COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST - POLI 359: PUBLIC POLICY MAKING

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

POLI 359: PUBLIC POLICY MAKING

FIRST SEMESTER, 2013/2014

VENUE: NNB 1

LECTURER: DR ABDULAI KUYINI MOHAMMED

Course Title	Public Policy Making
Course Code	POLI 359
Course Description	The course examines the initiation, development and implementation as well as the evaluation of public policy. The course is designed to enable participants understand the basic concepts, models, approach, methods and theories of public policy making. It draws out some of the connections and disjunctions between the theory and practice of public policy making. This is necessary because academic interpretations (theoretical explanations) of what policy makers do and even what they say they do and what policy makers actually do may differ. Selected examples of public policies and programs in Ghana (such as the STX Housing Deal, Petroleum Revenue Management Act, Decentralization, National Health Insurance Scheme, National Youth Policy) and elsewhere will be used to provide a better understanding of the link (or lack thereof) between the theory and practice of public policy making.
Purpose and objectives	The course will help students to develop a critical perspective on public policy making by encouraging them to challenge the received wisdom and prescribed solutions presented by many policy science scholars and commentators. Students will acquire knowledge and insights through lectures, discussions and the textbooks as well as the assigned reading material. They will then be able to apply this knowledge to specific real world public policy phenomena. Upon completion of the course students should be able to: Explain the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of public policy Explain the key elements of the public policy process Articulate insights gained from the study of public policy making in Ghana and other jurisdictions Compare and contrast approaches to public policy making in different countries Establish the link between the theory and practice of public policy making Identify the challenges to effective public policy making and implementation in Ghana and elsewhere Suggest ways to overcome the challenges to effective public policy making and implementation in Ghana and other Sub-Saharan African countries
Week No.	Date	Lecture Course	Tutorials	Venue	Assessment
1	Aug. 14,  2013	Nature & scope of  public policy making		Lecture: NNB 1
2	Aug. 21,, 2013	Public Policy Process (agenda setting & policy formulation)		Lecture: NNB 1 Tutorial:
3	Aug. 28, 2013	Public policy Process (policy adoption & implementation	Agenda setting & policy implementation	Lecture: NNB 1 Tutorial:
4	Sept. 4, 2013	Public Policy Process (policy evaluation, policy change	Policy adoption & implementation	Lecture: NNB 1 Tutorial:
5	Spt. 11, 2013			Lecture: NNB 1
6	Sept. 18, 2013	Policy Environment (factors of the environment)	Policy evaluation & policy change	Lecture: NNB 1	Interim Assessment (30%); 3.30 pm
7	Sept. 25, 2013	Policy Environment (Actors  & institutions)	Nature of policy environment	Lecture: NNB 1
8	Oct. 2, 2013	Descriptive models (Elite Model & group model)	Actors and institutions	Lecture: NNB 1 Tutorial:
9	Oct. 9, 2013	Descriptive Models (Systems model &Institutional model)	Elite and group models of policy making	Lecture: NNB 1 Tutorial:
10	Oct. 16, 2013	Prescriptive Models (Rational  & Incremental models)	System and institutional models of policymaking	Lecture: NNB 1 Tutorial:
11	Oct. 23, 2013	Prescriptive Models(Mixed scanning & Normative optimum models	Rational, Incremental & mixed scanning models of policy making	Lecture: NNB 1
12	Oct. 30, 2013	Prescriptive Models (public choice & Garbage can	Normative optimum, Public choice & garbage can models of  policy making	Lecture: NNB 1
13			Revision
15 - 16	Exam (70%)

Reference Texts 

Anderson, J. E. (2006), Public Policy Making. 6^th ed. Wadsworth Cenage Learning, Belmont, USA

Bridgman, P. and G. Davis (2004), The Australian Policy Handbook, 3^rd ed. Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW

McConnell, A. (2010), ‘Policy Success, Policy Failure and Grey Areas In-Between’, Journal of Public Policy 30 (3): 345-362

Michael Howlett and M. Ramesh (2003), Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystem. Oxford University Press, Oxford