MAXWELL SCHOOL OF CITIZENSHIP AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

MPA VISITING DAY

Afternoon Course Options:

12:45 – 2:05

Economics of Environmental Policy   *  Crouse Hinds Hall, Room 425

DAVID POPP, Ph.D. (Yale), Associate Professor of Public Administration.
Fields:  Economics of natural resources and the environment; public finance.

Description: In this course, we will apply the principles of economics to environmental problems.  The main question in any economics course is how best to allocate scarce resources.  This holds true for environmental economics as well.  However, environmental resources differ from many other goods that economists study in that there is usually no market for them.  Thus, government policies are needed to maintain and improve environmental quality.  We will begin by examining how economic incentives lead to environmental problems, and discussing various options for dealing with these problems.  Because economic analysis requires information on both cost and benefits, we next discuss methods for valuing the benefits of environmental amenities.  The course concludes with a section that relates the lessons of environmental economics to the macro-economy, with a focus on the effects of environmental policy and economic growth.

Economics of Development  *   Eggers Hall, Room 070

JOHN G. MCPEAK, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin), Assistant Professor of Public Administration.
Fields: Development economics; natural resource economics; African agricultural development.

Description: This course (cross-listed in the economics dept.) will familiarize the student with a variety of
alternative theories on what causes (or hinders) economic development.  Different strategies and outcomes from a variety of settings will be presented and discussed.  The goal of the course is to develop the student’s understanding of international, national, sectoral, local, and household level issues related to economic development and the language used by economists to discuss these issues.  Special attention will be given to the following questions: Are there differences between economic growth and economic development?; What are the environmental implications of economic development?; and How are industrial/urban needs balanced against agricultural/rural needs in development?

 Quantitative Analysis  *   Maxwell Hall, Room 110

LEONARD M. LOPOO, Ph.D. (University of Chicago), Assistant Professor of Public Administration.
Fields:  Poverty; economic demography; child and family policy; economic inequality and mobility; applied microeconomics.

Description: The course is designed to provide conceptual and methodological tools for managers, evaluators and analysts charged with formally evaluating program implementation and performance.  The goal is to equip students with the skills required to develop and conduct program evaluation research projects, and to be an intelligent consumer of program evaluation research conducted by others.  

 12:45 – 2:05  (Continued)

State and Local Public Finance  *  Maxwell Hall, Room 108

JOHN YINGER, Ph.D. (Princeton), Professor of Public Administration and Economics;
Associate Director for Metropolitan Studies, Center for Policy Research.
Fields:  Managerial economics; public finance; urban/housing policy; education finance. 

Description: Analyzes the expenditures and revenues of state and local governments plus fiscal aspects of intergovernmental relations.   Course explores the determinants of state and urban economic development and local governments' fiscal behavior and develops criteria for selecting among policy alternatives.   The assignments, and many of the class sessions, give students the opportunity to apply analytical techniques to actual problems in state and local public finance.

2:15 – 3:35

Economics of Science and Technology  * Crouse Hinds Hall, Room 425

DAVID POPP, Ph.D. (Yale), Associate Professor of Public Administration.
Fields:  Economics of natural resources and the environment; public finance.

Description: In an ever-changing world, technological change both influences policy decisions and is influenced by policy.  This course looks at the interaction of policy and technological change from both directions.  Throughout the course, we will use examples from current policy debates to highlight important issues. The course begins with an introduction to the economic analysis of knowledge.  We begin by discussing the role that knowledge plays in the economic growth of nations.  Next, we look at why economists consider the creation of knowledge to be a public good, and discuss how the public goods nature of knowledge affects the creation of new knowledge.  We then ask how government policy, such as patent protection and government funded R&D, influences the development of new technologies. Next, we look at the diffusion of knowledge.  We begin by looking at how new knowledge is transferred, both across institutions the industrialized world and to developing countries.  Finally, we conclude by considering how technological change affects policy.  We consider the impact of information technology on the “New Economy”, and discuss how technological change affects policy.  For example, should sales taxes be collected on Internet purchases?  Should drug companies should receive patent protection in developing countries? How can health policy keep up with changing medical technologies?

Quantitative Analysis   *  Maxwell Hall, Room 110       

LEONARD M. LOPOO, Ph.D. (University of Chicago), Assistant Professor of Public Administration.
Fields:  Poverty; economic demography; child and family policy; economic inequality and mobility; applied microeconomics.

Description: The course is designed to provide conceptual and methodological tools for managers, evaluators and analysts charged with formally evaluating program implementation and performance.  The goal is to equip students with the skills required to develop and conduct program evaluation research projects, and to be an intelligent consumer of program evaluation research conducted by others. 

Ethics in Public Policy  *  Eggers Hall, Room 070

DANA RADCLIFFE, Ph.D. (Syracuse), MBA (UCLA), M.Phil. (Yale)

            Fields:  Ethics and public policy; management ethics; leadership.

