Public policy is often studied as a set of laws, regulations, and incentives, but it is ultimately designed and implemented by people—policymakers, bureaucrats, front-line workers, and public managers. This course explores how policy ideas take shape, how they are designed with (or without) implementation in mind, and how public agencies and officials turn policies into reality.
The first part of the course introduces key frameworks for understanding policy design, focusing on how institutional structures, cognitive biases, and political constraints shape policy choices. The second and larger portion of the course examines policy implementation, governance, and public administration: Who carries out policies? What motivates government workers? How do agencies coordinate (or fail to)? Why do some policies succeed in practice while others falter? The final section of the course explores how we
evaluate policies and emerging trends in government, such as AI in policymaking and participatory governance.
Course number will change to PS188 prior to the first day of class.