08641 - Public Policy Theory

Learning outcomes

The main goal of the course is twofold. On the  one hand it is committed to present the essential concepts and theoretical frameworks of public policy  conceived as an autonomous perspective to study politics; on the other hand the course will give the students teh knowledge and the skills needed to reconstruct and analyze the dynamics of policy-making Students are expected to acquire the knowledge needed to understand the fetaures and the rationalities of policy.making. Special focus will be given to social policies.

Course contents

The course presents the multi-faceted theoretical complexity of public policy. This theoretical perspective of studying politics is different formn the traditional one adopted by traditional political science. In fact, political science focuses on the functional role of institutions and organizations (governments, parliaments, political parties, interest groups, bureaucracies) or on specifical social behaviours which strongly influence political decisions (electoral behaviour, public opinion attitudes, political culture, while Public Policy focuses on the sudy of policy-making. Public Policy focuses its analytical attention on: 'what governments either do or not do";  the process and the interactions of  actors - private and public - interested in solving a collective problem or in gaining some some advantage; the collective puzzlement to find out solutions to problems perceived as collective; the way through which public values and good are allocated, distributed, resistributed. In other words, Public Policy by focusing on the intrinsic dynamics of political phenomenon studies politics in action.

Readings/Bibliography

G. CAPANO e M. GIULIANI ( a cura di), Dizionario di Politiche Pubbliche, Roma, NIS, 1996.

M. HOWLETT e M. RAMESH, Studiare le politiche pubbliche, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003.

M.FERRERA, Le Politiche Sociali, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2012.

Teaching methods

The course is divided in three parts.

In the first one (20 hours) traditional lecturing will be offered, even if with some moments of direct involvment od students' participation.

In teh second part (20 hours) traditional lecturing will focus on policy actors, instruments and typologies. 

In the third part (10 hours), students will be asked to do practical work together to elaborate some case studies, and the present and discuss them in class

Assessment methods

Grades are based on:

30% for the mid-term written examination

30%  for a paper focused on a specific policy field

40%  for the final oral examination

Office hours

See the website of David Natali