Course # 31810 Effective policies require a good understanding of the setting they aim to regulate. Knowing what are some of the possible unintended consequences can help to plan for them in the policy design stage. Behavioral responses of those that are affected by the policy can reduce its effectiveness, and even result in outcomes that are the opposite of the original goal. In this course, we will review different policies that did not succeed in achieving their intended targets because they did not fully consider what will happen in their aftermath. We will cover policies across a wide range of outcomes: health, energy and environment, development and aid, education, violence reduction, and labor markets. The goal is to understand what went wrong in each case, and to generalize lessons for future policy making. For each policy, we will start with the original problem it was trying to solve, cover some general theory and intuition around its proposed approach, and study a paper that empirically evaluated its impact. No textbook is required for this course. Grading is based on short weekly assignments, a 2-page midterm paper analyzing a currently discussed policy, and a final exam. Recent News More news America is uniquely ill-suited to handle a falling population Wed., April 24, 2024 Consolidation in Hospital Sector Leading to Higher Health Care Costs, Study Finds Wed., April 24, 2024 US offshore wind needs American-made ships. The first is nearly ready Wed., April 24, 2024 Upcoming Events More events Climate Capital & Sustainable Solutions: Diverse Perspectives on Funding the Climate Crisis Wed., April 24, 2024 | 6:30 PM St. Bartholomew's Church 325 Park Ave. New York, NY 10022 United States Denver Area Harris Alumni Networking Event Thu., April 25, 2024 | 6:00 PM NW Denver (location details provided to registrants) Denver, CO 80212 United States SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Challenge Program for High School Students: Navigating US College Admissions with Ranjan Daniels Mon., April 29, 2024 | 8:00 AM
November 14, 2022 Harris Evening Master's Program Class Visit: Analytical Politics II - Politics and Policy Making with Professor Chris Berry
November 07, 2022 Harris Evening Master's Program Class Visit: Analytical Politics II - Politics and Policy Making with Professor Chris Berry