that can be understood by legislators and the public. We will spend a great deal of time writing and rewriting assignments of varying lengths, correcting each other's writing, and identifying ways to improve communication skills.

• Developing an expertise in a particular area of public policy. This class offers the chance to develop a substantive expertise in an area of public policy. If you come to the graduate program having worked in a particular area, the course offers that chance to develop greater theoretical expertise in your area of interest. Use this course instrumentally!

• Introducing you to a broader literature and debates in public policy. Not only will this help you with your thesis, it also provides the chance to begin to prepare for your comprehensive examinations.

This course will be structured according to a seminar format. Some classes will include a small amount of lecture material elaborating on specific themes from the readings. However, the bulk of our time will be devoted to discussion. For this format to work, students must come to class prepared. At a minimum, the week's readings must be completed before we meet. If you have ideas you want to discuss in between class periods, I invite you to send me e-mail or come to my office hours.

I perceive my role in class discussion as pushing the class toward critical evaluation of the texts. I may often challenge the positions students offer in class because I want you to defend them to the fullest rather than because I disagree with the position you are taking, and certainly not because I dislike you personally. At times this may seem uncomfortable but I believe it to be pedagogically useful. I am more interested in helping you to grow in your analytical abilities than helping you to arrive at some pre-ordained position (like mine). I may call on you to offer your ideas on a topic. This is not a sadistic act of hazing on my part. I like to hear from everyone and often "I don’t know" is a perfectly acceptable response. You should not regard it as a performance test. In my experience students who do not volunteer their thought have much to offer the class. I also have concluded that students often do not think they know the answer or have an opinion until they are called upon to give one, and then they surprise themselves. I also believe that I can only be an effective teacher if I know what you are thinking and where you are struggling with the material or argument. I welcome your thoughts regardless of whether they are the perfectly constructed answer to the question because they help me to focus the class discussion in a way that will be most helpful to learning.
 
 

The primary readings for this course will come from readings on reserve as well as the following books:

Please note: During the course of the semester I reserve the right to modify the readings of the course.

Disability Policy: In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify the eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services in the Michael Schwartz Student Services Center (672-2972).

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University’s policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.
 
 

Reaction Papers 10%
Class participation 10%
Two take home mini-tests 20% (10% each)
Interim Assignments 30%

Class Participation. I expect each student to come to class having carefully read the day’s readings. The format of the class will be guided rather than lecture. In many of the readings, there will be lots of details. I want you to particularly read for the structure of the argument. Why does Stephen Skrowonek argue that America was a "stateless" nation up until the close of the 19^th century? What is Susan Hoffmann’s argument for linking populism to the creation of the credit union system in the United States? Once you have identified the argument or arguments, you want to read what evidence the author brings to bear on that argument and consider whether that evidence is sufficiently persuasive. This takes practice. However, the payoff is you will learn how to structure your own papers, you will begin to form your own opinions about the foundations of public policy, and you will develop critical thinking skills.

Reaction Papers/Seminar Questions. On two weeks of your own choosing, you will submit reaction papers addressing the readings for that class meeting. These short essays should do more than summarize the readings. You should provide a brief description of the specific material that has prompted your response (not necessarily the whole week's readings), and then advance your own elaboration or critique. Each paper should be approximately three double-spaced typed pages in length. You may choose any two weeks during the semester to write your reaction papers; but they will be accepted only at the beginning of the class for which the readings are assigned.

Mini-tests. These will be brief (1 hour) take-home tests on material covered in class, intended to help students keep up with concept and theory development and integrate material as we go along. The mechanics of the exam are similar to checking a book out of the library. The exam will be available for one week prior to the due date. Students will sign for the exam with the instructor or the department secretary, and then return the exam one hour later.

Interim Assignments. These three assignments are building blocks toward the course paper and are detailed in a separate handout.

Policy Initiative Paper. A solid understanding of process and substance in one policy area of your choice, demonstrated in a 15-20 page paper, is the achievement toward which the course builds. The paper is detailed in a separate handout.

1: Aug 30
Library session with Kara Robinson. Please note: this will  be held in room 333 of the main library (3^rd floor).

2: Sept 6 What is public policy?
Amer. Public Policy, Ch 1 & 2.

3: Sept 13 Ideas in the policy process
Excerpts from Politics and Banking, Chp. 1
Cane, Stanley Origins of Progressivism
Wilson, Woodrow "The Study of the Administration"
 
 

4: Sept 20 Ideas in the policy process (continued)
Ball and Dagger Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal Chpt 4
Chapter 5, Politics and Banking
Olsen, Jan Theories of Justice and their implication for priority settings in health care Journal of Health Economics 16 pp. 625-639.

5: Sept 27 Institutions in the policy process
Hall, Peter and Rosemary Taylor, 1996 "Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms" Political Studies 44(5), December, pp. 936-967.*

Moe, Terry (1989). The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure. Can the Government Govern? J. C. a. P. Peterson. Washington DC, Brooking Institution: 267-329.*

6: Oct 4 Issue networks and social security
American Public Policy, Ch 2, especially 29-37
Derthick, Martha, Parts 2 & 3

7: Oct 11 Federalism and income inequality
Confronting Inequality, pp. 1-84
TBA

8: Oct 18 Interests and public policy
Potters, Jan and Randolph Sloof, 1996. "Interst groups: A survey of empirical models that try to assess their influence" European Journal of Political Economy 12(3) pp. 403-42

Stone, "Interests" in Policy Paradox

Gaventa, John 1980. Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley. Urbana, Ill: University of Illinois Press. Chapter 1.

Hay, Collin 1997. State of the Art: Divided by a Common Language: Political Theory and the Concept of Power Politics 17(1) pp. 45-52.

9: Oct. 25 Agenda Setting, Policy formation, Legitimation

Amer. Public Policy, Ch 3, 4, and 13

DeLeon, Peter. 1999. "The Stages Approach to the Policy Process: What Has it Done? Where is it going?" in Paul Sabatier (ed.) Theories of the Policy Process. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.*

Melosi, Martin. 2000. "Environmental Justice, Political Agenda Setting, and the Myths of History" Journal of Policy History 12:1 pp. 43-71*

10: Nov 8 Implementation

Amer. Public Policy, Ch 5, 14

Kemshall, Hazel 1997. "Sleep Safely: Crime Risks May Be Smaller than you Think" Social Policy & Administration 31:3, pp. 247-259*

Ma, Yue 1997. "The Police Law 1995: organization, functions, powers and accountability of the Chinese police" Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategy and Management 20:1 113-135*

11: Nov 15 Budgeting

Amer. Public Policy, Ch 6

Chwastiak, Michele 1999. Taming the untamable: planning, programming and budgeting and the normalization of war Accounting, Organizations and Society 26: 6 pp.501-519

Nov 22 Thanksgiving – NO CLASS
 

12: Nov. 29 Evaluation

Amer. Public Policy, Ch 7, 12

Ladd, Helen F. 1999. "The Dallas school accountability and incentive program: an evaluation of its impacts on student outcomes" Economics of Education Review 18: 1, pp. 1-16*

Stone, Deborah. "Numbers" in Policy Paradox.*

13: Dec 6 Roundtables