2014-2015 Catalog

PBPL 20000. Economics for Public Policy. 100 Units.

This course develops the microeconomic theories of consumer and producer choices, as well as demonstrates the application of these theoretical tools to policy problems. Supply, demand, and competitive markets are examined, along with the conditions under which government policy can increase efficiency.

Instructor(s): S. Shaikh, Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Completion of two quarters of calculus required; prior knowledge of economics not required. For ECON majors and students who have taken ECON 20000: consent of instructor required.
Note(s): PBPL 20000 or ECON 20000 is required of all students who are majoring in public policy. PBPL 20000 satisfies the ECON 20000 prerequisite for PBPL 22200. Students who have taken ECON 20000 require the instructor's consent to enroll in PBPL 20000.

PBPL 20305. Inequality in Urban Spaces. 100 Units.

This course explores how rich and poor children are sorted into different neighborhoods and schools, and how family, school, and neighborhood characteristics intersect to shape the divergent outcomes of low- and middle-income children residing with any given neighborhood. Students will undertake substantial field work to tackle an important issue affecting the residents and schools in one specified Chicago neighborhood. This course will be co-taught with Marisa Novara from the Metropolitan Planning Council.

Instructor(s): M. Keels     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 20305,CHDV 40315,CRES 20305

PBPL 21800. Economics and Environmental Policy. 100 Units.

This course combines basic microeconomic theory and tools with contemporary environmental and resources issues and controversies to examine and analyze public policy decisions. Theoretical points include externalities, public goods, common-property resources, valuing resources, benefit/cost analysis, and risk assessment. Topics include pollution, global climate change, energy use and conservation, recycling and waste management, endangered species and biodiversity, nonrenewable resources, congestion, economic growth and the environment, and equity impacts of public policies.

Instructor(s): S. Shaikh     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): ECON 19800 or higher, or PBPL 20000
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 21800,LLSO 26201

PBPL 22100. Politics and Policy. 100 Units.

This course has two fundamental aims. The first is to introduce students to a set of analytical tools and concepts for understanding how political institutions generate public policy. The second is to apply these tools in examining the major institutions of democracy in the United States.

Instructor(s): C. Berry     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Public Policy 22100-22200-22300 may be taken in and out of sequence.

PBPL 22200. Public Policy Analysis. 100 Units.

This course reviews and augments the basic tools of microeconomics developed in ECON 20000 and applies these tools to policy problems. We examine situations in which private markets are likely to produce unsatisfactory results, suggesting a potential rationale for government intervention. Our goal is to allow students to comprehend, develop, and respond to economics arguments when formulating or evaluating public policy.

Instructor(s): J. Leitzel     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): PBPL 20000 or ECON 20000
Note(s): PBPL 22100-22200-22300 may be taken in or out of sequence. PBPL 22200 is not intended for students majoring in public policy who are planning to specialize in economics or to take advanced economics courses; those students should meet with the program director to arrange an alternative.
Equivalent Course(s):

PBPL 22300. Problems of Public Policy Implementation. 100 Units.

Once a governmental policy or program is established, there is the challenge of getting it carried out in ways intended by the policy makers. We explore how obstacles emerge because of problems of hierarchy, competing goals, and cultures of different groups. We then discuss how they may be overcome by groups, as well as by creators and by those responsible for implementing programs. We also look at varying responses of target populations.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): One prior 20000-level social sciences course
Note(s): PBPL 22100-22200-22300 may be taken in or out of sequence.

PBPL 23000. Organizational Analysis. 100 Units.

This course is a systematic introduction to theoretical and empirical work on organizations broadly conceived (e.g., public and private economic organizations, governmental organizations, prisons, professional and voluntary associations, health-care organizations). Topics include intraorganizational questions about organizational goals and effectiveness, communication, authority, and decision making. Using recent developments in market, political economy, and neoinstitutional theories, we explore organizational change and interorganizational relationships for their implications in understanding social change in modern societies.

Instructor(s): E. Laumann     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20101,SOCI 30101

PBPL 23100. Environmental Law. 100 Units.

