DAY 1: INTRODUCTION
What is public policy?
What is the process of policy making?
Session 1: Lecture on Public Policy and Public Policy Making Process
- Thomas A. Birkland, An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts, and Models of Public Policy Making, Chapters 1 & 2.
- John W. Kingdon. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, Chapter 1.
Session 2: Case Study Discussion on Ride Sharing Regulation
- Uber and Grab in Vietnam, FETP Case.
- Learning by the Case Method, HKS Case Program.
DAY 2: PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNMENT
What is the role of government in the public policy making process?
What should governments do and what should political actors do?
Session 3: Lecture on Public Policy and the Role of Government
- Thomas A. Birkland, An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts, and Models of Public Policy Making, Chapters 4 & 5.
- John W. Kingdon. Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, Chapters 2 & 3.
Session 4: Case Study Discussion on Trade Policy
- Nike versus New Balance: Trade Policy in a World of Global Value Chains, HBS Case.
DAY 3: ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS
What is public policy analysis?
How to structure a public policy problem?
What are the theoretical approaches used to examine public policy?
How economics is used to analyze public policy?
Session 5: Lecture on Economics and Public Policy Analysis
- William Dunn (2008). Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction, 4th edition, Pearson: Prentice Hall. Chapter 3: Structuring Policy Problems.
- Harvey Rosen, Ted Gayer and Abdulkadir Civan (2014), Public Finance, Tenth Edition, McGraw-Hill. Chapters 2 & 3.
o Edith Stokey and Richard Zeckhauser (1978). A Primer for Policy Analysis, New York: W.W. Norton and Company. Chapter 2
o Hal Varian (1989). What Use is Economic Theory? Mimeo.
Session 6: Case Study Discussion on Market and Market Prices
- India Shedding Tears over Onion Prices, International Journal of Case Studies in Management.
DAY 4: MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
How to build, participate and lead effective teams?
How to solve problems and make decisions more effectively in difficult situations when members have differenct information and opposing interests?
Session 7: Simulation Exercise on Management and Leadership
- Leadership and Team Simulation: Everest, HBS Multimedia Case
Session 8: Case Debrief
- Leadership and Team Simulation: Everest, HBS Multimedia Case.
DAY 5: INSTITUTIONS
What is the role of institutions in the public policy making process?
Why is institution an important determinant of economic development?
Session 9: Lecture on Public Policy and Institutions
- Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (2012). Why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty, New York: Random House. Chapter 15: "Understanding prosperity and poverty."
Session 10: Case Study Discussion on Institutional Fragmentation
- Ho Chi Minh City Ports, FETP Case.
The course consists of 12 classes held over eight weeks (half of the Fall Semester). A new topic will be introduced each week with one lecture and one case study. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions and draw out policy and theoretical implications as a group.
The course introduces the process of public policy making, and the role of government and other stakeholders in that process. It also introduces the students to the study of public policy, and addresses key concepts including market and market failures, the role of institutions, and equity.
