Research Methods for Public Policy

1. Topical and methodological issues from law and public governance perspectives

(Phạm Duy Nghĩa)

a. Roles of law in economic development

b. Roles of law in public policy

c. Accountability and challenges

d. Social participation and supervision in public governance

Readings:

*WB, MPI, Vietnam 2035, pg. 92-121

2. Topical and methodological issues from finance and project appraisal perspectives (Huynh The Du)

a. Corporate finance

b. Development finance

c. Cost-benefit analysis in public investment

Readings:

*The World Bank, Economic Analysis of Investments, Ch. 1.

*John Campbell, Andrew Lo, and Craig MacKinlay, The Econometrics of Financial Markets, Ch. 1.

3. Topical and methodological issues from microeconomics, public sector economics, and regional development perspectives (Huỳnh Thế Du)

a. Perfect competition criteria

b. Rationales for government intervention

c. Limitation of government intervention

d. Government failures vs. market failures

e. Fixing government and market failures

Readings:

*Weimer and Vining, Ch. 4

*Weimer and Vining, Ch. 8

*Weimer and Vining, Ch. 10

4. Topical and methodological issues from public management and development policy (Yooil Bae)Comparison in political and policy study

- Comparative method logics

- Benefits and limitation of comparative method

- Forming "the riddle" and research question

- Research design and practice

Case study in public management and governance

- Case study objectives

- N Large vs. N small?

- Examples

Readings:

* Lim, Timothy C. (2010). Doing Comparative Politics: An Introduction to Approaches and Issues, p.31-46.

* Hall, Peter A. (1986). Governing the Economy: The Politics of State Intervention in Britain and France, p.3-47.

5. Method and design introduction

a. Qualitative and quantitative methods

b. Components of research design

Readings:

* King, Keohane, and Verba (KKV), Ch. 1.

De Vaus, David (2001). Research Design in Social Science, Chapter 1.

6. Descriptive Inference

a. General Knowledge and Particular Facts

b. Purpose of Data Collection

c. Criteria for Judging Descriptive Inferences

Readings:

* King, Keohane, and Verba (KKV), Ch. 2.

7. Causality and Causal Inference

a. Defining Causality

b. Assumptions Required for Estimating Causal Effects

c. Criteria for Judging Causal Inferences

d. Rules for Constructing Causal Theories

Readings:

*King, Keohane, and Verba (KKV), Ch. 3.

Jones, Benjamin F. and Benjamin A. Olken. 2009. "Hit or Miss? The Effect of Assassinations on Institutions and War." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 1(2): 55-87.

8. Determining What to Observe

a. Indeterminate Research Designs

b. The Limits of Random Selection

c. Selection Bias

d. Intentional Selection of Observations

Readings:

*King, Keohane, and Verba (KKV), Ch. 4.

9. Understanding What to Avoid

a. Measurement Error

b. Excluding Relevant Variables

c. Including Irrelevant Variables

d. Endogeneity

Readings:

*King, Keohane, and Verba (KKV), Ch. 5.

10. Increasing the number of observations

a. Single-Observation Designs for Causal Inference

b. "Crucial" Case Studies

c. How Many Observations Are Enough?

d. Making Many Observations from Few

Readings:

*King, Keohane, and Verba (KKV), Ch. 6.

11. Case studies and comparative cases

Readings:

* George, Alexander L. and Andrew Bennett. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: The MIT Press. Chapters 3-4.

*King, Keohane, and Verba (KKV), Ch. 4.

Pepinsky, Thomas B. 2015. "Trade Competition and American Decolonization." World Politics 67(3): 387-422.

12. "Path Dependence" and "Process Tracing"

Readings:

*Benett, Andrew (2010). "Process Tracing and Causal Inference", Chapter 10 in Brady, Henry and David Collier (2010), Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards.

*Mahoney, James. 2000. "Strategies of Causal Inference in Small-N Analysis." Sociological Methods and Research. 28(4): 387-424.

Sydow, Jörg, Georg Schreyögg and Jochen Koch (2009), "Organizational Path Dependence: Opening the Black Box," The Academy of Management Review, 34: 689-709.

Vergne, J. and Durand, R. (2010). "The Missing Link Between the Theory and Empirics of Path Dependence: Conceptual Clarification, Testability Issue, and Methodological Implications," Journal of Management Studies, 47: 736–59.

13. Theoretical foundation of policy analysis: Introduction

a. What is policy analysis?

b. Process of analysis

c. Policy analysis vs. policy research

d. Discussion and explanation of the "Thesis Guide"

Readings:

*Dunn, Ch. 1

*Weimer and Vining, Ch. 2

* FETP, "Thesis Guide"Theoretical foundation of policy analysis 

14. Public Policy Issue

a. Identification

b. Forming

c. Statement

d. Strategic design for solution

Readings:

*Dunn, Ch. 3

Bardach, Part 1.

15. Research framework: Approaches and designs

a. Framework

b. Approaches:

• Qualitative
• Quantitative
• Mixed

c. Design

Readings:

*Creswell, Ch.1

*Creswell, Ch. 9

*Creswell, Ch. 10

*Creswell, Ch. 11

Berg, Ch. 2

16. Qualitative Approach in Policy Analysis

a. Determine "policy situation"

b. Define policy issue

c. Raise policy question

d. Determine research methods and analytical frameworks

e. Develop and test hypothesis

f. Conclude [and make policy recommendations]

17. Using models in policy analysis

a. Types of models

b. Identify appropriate model

c. Pros and cons of a model

Readings:

*Stokey and Zeckhauser, Ch. 2

Stokey and Zeckhauser, Ch. 3

*Creswell, Ch. 7

18. Information collection and policy analysis/research engagement

a. Information collection

• Secondary sources
• Primary sources

b. Policy analysis

• Devise options
• Evaluate options
• Make recommendations

c. Policy research

• Construct a qualitative hypothesis
• Test qualitative hypothesis
• Conclude

Readings:

*Weimer and Vining, Ch. 13

*Kraft and Furlong, Ch. 5

*Kraft and Furlong, Ch. 6

19. Writing a policy paper and its morals (Phạm Duy Nghĩa)

Readings:

*Harvard Kennedy School, Policy paper guide

*Dunn, Ch. 9

• Organization 
• Styles 
• First draft
• Summary 
• Final draft 
• Editing, fixing and formatting

20. Policy paper morals (Phạm Duy Nghĩa)

• Integrity 
• Respect, public value and justice
• Conflict of interests and values: voice, exit, and loyalty

Readings:

*Weimer and Vining, Ch. 3

Hoyle, Harris, and Judd, Ch. 3.