This lecture/discussion course examines the development of laws and legal institutions that address environmental problems and advance environmental policies. Topics include the common law background to traditional environmental regulation, the explosive growth and impact of federal environmental laws in the second half of the twentieth century, regulations and the urban environment, and the evolution of local and national legal structures in response to environmental challenges.

Instructor(s): R. Lodato     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing, or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 23100,LLSO 23100

PBPL 23200. The Economics of Crime. 100 Units.

This course uses theoretical and empirical economic tools to analyze a wide range of issues related to criminal behavior. Topics include the police, prisons, gang behavior, guns, drugs, capital punishment, labor markets and the macroeconomy, and income inequality. We emphasize the analysis of the optimal role for public policy.

Instructor(s): S. Levitt     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): ECON 20100 required; ECON 21000 or STAT 23400 strongly recommended
Note(s): This course is offered only in even numbered years.
Equivalent Course(s): ECON 28700

PBPL 23600. Political Sociology. 100 Units.

Political sociology explores how social processes shape outcomes within formal political institutions as well as the politics that occurs outside of recognized governing arrangements in the family, civic associations, social networks, and social movements, all of which may feed back into electoral, legislative, or administrative politics. The course will address how sociological analysis illuminates processes of political interaction and mobilization, the sources of political conflict and participation, the adoption and implementation of public policy, and the organization of political regimes whether level, national, or transnational.

Instructor(s): E. Clemens     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in social sciences
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20106,ENST 23500,SOCI 30106

PBPL 24500. Economics of Urban Policies. 100 Units.

This course covers tools needed to analyze urban economics and address urban policy problems. Topics include a basic model of residential location and rents; income, amenities, and neighborhoods; homelessness and urban poverty; decisions on housing purchase versus rental (e.g., housing taxation, housing finance, landlord monitoring); models of commuting mode choice and congestion and transportation pricing and policy; urban growth; and Third World cities.

Instructor(s): G. Tolley, K. Ierulli     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ECON 20100
Equivalent Course(s): ECON 26600,GEOG 26600,GEOG 36600,LLSO 26202

PBPL 24701. U.S. Environmental Policy. 100 Units.

Making environmental policy is a diverse and complex process. Environmental advocacy engages different governmental agencies, congressional committees, and courts, depending on the issue. This course examines how such differentiation has affected policy making over the last several decades.

Instructor(s): R. Lodato     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 24701,LLSO 24901

PBPL 24751. The Business of Non-Profits: The Evolving Social Sector. 100 Units.

Led by an experienced practitioner, this course aims to provide both an intellectual and experiential understanding of the contemporary nonprofit sector. In addition to a seminar component examining the rapidly evolving social sector, students engage in a hands-on consulting project for an area nonprofit involving analysis, reporting, and presentation.

Instructor(s): C. Velasquez     Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Instructor consent required. During 6th and 7th week, students must submit an application to CampusCATALYST, a nonprofit that assists in the coordination of consulting projects. Please see the quarterly time schedules for the CampusCATALYST application link.

PBPL 24800. Urban Policy Analysis. 100 Units.

This course addresses the explanations available for varying patterns of policies that cities provide in terms of expenditures and service delivery. Topics include theoretical approaches and policy options, migration as a policy option, group theory, citizen preference theory, incrementalism, economic base influences, and an integrated model. Also examined are the New York fiscal crisis and taxpayer revolts, measuring citizen preferences, service delivery, and productivity.

Instructor(s): T. Clark     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20120,SOCI 30120,SOCI 20120/30120

PBPL 24901. Trade, Development, and Poverty in Mexico. 100 Units.

Taking the past twenty years as its primary focus, this course examines the impact of economic globalization across Mexico with particular emphasis on the border region and the rural South. We explore the impact of NAFTA and the shift to neoliberal policies in Mexico. In particular, we examine the human dimension of these broad changes as related to social development, immigration, indigenous populations, and poverty. While primarily critical, the primary objective of the course is to engage in an interdisciplinary exploration of the question: Is trade liberalization an effective development strategy for poor Mexicans?

