Faculty Bios: You can view bios for many WWS faculty in the WWS faculty directory. Please note, not all faculty have bios posted and faculty who will be teaching at WWS for the first time may not yet be listed.

Blackboard: All WWS courses have a Blackboard course web site. You can access these sites by going to the Blackboard login page and searching for the course you would like to access, or you can click on the course titles below which will take you directly to the specific course site after logging in.

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501: The Politics of Public Policy (open to MPA students only)
B. Canes-Wrone, R. Hutchings, D. Lewis

Syllabus
Analysis of political forces that influence the policy making process, with an emphasis on the political implications of policy decisions. Examples are drawn from international and U.S. cases. Special attention is given to writing skills as they apply to the roles of advisers and decision makers in public sector organizations.

503: The Management of Organizations
B. Blumenthal

Syllabus
Diagnose organizational issues and design interventions to improve performance, using case studies of public and nonprofit organizations. Analysis of characteristics of high performing organizations and differences between sectors. Explore techniques and skills for problem solving, team building, developing consensus, and leading change, so that students' ideas and initiatives are more likely to succeed. Students reflect on their prior experiences in organizations as a means to further personal development.

504: Policy Issues and Analysis of Nonprofits, NGOs, and Philanthropy
S. Katz

Syllabus
Examines policy issues at international, national and local levels. Provides groundwork on nonprofits, NGOs, and philanthropy. Emphasis on understanding how philanthropy, nonprofit, and NGO sectors operate, their niche alongside private and public sectors, revenue sources, impact on society, and converse effects of society and its institutions; the policy making process. Explores impact of reliance on government or overseas support for Third World NGOs; faith-based service provisions: accountability and transparency; advocacy; and government regulations.

507b: Quantitative Analysis: Basic
Giovanni Oppenheim

Syllabus
Study of basic data analysis techniques, stressing application to public policy. Includes measurement, descriptive statistics, data collection, probability, exploratory data analysis, hypothesis testing, simple and multiple regression, correlation, and graphical procedures. Some training offered in the use of computers. No previous training in statistics is required. Assumes a fluency in high school algebra and familiarity with basic calculus concepts.

507c: Quantitative Analysis: Advanced
A. Krueger

Syllabus
Study of basic data analysis techniques, stressing application to public policy. Includes measurement, descriptive statistics, data collection, probability, exploratory data analysis, hypothesis testing, simple and multiple regression, correlation, and graphical procedures. Some training offered in the use of computers. No previous training in statistics is required. Assumes a fluency in calculus.

509: Generalized Linear Statistical Models (Also ECO509)
G. Rodriguez

Syllabus
Focuses primarily on the analysis of survey data using generalized linear statistical models. The course starts with a review of linear models for continuous responses and then proceeds to consider logistic regression models for binary data, log-linear models for count data-including rates and contingency tables and hazard models for duration data. Attention is paid to the logical and mathematical foundations of the techniques, but the main emphasis is on the applications, including computer usage. Assumes prior exposure to statistics at the level 507c or higher and familiarity with matrix algebra and calculus. Prerequisite: 507c.

511b: Microeconomic Analysis: Basic
C. Rouse

Syllabus
Courses 511 and 512 provide systematic exposition of principles and techniques of economic theory that are most useful in analyzing economic aspects of public affairs. The courses are divided into separate sections according to a student's previous experience with economics and the student's level of mathematical sophistication. The basic level assumes a fluency in high-school algebra and a basic knowledge of calculus concepts, while the advanced level assumes a fluency in calculus and some previous exposure to economics.

511c: Microeconomic Analysis: Advanced
R. Willig

Syllabus
Courses 511 and 512 provide systematic exposition of principles and techniques of economic theory that are most useful in analyzing economic aspects of public affairs. The courses are divided into separate sections according to a student's previous experience with economics and the student's level of mathematical sophistication. The basic level assumes a fluency in high-school algebra and a basic knowledge of calculus concepts, while the advanced level assumes a fluency in calculus and some previous exposure to economics.

