Public Policy and Economic Analysis

Author: Zhang Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: "Public Policy and Economic Analysis" is one of the foundational courses in public policy programs in North American universities, and its name often varies. For example, at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, a similar course is titled "Market Failure and Microeconomics"; at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, it is called "The Economics of Policy Analysis"; at Indiana University Bloomington's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, it is named "The Political Economy Approach to Public Policy Analysis"; and in other public policy programs, similar courses may be titled "Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy" or "Policy Analysis and Microeconomics." In reality, as economics itself evolves, the influence of economic methodology on public policy analysis also advances in step. Continuously incorporating cutting-edge research findings from the development of economics is the essence of this course's development. Therefore, the design of the "Public Policy and Economic Analysis" course, drawing on advanced domestic and international experiences and lessons, boldly innovates. On one hand, it aims to overcome the overemphasis on theoretical elaboration in domestic public policy analysis; on the other hand, it seeks to address the excessive focus on technical methods in international public policy analysis. The course attempts to combine the strengths of both domestic and international public policy analysis, integrating the value concepts of public policy with the technical methods of economic analysis.