Instructor(s): C. Broughton     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): This course is offered in alternate years.
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 24901,LACS 24901

PBPL 25120. Child Development and Public Policy. 100 Units.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to the literature on early child development and explore how an understanding of core developmental concepts can inform social policies. This goal will be addressed through an integrated, multidisciplinary approach. The course will emphasize research on the science of early child development from the prenatal period through school entry. The central debate about the role of early experience in development will provide a unifying strand for the course. Students will be introduced to research in neuroscience, psychology, economics, sociology, and public policy as it bears on questions about “what develops?”, critical periods in development, the nature vs. nurture debate, and the ways in which environmental contexts (e.g., parents, families, peers, schools, institutions, communities) affect early development and developmental trajectories. The first part of the course will introduce students to the major disciplinary streams in the developmental sciences and the enduring and new debates and perspectives within the field. The second part will examine the multiple contexts of early development to understand which aspects of young children’s environments affect their development and how those impacts arise. Throughout the course, we will explore how the principles of early childhood development can guide the design of policies and practices that enhance the healthy development of young children, particularly for those living in adverse circumstances, and thereby build a strong foundation for promoting equality of opportunity, reducing social class disparities in life outcomes, building human capital, fostering economic prosperity, and generating positive social change. In doing so, we will critically examine the evidence on whether the contexts of children’s development are amenable to public policy intervention and the costs and benefits of different policy approaches.

Instructor(s): A. Kalil     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): An introductory course in Psychology or Human Development and an introductory Methods/Statistics course
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 25120,PSYC 25120

PBPL 25405. Child Poverty and Chicago Schools. 100 Units.

This discussion- and debate-based course begins with a sociological and historical examination of child poverty, focusing on its origin, experience, and perpetuation in disadvantaged Chicago communities. Class meetings will involve debating school reform efforts, such as “turnaround” schools, charter schools, Promise Neighborhoods, and stepped-up teacher evaluations. Further, the barriers that have contributed to the failure of previous reform initiatives—barriers that include social isolation, violence, and the educational system itself—will be identified and analyzed in-depth.

Instructor(s): C. Broughton     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): 2nd year standing required; attendance on the first day of class is required
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 25405

PBPL 25620. Topics in Latin American Economies. 100 Units.

This course examines current issues in the economies of Latin America. Topics include sources of economic growth, commercial policy, regional economic integration, inflation and stabilization, fiscal deficits, the choice of an exchange rate regime, and debt problems.

Instructor(s): A. Menendez     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ECON 20300
Equivalent Course(s): ECON 25620,PPHA 37500

PBPL 25630. Poverty, Work, and Family Policy. 100 Units.

This course examines contemporary policy questions of concern to families, especially low-income working families. The course will consider demographic, labor market, and policy trends affecting family economic well-being and child outcomes; conceptual frameworks and policy debates concerning the responsibility of government, corporate, and informal sectors to address family needs; and specific policy and program responses directed at (1) improving employment and economic outcomes and (2) reconciling the competing demands of employment and parenting. Throughout the course, we will consider the ideological, conceptual, and empirical bases for the issues we study. Although our primary focus will be on issues affecting low-income families in the United States, relevant comparisons will be made throughout the course—cross-nationally, across race/ethnicity, and across income.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing; second-year students require instructor consent.

PBPL 26200-26300. Field Research Project in Public Policy I-II.

These courses are designed to expose students to real-world policy-making questions and field-based research methodologies. The courses PBPL 26200 and PBPL 26300 can be offered as a two-quarter practicum project, or can be offered in one-quarter, standalone versions. Though the projects differ considerably among students and quarters, typically practicum students work together on designing the research project, gathering information, analyzing data, and presenting findings. Past practicums have connected with a variety of clients including the Chicago Cultural Alliance, the City’s Department of Family and Support Services, the Logan Center for the Arts, and the Woodlawn Public Safety Alliance. Both PBPL 26200 and PBPL 26300 generally are offered twice during an academic year. A standalone version of PBPL 26200 meets a student’s “Methods” requirement, while a standalone version of PBPL 26300 meets the “Windows” requirement.

PBPL 26400. Quantitative Methods in Public Policy. 100 Units.

This course involves a problem-by-problem investigation of how to apply the right statistics to contemporary public policy issues (in contrast to the method-by-method approach traditionally used to teach statistics). Quantitative public policy involves the use of four core methodologies: analysis of cross-tabulations, ordinary least squares regression, logistic regression, and analysis of variance. This course prepares students to understand scholarly articles using these four methods. We use a case analysis approach teaching specific decision algorithms in the application of the four methods. We also conduct analyses in SPSS using General Social Survey data and write up the results.

