MARSHALL, IL BROWNFIELD/SUPERFUND SITE PROJECT

Abstract

This course will examine modern public policymaking in the United States. We will examine the different forms that policy can take and how each branch of government can leave a lasting impact on policy. The course will investigate the environment in which policy in the U.S. is shaped and the key official and unofficial actors involved. The course will investigate how public policy issues are defined and earn a place on the policy agenda. The remainder of the course will focus on various criteria for evaluating policy: effectiveness, efficiency, equity, liberty, security, and resilience. The manner in which policy often requires trade-offs between these values will be discussed, as will the tension between evidence-based and value-based policy analysis. These issues will be addressed through a combination of guided class discussion and an on-going in-class simulation covering policy development and implementation.