Description:  In a democracy, those who make and implement public policy are charged with serving the interests and protecting the rights of everyone.  They are obligated to act responsibly in using the powers and resources entrusted to them, to address fairly the competing demands and needs of their constituents.  But, in the government’s distribution of benefits and burdens, public officials are constantly pressured by powerful individuals and institutions for special consideration, often at the expense of other citizens.  Moreover, the issues confronting public decision-makers are frequently complex, involving conflicting values and strongly held preferences, incomplete and possibly unreliable information, and consequences that no one can foresee.  Effectively serving the common good, then, requires that public officials exercise sound moral judgment in performing their duties – that their actions be defensible ethically as well as legally.  It requires an appreciation of ethical principles and an understanding of their application in the tangled domain of public affairs.  This course is designed to enhance students’ ability to think ethically about the means and ends of public policy.  Accordingly, we will examine normative concepts and principles that typically enter into moral reasoning and use these tools in analyzing actual cases.  In our case discussions, we will seek to get clear about moral issues facing the decision makers and explore how these issues might be resolved in ethically responsible ways. 

Information Session for IR/MPA Students  *  IR Conference Room

 RYAN WILLIAMS, Associate Director for the International Relations program will host an information meeting about the IR program, its requirements and abroad options, etc for admitted joint IR/MPA students attending this visit day. 

3:45- 6:35

Financial Management in Non-profit Organizations  *  Maxwell Hall, Room 108

ROSS RUBENSTEIN, Ph.D. (New York University), Associate Professor of Public Administration.
Fields: Public budgeting and finance; nonprofit financial management; economics of education; education finance and policy.

Description:  Introductory, practical course for persons aiming for general management careers in nonprofit organizations and who have little or no previous training or experience in accounting and finance.  Topics include:  financial decision-making techniques; capital budgeting and debt financing; endowment management; financial accounting and reporting principles for not-for-profits; and analysis of financial statements.

 Evening Course Options:

5:15 – 6:35

Urban Policy  *  Eggers Hall, Room 018

JOHN YINGER, Ph.D. (Princeton), Professor of Public Administration and Economics;
Associate Director for Metropolitan Studies, Center for Policy Research.
Fields:  Managerial economics; public finance; urban/housing policy; education finance.

Description:   Many of the most difficult problems facing public policy makers are concentrated in urban areas.  These problems include poverty and unemployment, discrimination in housing and labor markets, homelessness, and a lack of affordable housing.  This course develops analytical tools for understanding these problems and explores alternative policies for dealing with them.  Class sessions include lectures and case discussions, with many opportunities for students to develop and present their own view on these complex topics. 

7:00 – 9:45

Social Entrepreneurship  *  Whitman SOM, Room 202

aRTHUR C. Brooks, ph. D. (RAND), Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business and Government Policy; Professor of Public Administration.
Fields: Nonprofit management; applied economics; social entrepreneurship; quantitative methods.

Description:  The nonprofit sector is a large and growing part of the economy of the U.S., as well as of many other countries. Nonprofit and public managers require expertise on subjects unique to this sector: the structure of the industry, philanthropy and fundraising, the practical effects of regulation and tax policy, and public-private partnerships, to name just a few. This class will provide a basis of knowledge on these issues. Topics will be covered through lectures, guest speakers, student activities, and presentations.

Courses:

Publications:

Articles:

A Comparison of Enforcement of Administrative Agency Rules and Orders
in China and the United States, (with W. Banks and G. Xue) THE STUDY
ON ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, NO. 1, 2001.

The U.S. Administrative Procedure Act: History, Implementation, and 
Selected Contemporary Problem, PROCEEDING OF THE INTERNATIONAL 
SYMPOSIUM OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE LAW & THE 2D EAST
ASIA ADMINISTRATIVE LAW ANNUAL MEETING (1999).

Nuclear Power Meets the 101st Congress, a "One-Act" Comedy:
Regulations of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Licenses Under the 
Clean Air Act, 12 VA. ENVTL. L.J. 103 (1992).

Regulatory Reform and the Revival of Nuclear Power, 20 HOFSTRA L.
REV. 159 (1991).

Utility Rates and "Takings," 10 ENERGY L.J. 241 (1989).

Rules of Preclusion and Challenges to Official Action: An Essay on 
Finality, Fairness, and Federalism, All Gone Awry, 39 SYRACUSE L. REV.
599 (1988). (Co-author: Daan Braveman)

INS v. Chadha and hte Nondelegation Doctrine. A Speculation, 35
SYRACUSE L. REV. 749 (1984).

Institutional Responsibility: Environmental Values in the Supreme 
Court, 15 LAND USE & ENVTL. L. REV. 319 (1984). (Reprint)
(Co-Author: William Banks)

Power Production and Regulatory Reform: Easing the Transition to an
Economic Energy Future, 32 BUFF. L. REV. 221 (1983).

Institutional Responsibility: Environmental Values of the Supreme Court, 7
HARV. ENVT'L. L. REV. 1 (1983). (Co-author: William Banks)

Energy Future & The Politics of Energy, 10 CAL. W. INT'L L.J.
157 (1980) (book reviews). (Co-author: William Banks)