511d: Microeconomic Analysis: Accelerated
A. Craft

Syllabus
Courses 511 and 512 provide systematic exposition of principles and techniques of economic theory that are most useful in analyzing economic aspects of public affairs. The courses are divided into separate sections according to a student's previous experience with economics and the student's level of mathematical sophistication. The basic level assumes a fluency in high-school algebra and a basic knowledge of calculus concepts, while the advanced level assumes a fluency in calculus and some previous exposure to economics. Section "d" moves through the materials at an accelerated rate.

515b: Program and Policy Evaluation
J. Grossman

Syllabus
This course introduces students to evaluation. It explores ways: to develop and implement research-based program improvement strategies and program accountability systems; to judge the effects of policies and programs; and to assess the benefits and costs of policy or program changes. Students study a wide range of evaluation tools; read and discuss both domestic and international evaluation examples and apply this knowledge by designing several different types of evaluations on programs of their choosing. Pre-requisite: 507b/c or instructor's permission.

515c: Program and Policy Evaluation
D. Peikes

Syllabus
This course introduces students to evaluation using more advanced quantitative techniques than are covered in 515b. It explores ways: to develop and implement research-based program improvement strategies and program accountability systems; to judge the effects of policies and programs; and to assess the benefits and costs of policy or program changes. Students study a wide range of evaluation tools; read and discuss both domestic and international evaluation examples and apply this knowledge by designing several different types of evaluations on programs of their choosing. Students also apply these tools empirically with Stata, using data from several large-scale impact evaluations. Pre-requisites: 507c & 508c or instructor's permission.

519a: Negotiation, Persuasion and Social Influence: Theory and Practice (open to MPA students only) (Also PSY528)
R. Wolfe

Syllabus
This course examines the principles of negotiation in organizational settings and provides firsthand experience in simulated negotiations. Theoretical and empirical research on the variables that affect success in negotiations are discussed. The students engage in a series of bargaining exercises between individuals and teams. The results of these exercises are analyzed in detail by the class.

519b: Negotiation, Persuasion and Social Influence: Theory and Practice (open to MPP students only) (Also PSY528)
R. Wolfe

Syllabus
This course examines the principles of negotiation in organizational settings and provides firsthand experience in simulated negotiations. Theoretical and empirical research on the variables that affect success in negotiations are discussed. The students engage in a series of bargaining exercises between individuals and teams. The results of these exercises are analyzed in detail by the class.

521: Domestic Politics
D. Arnold

Syllabus
An introduction to the political analysis of policymaking in the American setting. Includes theoretical and empirical analyses of political institutions, including executives, legislatures, and bureaucracies. Also examines the political environment in which these institutions operate, with special attention to the role of public opinion, interest groups, and elections.

524: Advanced Macroeconomics: Domestic Policy Issues
R. Reis

Syllabus
An extension of 512c, the course covers economic growth, the roles of R&D, education, and institutions in long-run development, fiscal and monetary policy in the long run, unemployment, short-run fiscal and monetary policy, economic fluctuations, and the budget and state of the US economy. Aims to show how modern theoretical and quantitative methods can be useful in analyzing important macroeconomic policy issues. Focus is on a series of specific topics of current policy interest. Prerequisite: 512c.

525: Microeconomic Analysis of Government Activity
E. Sheshinski

Syllabus
Analyzes government involvement in "market failures"; externalities (corrective tolls for congestion, environmental damage); "natural" monopolies (infrastructure- telecommunication, electricity-regulation and pricing); efficiency and equity aspects of excise and income taxes; and alternative social security structures and reform proposals in the U.S. and other countries. Prerequisite: 511c.

527a: Domestic Policy Analysis: Transportation (Also CEE563)
A. Kornhauser

Syllabus
Studies the transportation sector of the economy from a technology and broad public policy perspective. Focus is on the modeling and methodologies that underpin the policy formulation, capital and operations planning, and real-time operational decision making within the transportation industry. With shifting national priorities, the Federal role in transportation is changing significantly. The shift towards privatization caused market forces to play a much bigger role in the transportation sector. Radical concepts such as "value" pricing, private toll roads and for-profit mass transportation are beginning to be seriously considered as elements of a broad transportation policy. The heightened sensitivity of security creates new challenges. Meanwhile, local issues of traffic congestion, road construction and transportation-related environmental issues are dominant themes of grass roots politics.

