Public Policy Studies
Undergraduate Program Director: Richard Taub, G-B 223, 702-7927, rpt2@midway.uchicago.edu
Administrative Assistant: Lee Price, G-B 132, 702-7134, lwp2@midway.uchicago.edu
World Wide Web:
http://www-college.uchicago.edu/programs/collegepublicpolicy/
Program of Study
Public policy studies offers College students an opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary study of domestic and international policy issues. The primary disciplines among the teaching faculty are economics, political science, and sociology. Course work emphasizes the application of these disciplines to real-world policy issues.
The program of study for the Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy studies is designed to introduce students to policy analysis and implementation, equip them to use quantitative and economic techniques and methods, train them in policy research, and give them a command of at least one particular policy area.
Students may focus their interests on domestic policy concerns or on international or foreign matters. Those interested in domestic issues can assemble an outstanding selection of courses from offerings in political science, economics, and sociology. For example, students can specialize in urban problems, the influence of the labor market, the family, and social attitudes on the status of various income and racial groups. As a further example, students can specialize in policy implementation, taking courses in the economics of public management, organizational decision making, and complex organizations, among others.
The program also encourages students to have an internship experience either during the academic year or during the summer. Public Policy 296 offers academic course credit for students completing an approved, policy-oriented internship. Students may inquire about internship opportunities and requirements through the program's administrative assistant.
Program Requirements
First Year. During the first or second year, all students must take either (1) one full year of calculus, or (2) two quarters of calculus plus one other mathematically related class. Courses that meet this second requirement include Statistics 221, econometrics, or any quantitative-oriented computer science classes.
Second Year. The following three-quarter sequence is required of all students in the program. These courses are usually taken in the student's second year:
Public Policy 221. Politics and Policy
Public Policy 222. Public Policy Analysis
Public Policy 223. Problems of Policy Implementation
Students are also required to take Economics 200, The Elements of Economic Analysis I, no later than the autumn quarter of their second year and are encouraged to take at least one additional economics course. Appropriate courses include Economics 201, 202, 270, and 271.
Third Year. In the third year, students may complete the following courses:
1. At least one course in statistics. Students are strongly encouraged to take Statistics 220, especially if they anticipate taking several economics courses or the more analytical political science courses. Statistics 200 or econometrics (Economics 210 or 211) is an acceptable substitute for Statistics 220. A second statistics course is recommended. Students should consult with the undergraduate program director for help in selecting appropriate courses from the many statistics courses offered by the University.
2. Courses in an area of specialization. Students are required to complete three substantive policy courses that make up a specialization in a public policy field. Students may meet the specialization requirement in one of two ways: (1) by taking three courses that logically connect (for example, courses in urban politics, urban economics, and urban society would count as an urban specialization; or courses in international relations, international finance, and history of the common market might be an international specialty); or (2) by taking three courses beyond the introductory course in one discipline other than public policy. (Common choices here are economics, political science, sociology, and statistics. Two of these courses should be taken in the third year.)
3. Research practicum. Students must participate in a two-quarter practicum (Field Research Project, Public Policy 262-263). This is a group project that exposes students to real-world policy-making questions. Students are given responsibility for particular aspects of the research project, and the final report integrates the findings. In previous years, practicums have dealt with the employment and housing conditions facing Latinos in metropolitan Chicago, juvenile recidivism, and patterns of racial integration and segregation in the suburbs of Chicago.
Fourth Year. Students must write a B.A. paper in the fourth year. Ordinarily, the B.A. paper should not be an expansion of the third-year research study. In the spring quarter of the third year or early in the fourth year, students who plan to write a B.A. paper should seek a faculty adviser for the project.
Further assistance is available in a seminar course (Public Policy 289) offered in the autumn quarter and required of all concentrators. The seminar informs students about sources and methods of research. During the second half of the course, students offer preliminary statements about the mode of inquiry, sources, and treatment of evidence for their B.A. papers. Students may also take one or two quarters of Public Policy 295 (Reading and Research) for credit.
