Making Policy Work

Course Code: PUBLG013

Course Tutor: Professor Peter John (Department of Political Science)

Assessment: One 3,000 word essay

Credit Value: 15

About this course

The course will be based around the course convener’s recent book, Making Policy Work, London: Routledge, 2011. It will have the following structure: The tools of government; evaluating what works in public policy; law and regulation; public finance; public management; persuasion and nudging; networks and governance; and synthesis. The early sessions are about setting out the conceptual scheme and explaining different methods of understanding government effectiveness; the main sessions are about one particular tool of government, where the theory is explained and examples are given.

By the end of the course, students will know about the main tools the governments have to address policy problems; understand the main methods of policy evaluation; and assess the effectivenes of interventions in selected areas, such as economic development, education, and crime.