527b: Domestic Policy Analysis: Analysis of Political Institutions (Also POL542)
C. Cameron, B. Canes-Wrone

Syllabus
Designed to expose students to substantive and methodological controversies that are currently engaging scholars of American politics, this course integrates theoretical and quantitative skills by focusing on the processes of extracting hypotheses from formal models, stating hypotheses in a manner conducive to tests, collecting data, conducting tests, and making inferences.

527c: Domestic Policy Analysis: Urban Economic Development
A. Shorris

Syllabus
Examines theory, tools, and strategies of urban economic development. Reviews the moral, economic, and political rationales for governmental development efforts, then uses readings and cases to examine tools commonly used in urban development including targeted infrastructure creation, zoning and land use, sub-national tax policy, educational initiatives, and public-private partnerships. Reviews strategic approaches to urban development including sectoral efforts (such as those focused on manufacturing and intellectual capital creation) and competitive efforts (such as marketing and tourism.)

527f: Domestic Policy Analysis: Public Management and Leadership
P. Goldmark

Syllabus
This course covers management disciplines of the public and non-profit sectors, emphasizing those less frequently taught in public policy schools: recruitment and assessment of talent; interaction with the press; managing in uncertainty; the art of implementation; and others. There will be twelve sessions of 3 hours each on an irregular schedule. Flexibility will be taught, practiced, and prized.

527g: Domestic Policy Analysis: Political Leadership for Social Change
M. Edwards

Syllabus
Social change is not always the result of an enlightened "official" national leadership, nor the result of historical evolution, nor a "great man" or "great woman" on whom change rests. It is the premise of this course that progress is the result of human action, often without official sanction and in opposition to prevailing authority. We will study how people change the world they live in, explore effective and ineffective campaigns for change, and attempt to determine how successful movements become successful, how strategies are developed, messages framed, coalitions built, and decision-making structures created. Taught by a former member of Congress and long-time social activist.

533: Planning Theory and Process (Also ARC535)
S. Angel

Syllabus
A broad introduction to the theory and practice of urban planning and policy-making in both industrialized and developing countries. Readings, lectures, class discussions, debates, and films introduce participants to planning theory; urban utopias; the history of plan-making; urban public works; the "comprehensive" ideal; regulatory vs. activist futures; marginality and the persistence of the unplanned; the craving for growth limits; City Beautiful; gentrification; alternative futures for the inner city; zoning and other limits on private property; the search for community; and the New Urbanism.

537: Social Organization of Cities (Also SOC537)
D. Massey

Syllabus
This course reviews the historical emergence and social evolution of cities and urban life and presents current theories regarding the ecological and social structure of urban areas, and how urban social organization affects the behavior and well-being of human beings who live and work in cities.

541: International Politics
J. Ikenberry

Syllabus
This course introduces competing theories of international relations and evaluates their explanation of foreign policy decisions and general patterns in international relations over the last century. Broadly covering security policy and international political economy, topics include the causes of war, the role of international organizations to promote cooperation, and the interaction between domestic actors and governments in negotiations on trade and the environment.

544: International Macroeconomics
H. Rey

Syllabus
Examines issues in open economy macroeconomics and international finance. Topics include current account behavior and capital flows, exchange-rate determination and dynamics, international financial market integration, macroeconomic policy under fixed and floating exchange rates, international policy coordination, and the history of the international monetary system. Special attention is given to the analysis of financial crises. Prerequisite: 512c or instructor's permission.

549: National Security Policy
A. Friedberg

Syllabus
Examines the changing meaning of "national security" and the various policies and institutions through which states may seek to enhance it. Emphasis is on the formation and implementation of national security policy by the U.S. government.

555b: Topics in International Relations: International Justice
G. Bass

Syllabus
Examines the politics and ethics of prosecuting war crimes. The course asks if international law can help to moderate or prevent war, why states sometimes pursue the prosecution of war criminals, and how law shapes and is shaped by international politics. Cases include Nuremberg and the aftermaths of World War I, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the recent wars in ex-Yugoslavia and Iraq, and Al-Qaeda's terrorism.