Courses. Many policy-related courses in political science, economics, sociology, education, and history count as public policy studies courses. Examples of courses frequently offered are:
All economics courses
Education 218/318, 225, 232, 258/458, 266/366, 267/367, 268/368, 293/393, 372
History 186, 196, 204-205,
Political Science 223, 226, 233, 248, 253/363, 259/356, 266, 275/375, 288, 290/398, 291
Sociology 203/304, 209/331, 212/312, 214/514, 216/316, 222, 223, 224, 227/361, 228/370, 230/338, 233/339, 235/335, 239, 247, 251, 255/328, 267/367, 275/337, 289/489
If you are in doubt about other courses, please consult the undergraduate program director.
Summary of Requirements
General Math 131-132 or equivalent
Education
Concentration 1 Math 133 or equivalent
3 PubPol 221-222-223
1 Econ 200
1 or more courses in statistics
3 courses in an area of specialization
2 PubPol 262-263 (research practicum)
1 PubPol 289 (senior seminar)
- Senior Paper
12
It is recommended that students take an additional course in economics (Economics 201 or Economics 202) and one quarter of Public Policy 295.
Grading. Students interested in taking a public policy studies course P/N must obtain consent from Richard Taub (undergraduate program director) and the instructor.
Honors. All seniors are candidates for honors. Students are recommended for honors if their B.A. papers are of substantial quality and their grade point average in the concentration is 3.0 or above. Students wishing to graduate with special honors must submit their papers to two faculty readers by the beginning of the seventh week of the quarter in which they wish to graduate.
Faculty
CHARLES E. BIDWELL, William Claude Reavis Professor, Departments of Education and Sociology, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and the College; Director, Ogburn/Stouffer Center for the Study of Population and Social Organization at the National Opinion Research Center
DON COURSEY, Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and the College; Dean, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies
DENISE DIPASQUALE, Visiting Associate Professor, Social Sciences Collegiate Division and the College
DORIS B. HOLLEB, Professorial Lecturer, Social Sciences Collegiate Division and the Committee on Geographical Studies
D. GALE JOHNSON, Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics and the College; Chairman, Economics Program in the College
BARRY D. KARL, Norman and Edna Freehling Professor, Department of History and the College
EDWARD O. LAUMANN, George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Sociology and the College; Chairman, Department of Sociology
HOWARD MARGOLIS, Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and the College
SUSAN E. MAYER, Associate Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and the College
DEREK A. NEAL, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and the College
JOHN PADGETT, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and the College
HAROLD A. RICHMAN, Hermon Dunlap Smith Professor, School of Social Service Administration and the College; Director, Chapin Hall Center for Children at the National Opinion Research Center
LLOYD I. RUDOLPH, Professor, Department of Political Science and the College
DUNCAN SNIDAL, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and the College; Director, Program on International Politics, Economics, & Security; Chairman, Committee on International Relations
RICHARD P. TAUB, Paul Klapper Professor of Social Sciences in the College; Professor, Departments of Sociology and Human Development; Chairman, Public Policy Studies in the College; Research Associate, Ogburn/Stouffer Center for the Study of Population and Social Organization at the National Opinion Research Center
MARTA TIENDA, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
GEORGE S. TOLLEY, Professor, Department of Economics
Courses
213. Managing the Environment (=EnvStd 213, LL/Soc 213, NCD 213, PubPol 213). PQ: Econ 198 or higher. This course analyzes human interaction with and intervention into the environment. Topics include resource management, environmental and economic policy, environmental law, business initiatives, and global environmental legislation. Also assessed are major national legislation on Superfund, resource conservation and recovery, air quality, water quality, hazardous chemicals, and endangered species. D. Coursey. Spring.
218. Economics of Environmental Policy (=EnvStd 218, PubPol 218). PQ: Econ 198 or higher. This course combines three related themes in environmental economics: (1) Positive economics: What does economics tell us about the cause of environmental problems? How can economics help us analyze the impact of potential policy responses? (2) Normative economics: How should we choose between competing policies? When is government intervention justified? (3) Political economy: Why do governmental policies often create more harm than good? How does interest-group politics influence the choice of regulatory strategies? The course develops basic economic tools with which to address these questions. It then applies these tools to a range of environmental issues. D. Marron. Spring.