Instructor(s): W. Carter     Terms Offered: Autumn, Spring

PBPL 26500. Quantitative Policy Analysis Using Microsoft Excel. 100 Units.

This course will explore MS Excel’s capabilities for conducting policy analysis through analysis of administrative and survey data. It will focus on research design for policy organizations and associated quantitative methods, including database applications, cross tabulation, linear and logistic regression, and modeling. For example, can we build a model that assesses the impact on gang violence that may result from different school closings and associated changes in school catchment area boundaries? Can we predict the number of physicians needed as the Affordable Care Act increases insured low income residents?

Instructor(s): E. Carter     Terms Offered: Winter

PBPL 26505. The Case Study as a Public Policy Research Method. 100 Units.

This course presents contemporary approaches to completing such a project: deciding what flavor of case to select, selecting the specific cases to be investigated, planning and conducting the research, and writing up the findings. We explore the methodology's strengths and weaknesses by constructing a case study regarding the public policy roles of the Chicago Tribune. The primary case study methodologies (i.e., literature review, content analysis, key informant interviews, social observation) are used to explore quantitative and qualitative approaches to building this case. We also read published case studies to develop a list of "best practices" for the method.

Instructor(s): W. Carter     Terms Offered: Spring

PBPL 26530. Environment, Agriculture, and Food: Economic and Policy Analysis. 100 Units.

The connections between environment, agriculture, and food are inherent in our social, cultural, and economic networks. Land use, natural resource management, energy balances, and environmental impacts are all important components in the evolution of agricultural systems. Therefore it is important to develop ways in which to understand these connections in order to design effective agricultural programs and policies. This course is designed to provide students with guidance on the models and tools needed to conduct an economic research study on the intersecting topics of environment, agriculture, and food. Students learn how to develop original research ideas using a quantitative and applied economic policy analysis for professional and scholarly audiences. Students collect, synthesize, and analyze data using economic and statistical tools. Students provide outcomes and recommendations based on scholarly, objective, and policy relevant research rather than on advocacy or opinions, and produce a final professional-quality report for a workshop presentation and publication. This small seminar course is open by instructor consent to undergraduate and graduate students who meet the prerequisites. For consideration, please submit a one-page proposal of research to pge@uchicago.edu.

Instructor(s): S. Shaikh     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): ECON 20000 or ECON 20100 or PBPL 20000 or PBPL 22200 (or equivalent), STAT 22000 or STAT 23400 or PBPL 26400 (or equivalent); for ECON Enrollment: ECON 20000 and ECON 20100, STAT 23400
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 26530,ECON 26530,PPHA 32510

PBPL 26531. Environment, Agriculture, and Food: Advanced Economic and Policy Analysis. 100 Units.

This course is an extension of ENST 26530 but also stands alone as a complete course itself. Students don't need to take ENST 26530 to enroll in this course. This small seminar course is open by instructor consent to undergraduate and graduate students who meet the prerequisites. For consideration, please submit a one-page proposal of research to pge@uchicago.edu.

Instructor(s): S. Shaikh     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ECON 20000 or ECON 20100 or PBPL 20000 or PBPL 22200 (or equivalent), STAT 22000 or STAT 23400 or PBPL 26400 (or equivalent); for ECON Enrollment: ECON 20000 and ECON 20100, STAT 23400
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 26531,ECON 26540,PPHA 32520

PBPL 26605. Regression, Factor Analysis, and Other Methods in Public Policy Research. 100 Units.

The goal of this class is to equip undergraduates to publish quantitative research papers and to prepare quantitative BA papers. Public policy analysts use logistic and linear regression to build models that help them understand, and thus change, the world. In preparation for building these models, factor analysis is a tool to identify underlying patterns in the data and reduce its complexity. Cluster analysis permits segmenting the policy audience, as a guide to better targeting of interventions. In this course students select a dataset of interest to them and analyze it using these four methods, preparing the "findings" sections suitable for publication and/or BA papers. They also prepare a PowerPoint presentation suitable for either a policy or academic audience. Guest speakers from the University who have published articles using these methods discuss the practical issues in undertaking quantitative research. This class is designed to extend and build on Quantitative Methods in Public Policy (PBPL 26400).