561: The Comparative Political Economy of Development (Also POL523)
D. Yashar

Syllabus
Analysis of political change and the operation of political institutions in the development process, with emphasis on the interaction of political and economic factors. Various definitions and theories of political development are examined and tested against different economic, ethnic, geographic, and social contexts.

571a: Topics in Development: Development Policy in Africa
J. Widner

Syllabus
An introduction to development policy challenges in Africa. Opens with a brief review of intellectual and practical debates about development policy in the Independence era. Addresses reasons for success or failure of structural adjustment policies, the challenges of institutional reform, and the relationship between accountability and democratization. Finally, examines policy issues, such as cumulative wisdom about war-peace transitions, health policy and the response to HIV/AIDS, and the role of new regional organizations. Includes case studies, mini-lectures, and discussion. Assumes some background in the study of Africa. Supplementary readings available for social science Ph.D. students.

571b: Topics in Development: Policy Implications of Globalization (Also SOC577)
M. Centeno

Syllabus
Explores the historical background of globalization including previous examples of this phenomenon. Proceeds with an overview of competing contemporary theories of the causes and consequences of globalization. Discusses the types of data required for analysis of the policy implications of globalization and how these can be utilized. Emphasis on the use of transactional data using network analysis. Students will use primary sources and databases in discussions of policy areas including trade, migration, security, media, etc. No formal training in statistics, database management, or networks required.

575a: Topics in Regional and Country Studies: Chinese Development (Also POL536)
L. White

Syllabus
A consideration of policies for political and economic development during modern times, especially since 1949. Topics include traditional politics and agriculture, the revolutionary party, land reform and industrial socialization, tax and investment, the campaign method, the army, and the "four modernizations." Each subject is discussed in terms that allow comparison with other countries.

575e: Topics in Regional and Country Studies: Current Perspectives in Central Asia (Also NES595)
R. Finn

Syllabus
This course will examine the countries of Central Asia in their contemporary context, including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It will also focus on the region's relationship to the U.S., to Russia and to China. Each session will cover a separate country or resource from historical, political and cultural points of view. Extensive reference will be made to post-Soviet politics, energy and drug issues, and the question of Islamic fundamentalism.

581c: Topics in Economics: Poverty, Inequality & Health in World (Also POP504)
A. Deaton

Syllabus
About well-being throughout the world, with focus on income and health. Explores what happened to poverty, inequality, and health, in the US, and internationally. Discusses conceptual foundations of national and global measures of inequality, poverty, and health; construction of measures, and extent to which they can be trusted; relationship between globalization, poverty, and health, historically and currently. Examines links between health and income, why poor people are less healthy and live less long than rich people. Prereqs: 507 and 511. Please see instructor to apply for enrollment.

585b: Topics in STEP: Living in a Greenhouse: Technology and Policy (Also MAE580)
R. Socolow

Syllabus
This course will focus primarily on the challenge of modifying the global energy system to reduce projected global carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. We will pursue both science/technology and policy in each of five two-week units. Unit One: The underlying carbon cycle science, and the ways the world has organized to learn more and to communicate results. Unit Two: Energy efficiency, patterns of demand, lifestyles, energy and poverty. Unit Three: Fossil fuels, abundance and depletion, energy security. Unit Four: Carbon capture and storage, policies enabling commercialization, risk assessment. Unit Five: Non-carbon energy in its two forms, nuclear power and renewable energy; subsidies, social preferences. The final two-week unit will be devoted to student reports. Cross-cutting themes include uncertain science, imperfectly discernible costs of future technologies, the limitations of quantification, and the necessity of muddling through.

587: Research Workshop in Population
D. Massey

Syllabus
Individual research projects involving demographic analysis related to issues in population policy or, occasionally, participation in the research conducted at the Office of Population Research. Prerequisite: Survey of Population Problems (SOC 571/ECO 571).

591a: Policy Workshop: Urban and Regional Policy
P. Buckhurst

Syllabus - Part 1 / Part 2
Provides an opportunity for participants to apply their theoretical and methodological training to a specific urban development issue or opportunity. The workshop format allows for individual studies covering market, economic, design, and environmental considerations related to a specific development area. The workshop culminates with a formal presentation given to client representatives.

