Normative Issues in Public Policy

This course examines tensions among competing values in the formation and implementation of public policies.  Applying normative theories of democracy, justice, efficiency, and equity, students will examine a variety of domestic and international cases in which these ideals conflict and become objects of politics.  Our objectives are (1) to understand the important trade-offs that underlie and shape public policies in a variety of settings and (2) to develop a framework for evaluating public policies against a set of normative criteria.  The course should prove valuable for any student interested in a better understanding of why "good" policies are so elusive in a variety of institutional contexts.