221. Politics and Policy (=PolSci 282, PubPol 221). PQ: PubPol 221-222-223 may be taken in sequence or individually. Public policy choices interact with politics in obvious ways (such as elections) but also in subtler ways, turning especially on how organizations work and what governs persuasion and belief. This course surveys some key aspects of these interactions. H. Margolis. Spring.
222. Public Policy Analysis (=Econ 278, PubPol 222). PQ: Econ 200. PubPol 221-222-223 may be taken in sequence or individually. This course extends the analytic tools developed in Econ 200. Emphasis is placed on the limitations of economic analysis, as well as the interplay between economic and political issues. D. DiPasquale. Winter.
223. Problems of Policy Implementation (=PolSci 249, PubPol 223). PQ: PubPol 221-222-223 may be taken in sequence or individually. This course is a systematic examination of the interplay among the executive, the administrator, the legislator, and the public as these relationships affect policy and its undertaking. The emphasis is on the politics of administration, as well as those political forces that organize around the implementer of public policies. Staff. Autumn.
227. International Relations and the Environment (=EnvStd 227, PolSci 219, PubPol 227). Global environmental issues in law and policy are investigated through the lens of the major schools of thought in international relations, as well as classic works in international environmental law and policy. International judicial decisions are used to analyze the negotiation of solutions to cross-cultural environmental dilemmas. Socioeconomic and legal controversies relevant to environmental topics and political issues are debated. M. Scully-Granzeier. Winter.
228. Environmental Politics (=EnvStd 228, PolSci 285, PubPol 228). This course considers environmental law and public policy in the United States. Topic include social, political, and economic issues pertaining to energy, pollution, toxic wastes, biodiversity, climate change, and ozone depletion. Major public controversies are analyzed in the context of values and public opinion, competing approaches to regulation, environmental racism and justice, grassroots environmental movements, environmental ethics, national security, and the goal of sustainability. M. Scully-Granzeier. Spring.
230. Organizational Analysis (=PubPol 230, Sociol 209/331). This course is a systematic introduction to theoretical and empirical work on organizations, broadly conceived, such as public and private economic organizations, governmental organizations, prisons, health-care organizations, and professional and voluntary associations. Topics include intraorganizational questions about organizational goals and effectiveness, communication, authority, and decision making. Using recent developments in market, political economy, and neo-institutional theories, we explore organizational change and interorganizational relationships for their implications in understanding social change in modern societies. E. Laumann. Autumn.
232. The Economics of Crime (=Econ 232, PubPol 232). PQ: Econ 199 or 201; Stat 220 or Econ 210 recommended. This course uses theoretical and empirical economic tools to analyze a wide range of issues related to criminal behavior. Among the topics discussed are the police, prisons, gang behavior, guns, drugs, capital punishment, labor markets and the macroeconomy, income inequality and poverty, and the role of commnities. Special emphasis is devoted to analyzing the optimal role for public policy. S. Leavitt. Autumn.
236/336. Political Sociology (=PolSci 232, PubPol 236/336, Sociol 235/335). PQ: One general social sciences course. This course provides analytical perspectives on citizen preference theory, public choice, group theory, bureaucrats and state-centered theory, coalition theory, elite theories, and political culture. These competing analytical perspectives are assessed in considering middle range theories and empirical studies on central themes of political sociology: the social bases of politics, social stratification and political organization, citizen preferences and political activation, voting behavior, social movements and mobilization, voluntary associations and special interest groups, political parties, elected officials, government policy outputs, including public goods and free rider problems, separable goods and patronage, policy continua, and alternatives to traditional left-right classifications. Local, national, and cross-national analyses are explored. T. Clark. Spring.
243/443. Environmental Controversies (=EnvStd 243, PubPol 243/443). PQ: Fourth-year standing and consent of instructor. The focus of this course is on the stubborn conflicts of expert against lay intuition on many environmental matters. What makes these conflicts so common and so stubborn? What has changed when they fade from concern (when that happens)? Our main concern is with the politics and psychology of these controversies, but close attention is also paid to the technical underpinnings of these issues. Although expert/lay controversies are particularly apparent on environmental issues, parallel conflicts on intuition occur in other policy areas, such as medicine and crime, so, especially toward the end of the course, we look for applications of the ideas developed in class to these areas. H. Margolis. Spring.
