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Governance and Public Policy (PPG-707)
- Instructor Name: Dr Iftikhar Ahmad & Mr. Saddam Hussein
- Credit Hours: 3
- PIDE School of Policy, Development and Governance
- E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
- Office Hours: Tuesday – Wednesday | 12:00 – 2:00 pm Or by appointment
Prerequisites For this Course:
None
Text Book(s):
There is no textbook. Required readings and academic papers will be assigned before each class.
Reference Book(s):
- Smith, Kevin B., and Christopher W. Larimer. 2017. The Public Policy Theory Primer, 3rd edition. Boulder: Westview Press.
- PIDE Reform Agenda for Accelerated and Sustained growth (e-book available at https://pide.org.pk/Research/PIDE-Reform-Agenda-Report.pdf)
- Zulfiqar, F. (2022). Evaluations of Regulatory Authorities, Government Packages, And Policies. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. (e-book available at https://pide.org.pk/research/evaluations-of-regulatory-authorities-government-packages-and-policies/)
Course Description
The course provides an introduction to Governance and Public Policy and is broadly divided into two parts. First, students will be introduced to the theoretical concepts in the formulation of policy, specific policy prescriptions, regulations, incentives etc. We will cover the role of political institutions and processes through which public policy is formulated in developing countries more generally and in Pakistan. Models and tools of policy analysis will be applied to study specific policy areas. In the second half, we will focus on specifics of public policies along with a discussion of governance issues in Pakistan. Salient ideas in institutional economics including; the role of institutions in determining the growth performance of a country, evolution of institutions, institutional change, transaction cost and the link between organization in public and private sector will also be covered.
Course Objectives
The core purpose of this course is that the students should learn to think critically about real public policy issues and questions and build strong theoretical grounding for their own research questions. The students would study complex socio-economic dynamics, examine development interventions, explore the interplay of actors involved in managing policy decisions, and has a deep understanding of institutional development and governance issues.
Learning Outcomes
- To develop critical thinking about public policy issues and the ability to conduct in-depth analyses of social, political, and economic structures and bureaucratic processes
- To recognize and articulate how public policy issues are defined and framed within the context of a given discipline
- To analyze public problems and evaluate policy alternatives against criteria such as equity, efficiency, and effectiveness
- To develop an understanding of the political institutions that make public policy and of the non-governmental entities that influence policymaking
- To develop an understanding of specific policy areas, problems, and policy alternatives
Lecture Plan
| Week | Topic | Reading Material |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to Public Policy Process | Smith & Larimer, Chapter 3: “Who makes decisions? How do they make decisions? Actors and Institutions“ |
| Week 2 | Institutional Analysis and Development Framework |
Smith & Larimer, Chapter 3: “Where does policy come from? The Policy Process” Mumtaz & Ali (2019). “Adaptive Governance and Subnational Climate Change Policy…” Basurto, X (2005). “How locally designed Access and Use Controls can prevent the Tragedy of Commons…” |
| Week 3 |
Collective Action Quiz 1 |
Thomas Dietz, Elinor Ostrom, Paul C. Stern, The Struggle to Govern the Commons. Science. Olken and Singhal (2011). “Informal Taxation” American Econonomic Journal: Applied Economics. Banerjee, Banerji, et al. (2008): “Pitfalls of Participatory Programs: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in India” |
| Week 4 | Corruption |
Chaudhury, Hammer, et al.: “Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries” Khwaja, Asim Ijaz, and Atif Mian. “Do Lenders Favor Politically Connected Firms?…” Bertrand, Djankov, et al. 2007. “Obtaining a Driver’s License in India: An Experimental Approach…” |
| Week 5 | Accountability |
Bjorkman, Martina and Jakob Svensson (2009). “Power to the People: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment…” Tahir Andrabi, Jishnu Das and Asim Ijaz Khwaja. “Report Cards: The Impact of Providing School and Child Test-scores on Educational Markets” |
| Week 6 |
The role of leaders and Democratic Institutions Quiz 2 |
Jones, Benjamin F. and Benjamin A. Olken. “Do Leaders Matter? National Leadership and Growth Since World War II.” Meltzer, Allan H., and Scott F. Richards. “A Rational Theory of the Size of Government.” Pande, Rohini. “Can Mandated Political Representation Increase Policy Influence for Disadvantaged Minorities.” |
| Week 7 | Reforming Institutions |
Reforming Institutions: Where to Begin, by Dr. Idrees Khawaja and Sajawal Khan (2009) Musharraf Rasool Cyan (2006). Main Issues for Setting the Civil Service Reform Agenda in Pakistan. A discussion on World Governance Indicators: worldbank.org |
| Week 8 | Presentations | Students will present their work on knowledge briefs. |
| Mid Term Examination | ||
| Week 9 | Understanding Institutions |
Douglas C. North (1991). Institutions. Acemoglu and Robinson. Institutions as a fundamental cause of long run growth. |
| Week 10 | The Opportunity in Cities / Modern Cities Inclusiveness |
Contextualizing Pakistani Cities (Book by Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque, Ed. Zoya Ali) |
| Week 11 | The Mantra of Rapid Economic Transformation OR Recipe to stay stagnant. Insights for Pakistan | How Asia Works by Joe Studwell. A book about how rapid economic transformation is, or is not, achieved. |
| Week 12 | Learning from the Best Systems of the World | Documentary: “Where to invade next?” by Michael Moore, followed by an interactive discussion exploring best practices in governance worldwide. |
| Week 13 | Insights into proposed institutional fixes for Pakistan’s better future | PIDE’s Charter of Economy |
| Week 14 | Fiscal Federalism and Resource Distribution | PIDE Discourse Magazine on the same topic. |
| Week 15 | New Initiatives and a discussion on Governance Issues of Pakistan | URAAN Pakistan, PIDE Reform Agenda |
| Week 16 | Presentations | |
| Final Term Examination | ||
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