591b: Policy Workshop: Policing Reform
G. Peake

Syllabus
A central theme of the largely sociological and historical writing about state-building is the ability to maintain peace on the roads. Without security, investment and trade are highly risky. There is no peace dividend in many parts of the developing world today precisely because the end of war and security are not synonymous. Effective policing is critical, yet few have started to assemble what practitioners have learned. What do we really know about how to build effective police forces? Can we distill lessons from experiences in places as diverse as El Salvador, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Iraq, South Africa, and East Timor?

591c: Policy Workshop: Manging Mineral Resources
K. Ballentine

Syllabus - Part 1 / Part 2
Mineral wealth correlates strongly with high levels of corruption, civil war, political repression and other maladies. The severity of the problem may vary with the types of deposits, but is still pervasive. Some kinds of mineral boards or exploitation systems appear more prone to the standard range of pathologies than others. Taking the successes into account, the World Bank and other development organizations are beginning to propose new institutional structures for the governance of mineral wealth in Chad, Sao Tome, and other places. Can we chart the performance of new arrangements? What explains the willingness of political factions to agree to systems that lessen individual control? Is this challenge one where law and organization can make a difference or are these approaches fruitless in the face of social or political pressure to divert funds?

591d: Policy Workshop: Reintegrating Youth and Ex-Combatants
N. Colletta

Syllabus
One of the most important practical challenges associated with post-conflict reconstruction is the reintegration of ex-combatants into society, especially those who are very young. Case studies suggest that when soldiers are released from the military with limited support or a one-time payment, banditry tends to increase and people remain unwilling to invest or trade because of continued insecurity. World Bank research has helped point to some effective approaches and to some common missteps, but accommodating child soldiers--or even war orphans--remains a challenge. What do we know about strategies that help reintegrate ex-combatants and youth into communities that may not wish for their return? Uganda, South Africa, Mozambique, Guatemala or El Salvador, and East Timor may be among the cases studied.

591e: Policy Workshop: U.S. Immigration Policy
M. Tienda

Syllabus
The January 2004 temporary worker program to match willing foreign workers with U.S. employers to fill jobs that U.S. workers allegedly will not accept is the centerpiece of the White House initiative to undertake comprehensive immigration reform that also protects the homeland; addresses undocumented migration while protecting the rights of legal immigrants; and protect both temporary (guest) and U.S. workers. We endeavor to design a guest worker policy that will address the employment shortages in the U.S. economy necessary to promote productivity and growth within the context of a comprehensive immigration reform that is fair to workers and prior immigrants and also consistent with the goals of homeland security.

591f: Policy Workshop: Stemming the Proliferation of Enrichment & Reprocessing
F. Hippel, R. Einhorn

Syllabus
Recently, uranium-enrichment technology has been spread to a number of countries, including Libya, North Korea, and Iran. Of those, Iran has been the most assertive in claiming a right under the NPT to acquire fuel-cycle capabilities for peaceful purposes as long as they are subject to IAEA verification. The U.S., the Europeans, and others are convinced that Iran is exploiting this "NPT loophole" to pursue a nuclear weapons program. Two proposed solutions are to try to get international agreement that future nuclear fuel-cycle facilities will be operated only in states that already own such facilities or under multi-national control. In either connection, Iran is being called to give up its right to enrichment and reprocessing in exchange for guaranteed access to low-enriched uranium fuel from the supplier states.

591g: Policy Workshop: Property Rights Reform in Urban Latin America
S. Angel

Syllabus
In his recent book, The Mystery of Capital, Hernando de Soto blames the absence of clear property rights in developing countries as a key factor in inhibiting economic development, by keeping both residential and commercial properties as “dead capital.” Our objective is to obtain the theoretical foundations and practical tools necessary for confronting this central challenge. We focus, in a systematic fashion, on articulating practical policies for securing the property rights of poor families living in informal urban settlements throughout Latin America. The key output will be a policy paper on urban property rights reform, prepared for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The policy paper will contain an analysis of the status of property rights and tenure reform in all the larger countries in Latin America; a survey of the best and worst practices employed; and a series of key recommendations for the Bank to pursue new property rights initiatives in the Latin American region.