Instructor(s): W. Carter     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Experience in using basic statistical methods is desirable but not required.

PBPL 26700. Economics of Education. 100 Units.

This course examines the economic role of education in society. The course begins by reviewing models that present different rationales for why families and individuals value or demand education. The course then discusses the implications of these competing models with special focus on the role of government in the funding and provision of education. The second half of the class takes as given that governments fund education and examines the mechanisms that governments use to purchase education for citizens. The class reviews both the theoretical models and empirical evidence related to each subtopic covered in the class.

Instructor(s): D. Neal     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ECON 21000
Equivalent Course(s): ECON 26700

PBPL 26709. Public Policy: The Great Books and Articles. 100 Units.

This course examines the great books and articles from the public policy literature. Our approach is to focus in-depth on digestible parts of each "great book," rather than reading and superficially discussing the complete tome. The public policy canon consists of the books that define our field and that differentiate it from purely academic disciplines on the one hand and from journalism on the other hand. We focus on applying public policy perspectives, as found in these seminal sources, to contemporary policy issues of interest to the class. Class members who have selected a BA topic are encouraged to apply the theoretical lenses found in the great books to strengthen the literature review/theory section of their BA paper as the product of the quarter's work. Those with less defined programs of study write papers comparing, and critically assessing, the approaches from their preferred subset of the readings.

Instructor(s): W. Carter     Terms Offered: Winter

PBPL 26801. Race Policy. 100 Units.

Relations among groups seeing themselves as fundamentally different generates private and public policies to channel association. Public policies intended to maintain and strengthen traditional racial relationships have included forced relocation, apartheid, extermination, walls, institutionalization, incarceration, segregation, ethnic cleansing, and legislated discrimination. Public policies intended to upset such traditions have included forced busing, affirmative action, the reservation of opportunities and political positions for specific castes/religions/ethnicities, and the legislated illegality of discrimination in housing and employment. Most recently in the United States, through distraction, hopelessness, indifference, neglect, the absence of good ideas, and/or the inability of advocates to compete effectively in the policy landscape, public policy has little to say about race. Even an African American president has declined to offer policy initiatives in this area. This course will examine public policy attempts to address issues of race, explore why so many seem to contain the seeds of their own failure, and formulate potential race policies that could jump start the contemporary policy conversation in this area. The course will include a research component exploring the current status of race policy in Chicago and Hyde Park.

Instructor(s): W. Carter     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 26801

PBPL 27040. Public Finance and Public Policy. 100 Units.

This course analyzes the rationales for government intervention in the economy, the form that intervention takes, and the effects of government policy. We will review the economic tools of analysis used in public finance, including cost-benefit analysis, and apply them to government policies, largely at the federal level. The course will focus on policies to remedy externalities, the provision of public goods, social insurance, and the effects of taxes. Within social insurance, we will cover social security and health reform. We will also explore the role taxation plays in government policy. Tax topics include the effect of taxes on consumers and firms, savings and corporate decisions, and fundamental tax reform.

Instructor(s): A. Jones     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): PBPL 20000 or ECON 20000

PBPL 27070. Philanthropy: Private Acts and Public Goods. 100 Units.

Under what conditions do philanthropy and other forms of private action come to be significant elements of the provision of public goods? What are the consequences of organizing society in this way? In this course, we will address the social role of philanthropy, its historical development as a significant economic and political institution, and the place of philanthropy in contemporary public policy and civic projects.

Instructor(s): E. Clemens     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Completion of at least 2 quarters of SOSC
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20222

PBPL 27501. Regulating Speech. 100 Units.

This course concerns private and public policy with respect to speech and expression. Varieties of speech considered include blasphemy, obscenity, and advertising. Policies considered include prohibition; taxation; licensing; and time, place, and manner controls. The intellectual framework employed for the evaluation of various policies is primarily economic and legal, though other disciplines also are drawn upon.

Instructor(s): J. Leitzel     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): This course is offered in alternate years.