245. Urban Economics (=Econ 266, Geog 266/366, PubPol 245). PQ: Econ 201. This course deals with the economics of spatial processes and structures within the city: residential location, employment location, and spatial-temporal change. We also consider spatial aspects of the public economic activity within a city and relationships between cities and suburbs; externalities in cities; and geographical structures of Third World cities. G. Tolley. Winter.
248/348. Urban Policy Analysis (=PolSci 256, PubPol 248/348, Sociol 256/329). This course addresses the explanations available for varying patterns of policies that cities provide in terms of expenditures and service delivery. Topics include theoretical approaches and policy options, migration as a policy option, group theory, citizen preference theory, incrementalism, economic base influences, and an integrated model. Also examined are the New York fiscal crisis and taxpayer revolts, measuring citizen preferences, service delivery, and productivity. T. Clark. Autumn.
249. Urban Development and Public Policy (=Econ 264, PubPol 249). PQ: Econ 200 and Stat 220, or consent of instructor. This course builds a broad understanding of the economic forces that impact cities and the major determinants of urban development. The location decisions of both firms and households and the key factors determining metropolitan growth are examined. Policy topics include incentives for economic development, housing market discrimination, housing assistance, land use regulation, competition among local governments, and the problems of central cities. D. DiPasquale. Winter.
250. Topics in Urban Policy. PQ: Econ 200 or consent of instructor. The main focus of this course is on economic analysis of real-world urban policy issues. The course is built around a series of case studies posing particular urban policy problems. The topics vary each quarter but involve examples of market failure, externalities, public sector project evaluation, and pricing of public services. D. DiPasquale. Spring.
253. Social Welfare in the United States (=PubPol 253, SocSci 253). This course examines the evolution of social welfare provisions in American society. Special emphasis is placed on who is helped and who is not, in what forms, under what auspices, and with what goals. The changing nature of helping is analyzed, with particular attention to the changing role of the state. We focus on the poor, children and families, and the mentally ill. Some comparisons are made with other industrialized countries. H. Richman. Spring.
258. Public Choice (=Econ 269, PolSci 235, PubPol 258). PQ: Knowledge of microeconomics. This course is an introduction to the literature that seeks to apply the economic notion of rational choice to the context of politics and social choice. Some of the authors covered are Samuelson, Arrow, Buchanan, Olson, and Downs. H. Margolis. Winter.
260/384. Policy Analysis in Education (=Educ 266/366, PolSci 230, PubPol 260/384). This course serves as the analytical foundation for students interested in education policy. It introduces analytical perspectives in the study of public policy, with particular emphasis on education. Among the approaches are institutional analysis, the bargaining model, the rational actor paradigm, the organizational-bureaucratic model, and the "policy typology" school. K. Wong. Autumn.
262-263/390-391. Field Research Project in Public Policy I, II (=PolSci 286-287, PubPol 262-263/390-391). PQ: Open to non-public policy studies concentrators with consent of instructor; students must register for both quarters. Students work on a research team to prepare a report on an important public policy problem for a governmental agency, large public-interest group, or community-based organization; this project includes development and implementation of a research strategy designed to answer the policy questions. The objective is preparation of a publishable report. Staff. Winter, Spring.
266/367. Critical Issues in Education (=Educ 267/367, PubPol 266/367). This course focuses on contemporary issues in educational policy in the broader political and institutional context. Possible topics include federal policy development and implementation; reform at the state level: school finance, academic excellence, and teacher competency; racial equity and school desegregation) progress and prospects; public-private school differences and policy proposals; and big-city school politics (race, unions, and the economy. For each topic, two or three major works are selected for more in-depth examination. Scholarly research frames the discussion, along with an evaluation of contemporary policy recommendations from both governmental and nongovernmental sources. K. Wong. Spring.
267. Metropolitan Development and Planning (=Geog 267/367, PubPol 267, Sociol 247). PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. This course focuses on metropolitan development patterns and the interplay of geopolitical, economic, and social changes in U.S. cities after 1950. Intergovernmental relations, and concepts and institutions of urban planning are also explored. Selected policies for economic development, land-use management, housing, education, transportation, energy, and the environment are analyzed by region. D. Holleb. Spring.