591h: Policy Workshop: Rural Health Management and the Molokai Project
V. Cheh

Syllabus
The purpose of this workshop is to assist a rural hospital in increasing efficient delivery of care to a population with special needs. This will be achieved through research on best practice models for rural hospitals as well as additional research on funding avenues. Some of the options that would need to be addressed, include; Medicare Hospital definition; workforce issues; alternative services; and networking/technology. The workshop will take a comparative perspective and would focus on at least two locations, Hawaii and another location(s) still to be determined.

591i: Policy Workshop: Evaluating a Rights-Based Approach for Realizing Universal Primary Education
M. Flaherty

Syllabus
Achieving universal primary education by 2015 is one of the Millennium Development Goals. A key obstacle to implementing rights-based approaches towards economic and social rights has been the limited availability of compelling and unified frameworks that can guide the actions of policymakers. A primary goal of the workshop would be to analyze existing literature and policy frameworks to determine whether: (i) a human rights-based approach is a viable alternative to existing approaches and (ii) how such an approach could be successfully incorporated into existing development strategies. A recommended framework, including quantitative and qualitative indicators, would then be developed and applied in relation to a case study from Kenya where the new government has introduced free education but corruption and insufficient state capacity present significant obstacles.

593a: Domestic Policy Analysis: Race and Public Policy
S. Clampet-Lundquist

Syllabus
Examines how race shapes domestic public policy and how policies can differentially affect individuals based on their race or ethnicity. It covers policies before and after the Civil Rights Era, and explores basic concepts and theories of the construction of race and ethnicity in the United States.

593b: Policy Analysis: Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights (Session II) (Also POP504b)
J. Trussell

Syllabus
Examines selected topics in reproductive health, with primary emphasis on contemporary domestic issues in the United States--such as unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infection--but within the context of the international agenda on reproductive rights established in the 1994 Cairo international Conference on Population and development.

593c: Policy Analysis: Reforming the United Nations
J. Klein

Syllabus
The question of why the United Nations (U.N.) matters in the 21st century is more germane than ever. It is still the only global organization that can confirm international legitimacy in our attempts to resolve the ongoing challenges to global security. The challenge is for the United Nations to adapt itself as a tool to achieve an international stable environment is its ability to adapt itself to the new challenges of this century. Reform however, is not an event but a process. Deep divisions often pre-empted success. The preamble of the United Nations Charter to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war" is as timely now as when it was written. We will examine these issues to determine the United Nations continued role on the international stage.

593d: Policy Analysis: Humanitarian Crisis Management
J. Klein

Syllabus
Description not yet available.

593i: Policy Analysis: The Federal Budget (Session I)
J. Klumpner

Syllabus
This course will cover how the Federal budget process is supposed to work and how it actually does work. Topics will include: (1) institutions, processes, and definitions; (2) history of budget outcomes; (3) the current state of the Federal budget process; (4) the role of uncertainty in budgeting; (4) the role of politics in budgeting; and (5) the budget's short- and long-term fiscal consequences. Students will be required to take an in-class quiz on budget process and procedures, plus submit a final term paper.

593j: Policy Analysis: State and Local Finance (Session II)
R. Keevey

Syllabus
Course examines budgeting and finance at the state and local level of government. Topics include: budget structure and process; decision makers within the political and economic environment; debt, capital planning and bond financing; revenue structures supporting expenditures. Tax policy and associated tradeoffs between tax equity and efficiency and spending and program needs are also examined. Two case studies are utilized---one related to state and local tax policy and one related to budgetary decision-making.

597: The Political Economy of Health Systems
U. Reinhardt

Syllabus
This course explores the professed and unspoken goals nations pursue with their health systems and the alternative economic and administrative structures different nations use to pursue those goals. The emphasis in the course will be on the industrialized world, although some time can be allocated later in the course to approaches used in the developing countries, if students in the course desire it.

599: PhD Seminar: Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity (Session II) (for PhDs only)
E. Armstrong, H. Shapiro

Syllabus
Examines the ethical issues arising in the context of scientific research. Evaluates the role and responsibilities of professional researchers in dealing with plagiarism, fraud, conflict over authorial credit, and ownership of data. In addition, it undertakes a broader inquiry into conceptions of professional integrity, and the responsibilities that scientists have to their research subjects, to their students and apprentices, as well as to society at large.