PBPL 27750. Practicum in Environment, Agriculture, and Food Policy I. 100 Units.

This course sequence is designed to acquaint students to real-world policy-making questions. Students will work together, along with an organizational partner, on designing and conducting a research project. Course work will involve academic literature reviews, various forms of data collection, research design, statistical analysis, and presentation of a final report. Previous projects have included certification of green restaurants in Chicago, mapping of campus green roofs in Chicago, transportation research for a Chicago museum exhibit, and design of incentive programs for storm water management in Chicago. Students in the course will also handle all aspects of running the Environment, Agriculture, and Food Working Group (eaf.uchicago.edu), including communication and outreach through website content and social media. Completion of the two-quarter sequence satisfies the undergraduate public policy studies practicum requirement.

Instructor(s): S. Shaikh     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Open only to Public Policy majors and Environmental Studies majors and minors
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 27750

PBPL 27751. Practicum in Environment, Agriculture, and Food Policy II. 100 Units.

This course sequence is designed to acquaint students to real-world policy-making questions. Students will work together, along with an organizational partner, on designing and conducting a research project. Course work will involve academic literature reviews, various forms of data collection, research design, statistical analysis, and presentation of a final report. Previous projects have included certification of green restaurants in Chicago, mapping of campus green roofs in Chicago, transportation research for a Chicago museum exhibit, and design of incentive programs for storm water management in Chicago. Students in the course will also handle all aspects of running the Environment, Agriculture, and Food Working Group (eaf.uchicago.edu), including communication and outreach through website content and social media. Completion of the two-quarter sequence satisfies the undergraduate public policy studies practicum requirement.

Instructor(s): S. Shaikh     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Open only to Public Policy majors and Environmental Studies majors and minors
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 27751

PBPL 27821. Urban Schools and Communities. 100 Units.

This course explores the intersection of urban schools and community, with a focus on the evolution of urban communities, families, and the organization of schools. It emphasizes historical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives as we explore questions about the purpose and history of public schools, and factors that influence the character of school structure and organization in urban contexts, such as poverty, segregation, student mobility, etc. The topics covered provide essential intellectual perspectives on the history, work, and complexities of urban schools with a particular focus on the communities that surround them.

Instructor(s): S. Stoelinga     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 27821,SOCI 20226

PBPL 28501. Process and Policy in State and City Government. 100 Units.

This course consists of three interrelated sub-sections: (1) process and policy in city and state government; (2) the role played by influential, key officials in determining policy outcomes; and (3) policymaking during and after a political crisis. Issues covered include isolating the core principles driving policy at city and state levels; understanding how high level elected officials can shape the course of policy; and determining how a political crisis affects policy processes and outcomes. Most of the specific cases are drawn from Chicago and the State of Illinois.

Instructor(s): C. Harris     Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring

PBPL 28605. Economic Analysis of Law. 100 Units.

This course examines the structure of law from an economic basis. Topics include property rights, contracts, torts, the Coase theorem, and criminal law.

Instructor(s): J. Leitzel     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): ECON 20100
Equivalent Course(s): ECON 28600

PBPL 28702. Electoral Politics. 100 Units.

This course involves the scientific study of elections in advanced democracies with a primary focus on the modern United States. We will address empirical and theoretical questions about voters, candidates, parties, and the electoral system as a whole. For example, who runs for political office? How do they choose their policy platforms? How do citizens form their vote choices? Who turns out to vote and why? Who is informed and why? Does it matter that many citizens abstain from politics and are uninformed? What roles do race, ethnicity, and prejudice play in elections? What role does the media play? What laws and policies could improve political participation and political representation? We will address these questions through the applications of game theory, microeconomic theory, and most importantly quantitative/statistical analysis.

Instructor(s): A. Fowler     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Basic familiarity with American politics and statistics is required.

PBPL 28805. Behavioral Economics and Policy. 100 Units.

The standard theory of rational choice exhibits explanatory power in a vast range of circumstances, including such disparate decision making environments as whether to commit a crime, have children, or seek to emigrate. Nonetheless, shortfalls from full rationality seem not to be uncommon, and are themselves, to some extent, systematic. Behavioral economics documents and tries to account for these departures from full rationality. This course looks at areas in which some modification of the traditional rational choice apparatus might most be warranted; these include decisions that unfold over time, involve low probability events, or implicate willpower. To what extent should public policy respond to shortfalls from rationality or concern itself with promoting happiness?

