Spring 2007 Course Description
Advanced Policy Economics
| Section Title: |
Political Economy of U.S. Anti-Poverty Strategies |
| Instructor(s): |
Pat Wong |
| Course: |
P A 393L - Advanced Policy Economics
(previously Political Economy II) |
| Unique Number: |
63635 |
| Day & Time: |
Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM |
| Room: |
SRH 3.106 |
| Waitlist Information: | For LBJ Students: UT Waitlist Information |
| Syllabus: |
Download PDF |
This course fulfills requirements for the following specialization(s):
- Social and Economic Policy
Description: Course Objectives:The purpose of Advanced Policy Economics is to apply economic analysis to specific policy topics. This section focuses on poverty and anti-poverty strategies in the United States. It is both an ?analytic course? that applies microeconomics theory and quantitative modeling to policy analysis and a ?survey course? on U.S. policy dealing with poverty issues.
Course Structure:Input from members of the class is welcome. The tentative plan at this point is:
- The first module (4 sessions) provides an overview of intellectual perspectives on poverty in the United States, including a review of the standard microeconomics framework for analyzing social programs, historical evolution of anti-poverty policy, and contemporary political landscapes.
- The second module (3 sessions) covers more technical issues in poverty research, including empirical data infrastructure, measurement issues about income, poverty, inequality,
- In the third module (4 sessions), the instructor will lead discussions on specific policy strategies, to be selected from the following areas: income transfers, job creation, wage regulation, in-kind support, community development, and asset-building. Equal attention will be given to programmatic operations within the strategy and micro-analytic evaluation of one or two specific issues.
- The fourth module (4 sessions) consists of teaching by class members, with topics on specific anti-poverty strategies to be decided at the beginning of the semester.
Learning Experiences: First, the most important element of learning in this course is the meticulous reading of analytic papers and detailed processing of technical materials on microeconomics logic and statistical analysis. These materials will be part of weekly reading assignments and class discussions for about half of the semester.
Second, members of this class can expect to be acquainted with how selected programs work at the operational level. This will be covered in instructor?s presentations in Module 3 and class presentations in module 4.
Third, a mid-term exam is proposed to help integrate the learning experiences from the first two modules.
Fourth, participants in this seminar are expected to form research teams. Each team will work independently throughout the semester on a research project. This research process will culminate in a presentation during the last few weeks of the course.
Prerequisites: Proficiencies in both microeconomic analysis and econometrics are essential. These prerequisites can be fulfilled by successfully completing AMPA and IQA at the LBJ School or their equivalents in other departments. Completion of, or at least concurrent enrollment in, a section of AEM (?IQA-II?) with an econometrics emphasis is strongly encouraged.
Preparatory Work during Winter Break: A tentative first draft of the syllabus is available for review and comments. Comments received will result in the second draft. Registered class members will have the prerogative to amend the the second draft of syllabus and vote on all learning experiences until the first week of January. A packet will be provided to all registered members of the class by November 13. The packet will contain the second draft of the syllabus, reading suggestions for winter break, and details on the syllabus amendment process.
Members of this class should (1) touch base with the instructor before the end of the fall semester get started on research work for the course, (2) schedule a meeting with the instructor the week before the spring semester to finalize research plan for the semester.Return to Spring 2007 Course Schedule