Course - Comparative Public Policy and Administration - POL8526
Comparative Public Policy and Administration
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About the course
Course content
Complex and cross-sectoral societal challenges drive the evolution of modern organizational forms and shape the development of public policy. Understanding how political and administrative systems of government are organized and how they formulate policy is central to the study of public policy and administration. Focusing on individual cases alone can limit our understanding of the causes and effects of different administrative designs or different policies. For instance, why do policies on education, immigration, or the environment vary greatly across countries, even when they face similar global challenges? Why are some administrations more effective than others in solving societal issues? This lecture approaches public policy and administration from a comparative perspective to address these and other questions. Applying a comparative perspective we will look at both political-administrative structures and policy analysis.
The lecture provides an advanced introduction to both classical and modern literature in the field of public policy and administration, as well as theory and empirical studies on policy implementation and evaluation. To illustrate key concepts, we will cover empirical examples from diverse policy areas (such as health and welfare policy, agricultural and rural policy, immigration and integration policy).
Learning outcome
Knowledge - the student shall have knowledge of:
- explanations of variations in policy formulations and tensions between different levels of government
- the development and principles within reform traditions
- modern forms of organization and governance
- policy design, instruments and implementation of public policy
- methods for the evaluation of public policy and public programs
Skills - the student shall demonstrate the ability to:
- identify an own research topic based one of the themes discussed in the lecture and conduct an independent comparative empirical analysis at an internationally high level.
Learning methods and activities
Lectures/ group discussions for 4 hours per week throughout the semester. Supervision of paper. The paper is to be an independent study of a topic taught in lectures, and must consist of about 20 pages using a comparative design and should be written in English. If less than 6 students attend the course the two first weeks of teaching, the course will be given as an individual study course with supervision. Please contact the department for further information.
Further on evaluation
Form of assessment: Individual paper. An identical version of the exam paper cannot be used directly in the PhD thesis as an article or a chapter. A revised version of the exam paper may be included in the thesis. When repeating a failed exam, the candidate can submit a revised version of a previously submitted paper in the course. If the submission is a revised version of a previously submitted paper, this must be specified in the paper.
Required previous knowledge
Master's degree in Political Science or equivalent.
Course materials
To be decided at the start of the course.
Credit reductions
| Course code | Reduction | From |
|---|---|---|
| POL3526 | 10 sp | Autumn 2022 |
Subject areas
- Social Sciences
- Political Science
Contact information
Course coordinator
Lecturers
- Barbara Krystyna Zyzak
- Charlie Fjellvær Thompson
- Henning Finseraas
- Michael Grothe-Hammer
- Pål Erling Martinussen