Instructor(s): J. Leitzel     Terms Offered: Spring

PBPL 29000. Energy and Energy Policy. 100 Units.

This course shows how scientific constraints affect economic and other policy decisions regarding energy, what energy-based issues confront our society, how we may address them through both policy and scientific study, and how the policy and scientific aspects can and should interact. We address specific technologies and the policy questions associated with each, as well as with more overarching aspects of energy policy that may affect several, perhaps many, technologies.

Instructor(s): S. Berry, G. Tolley     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing. For ECON 26800: ECON 26500 and consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): BPRO 29000,CHSS 37502,ECON 26800,ENST 29000,PPHA 39201,PSMS 39000

PBPL 29304. Urban Neighborhoods and Urban Schools: Community Economic Opportunity and the Schools. 100 Units.

This course explores the interplay between schools and neighborhoods and how this plays out in shaping life chances.

Instructor(s): M. Keels     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Not offered 2014-15
Equivalent Course(s): CHDV 20304,SOCI 30314

PBPL 29305. Law and Urban Problems. 100 Units.

This course will examine a set of issues affecting people in urban areas.  The primary substantive areas of law that we will discuss are housing and land use regulation.  Topics will include issues such as landlord/tenant law, home ownership, zoning, low income housing, gated communities and fair housing.    As part of our analysis we will consider what it means to talk about property rights in modern America. The course will be a discussion class.   Readings will include court cases, law review articles, and social science materials.  There will be occasional guest speakers. No familiarity with law is expected or required.

Instructor(s): M. Schill     Terms Offered: Winter

PBPL 29411. Mediation, Moderation, and Spillover Effects. 100 Units.

This course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students from social sciences, statistics, health studies, public policy, and social services administration who will be or are currently involved in quantitative research. The course is focused on methodological issues with regard to mediation of intervention effects, moderated intervention effects, cumulative effects of treatment sequences, and spillover effects in a variety of settings. Research questions about why an intervention works, for whom, under what conditions, in what sequence, and whether one individual’s treatment could affect other individuals’ outcomes are often key to the advancement of scientific knowledge yet pose major analytic challenges.

Instructor(s): G. Hong     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Not offered 2014-15
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 32411,STAT 33211,CCTS 32411,CHDV 32411

PBPL 29600. Internship: Public Policy. 100 Units.

Students write a paper about their experience working for a government agency or nonprofit organization.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of program chair
Note(s): Open only to students who are majoring in public policy. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Must be taken for P/F grading. Students must make arrangements with the program chair before beginning the internship.

PBPL 29700. Reading and Research: Public Policy. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open only to students who are majoring in public policy
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

PBPL 29701. Readings and Research: Working Group in Environment, Agriculture, and Food (EAF) 100 Units.

This course consists of participation in the Environment, Agriculture, and Food Group in a role assigned by the instructor.

Instructor(s): S. Shaikh     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Registration by instructor consent only
Note(s): Please email Sabina Shaikh at sabina@uchicago.edu.
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 29701

PBPL 29800. Senior Seminar. 100 Units.

PBPL 29800, the Senior Seminar, is offered in Autumn Quarter and is designed to assist students in developing and writing the required BA paper. Students register for PBPL 29800 in Autumn Quarter and continue to work throughout Winter and Spring Quarters with a BA Seminar instructor/preceptor (and possibly faculty advisers) in revising their BA papers. The Autumn Quarter class informs students about sources, methods of research, and treatment of evidence. The instructor/preceptor of the Senior Seminar serves as a reader for the BA papers. Students may choose a faculty adviser as a second reader—though second readers are not required. Outstanding BA papers can earn an honors designation. As part of the BA process, students write a policy memo that distills their BA research and, in early April, present their BA papers at the yearly Public Policy undergraduate research symposium for graduating seniors.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Open only to fourth-year students who are majoring in public policy
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.

PBPL 29900. BA Paper Preparation: Public Policy. 100 Units.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open only to fourth-year students who are majoring in public policy
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.