269. Medicine and the Law (=LL/Soc 269, PubPol 269, SocSci 269). This course is designed as an introductory investigation of the interrelations between two essential human institutions: law and medicine. Students read and discuss a series of instances where law and medicine come into conflict. The first part of the course concentrates on conflicts between individual needs, wants, and desires, on the one hand; and professional responsibility and authority or established community standards of conduct, on the other. The second focuses on legislative, administrative, and executive powers and on policies involving medicine. A. Goldblatt. Spring.
270. Introduction to International Economics (=Econ 270, PubPol 270). PQ: Econ 201 and 202, or consent of instructor. This course deals with the pure theory of international trade: the real side of international economics. Topics include the basis for gains from trade; the theory of comparative advantage; effects of international trade on distribution of income, tariffs, and other barriers to trade; and the role of exchange rates. L. Sjaastad. Autumn.
283/383. Health Economics and Public Policy (=Econ 277, PubPol 283/383). PQ: Econ 201 or higher and consent of instructor. This course analyzes the economics of health care in the United States with particular attention paid to the role of government. The first part of the course examines the demand for health care and the structure and consequences of public and private health insurance. The second part of the course examines the supply of health care, including professional training, licensure, specialization and compensation, hospital competition and finance, and the determinants and consequences of technical change in medicine. The course concludes with an examination of recent proposals and initiatives for health care reform. D. Meltzer. Spring.
286/375. Problems of Economic Policy in Developing Countries (=Econ 256, PubPol 286/375). PQ: Econ 201 and 202, or consent of instructor. This course focuses on the application of economic analysis to economic policy issues frequently encountered in developing countries. Topics include sources of economic growth, commercial policy, regional economic integration, inflation and stabilization, the problem of fiscal deficits, the choice of the exchange rate regime, and the international debt problem. L. Sjaastad. Winter.
289. Senior Seminar. PQ: Open only to fourth-year public policy studies concentrators. Must be taken for a letter grade. Staff. Autumn.
295. Reading and Research. PQ: Open only to public policy studies concentrators. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
296. Internship: Public Policy. PQ: Consent of instructor. Open only to public policy studies concentrators. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. After working for a government agency or not-for-profit organization, students write a paper about the experience. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
The following 300- and 400-level courses are also open to College students.
335. Organizational Decision Making (=PolSci 275/375, PubPol 335, Sociol 350). This course examines the process of decision making in modern complex organizations, such as universities, schools, hospitals, businesses, and public bureaucracies. The course also considers the impact of information, power, resources, organizational structure, and the environment, as well as alternative models of choice and other implications. J. Padgett. Autumn.
392. Social Policy in Europe, 1815 to the Present (=Educ 391, PubPol 392). This course examines the antecedents, evaluation, and alleged "crises" of the welfare state, with emphasis on policies concerning education, the family, the labor market, income distribution, health, and regional development. Themes include the social, intellectual, and political origins of social policies; the diffusion of various models of the welfare state; and the ways social policies have interacted with the opportunities and choices of individuals and private corporate actors. The course is informed by recent efforts to develop a theory of the welfare state, including those identified with structural-functionalism, neo-Marxist political economy, historical sociology, the "new" institutional economics, and public choice theory. J. Craig. Not offered 1997-98; will be offered 1998-99.
393. Educational Organization and Social Inequality (=Educ 218/318, PubPol 393, Sociol 230/338). This course presents a review of formulations of education's place in the system of social stratification and focuses on the organization of school systems, schools, and classrooms. Attention is given to the ways conceptions of educational organization and of stratification can be related to each other. C. Bidwell, R. Dreeben. Spring.
397. The Institution of Education (=Educ 217/317, PubPol 397, Sociol 275/337). This course is a general survey of the properties of education considered as an institution of historical and contemporary societies. Particular attention is given to institutional formation and change in education and to education's role in processes of social control and social stratification. C. Bidwell, R. Dreeben. Winter.
465. The Diverse Society: Theory and Practice (=PubPol 465, SSA 469, Sociol 225). This course addresses issues of race, ethnicity, and gender in the context of diversity of American society through readings in sociology of individual and group identity, as well as history and autobiography. Questions raised by a multicultural society for social policy and practice are explored. P. Cafferty. Spring.