88093 - POLICY DESIGN IN PROSPETTIVA COMPARATA

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the students: have acquired a fine-grained knowledge of the main theoretical and methodological constitutive elements of the policy design approaches; have acquired a deep knowledge of the policy instruments approach; know in a detailed way the characteristics of the policy design in comparative perspective in at least two policy fields; can critically analyze the processes of policy design; can set up a research project on comparative policy design; are able to elaborate policy reccommendations and reports

Course contents

This course  is a "structured seminar" (see below in Teaching Methods) that focuses on policy design intended as an approach through which policies can be not only analyzed and explained but also consciously designed. The course is divided in two parts. In the first part students will be given the main theoretical concepts and frameworks of the policy design approach.. The main questions addressed will be: What is Policy Design? Who Designs Public Policies? Why Do They Do It? How and When Do Designs Come About? What is Good Policy Design? How Do We Know? How Should the Design of Specific Policies be Evaluated? Can the Design of Public Policies be Improved to Solve Complex Problems? Particular analytical attention will be devoted to which actors design and to which kind of policy instruments policy designers have at their disposal to deal with collective problems.

The second part of the course will be devoted to the empirical application of the policy design approach to the comparative analysis in two sectors: higher education policy and the policies adopted by governments to respond to the  pandemic caused by Covid19

Readings/Bibliography

Theoretical readings

• Howlett, M. and Mukherjee, I. (eds). Handbook of Policy Formulation, Edward Elgar, 2017.
• Howlett, M. and Mukherjee, I. (eds). Routledge Handbook of Policy Design. Routledge, 2018.

• Capano, G. (2019) Reconceptualizing Layering. From mode of institutional change to mode of institutional design: Types and outputs. Public Administration, 97(3), 590-604.
• Capano, G., and A. Lippi. (2017) How Policy Instruments are Chosen: Patterns of Decision Makers’ Choices. Policy Sciences 50 (2): 269–93.
• Capano, G. e JJ. Woo (2017) Designing policy robustness: outputs and processes. Policy and Society 37(4), pp.422-440.
• Capano G. e Howlett M. (2020) The Knowns and Unknowns of Policy Instrument Analysis: Policy Tools and the Current Research Agenda on Policy Mixes, SAGE OPEN, 10(1) pp. 1 – 13.
• Craft, Jonathan, and Michael Howlett. “Policy Formulation, Governance Shifts and Policy Influence: Location and Content in Policy Advisory Systems.” Journal of Public Policy 32, no. 2 (2012): 79–98. doi:10.1017/S0143814X12000049.
• Dryzek, J. S., and B. Ripley. “The Ambitions of Policy Design.” Policy Studies Review 7, no. 4 (1988): 705–19.
• Bobrow, Davis. “Policy Design: Ubiquitous, Necessary and Difficult.” In Handbook of Public Policy, edited by B. Guy Peters and Jon Pierre, 75–96. SAGE, 2006.
• Howlett, M. “Managing the ‘Hollow State’: Procedural Policy Instruments and Modern Governance.” Canadian Public Administration 43, no. 4 (2000): 412–31.
• Howlett, M (2011) Designing Public Policies: Principles and Instruments, New York: Routledge
• Howlett, Michael, and Raul Lejano. “Tales from the Crypt: The Rise and Fall (and Re-Birth?) Of Policy Design Studies.” Administration & Society 45, no. 3 (2013): 356–80.
• Ingram, H. and Schneider, A.I. (1990) The Behavioral Assumptions of Policy Tools. The Journal of Politics, 52(02), pp. 510–529.
• Lascoumes, P. and P. Le Galès (2004), Gouverner par les instruments, Paris: Presse de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques.
• Lascoumes P., and P. Le Galès (2007), ‘Understanding public policy through its instruments. From the nature of instruments to the sociology of public policy instrumentation’, Governance 20(1): 1–21.
• Linder, S. H., and B. G. Peters. “From Social Theory to Policy Design.” Journal of Public Policy 4, no. 3 (1984): 237–59.
• McDonnell, L. M. and Elmore, R.F. (1987) Getting the Job Done: Alternative Policy Instruments. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 9(2), 133−152.
• Mintrom, Michael, and Joannah Luetjens. “Design Thinking in Policymaking Processes: Opportunities and Challenges.” Australian Journal of Public Administration 75, no. 3 (September 1, 2016): 391–402.
• Salamon, L.M. (2000) The New Governance and the Tools of Public Action: An Introduction. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 28(5), 1611-1674
• Schneider, A., and H. Ingram. “Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy.” American Political Science Review 87, no. 2 (1993): 334–47.
• Simons, Arno and Jan-Peter Voss. “Policy Instrument Constituencies.” In Handbook of Policy Formulation, edited by Michael Howlett and Ishani Mukherjee, 355–72. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2017.
• -van der Doelen F. (1998) The ‘give-and-take’ packaging of policy instruments: optimising legitimacy and effectiveness. In Carrots, Sticks and Sermons: Policy Instruments and Their Evaluation, Bemelmans-Videc M-L, Rist R, Vedung E (eds). Transaction: New Brunswick. 129–146.
• Vedung, E. (1998) Policy Instruments: Typologies and Theories. In M.L. Bemelmans-Videc, R.C. Rist and E. Vedung (eds.), Carrots, Sticks, and Sermons: Policy Instruments and Their Evaluation. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, pp. 21–58.

Readings on comparative higher education policy

• Capano, Giliberto. 2011. Government Continues to Do Its Job. A Comparative Study of Governance Shifts in the Higher Education Sector. Public Administration 89(4):1622–1642.
• Capano, Giliberto, and Marino Regini. 2014. Governance Reforms and Organizational Dilemmas in European Universities . Comparative Education Review 56(1):73–103.
• Capano, Giliberto (2018) Policy design spaces in reforming governance in higher education: the dynamics in Italy and the Netherlands, Higher Education, 75(5), pp.675-694
• Capano, Giliberto; Pritoni, Andrea, Varieties of hybrid systemic governance in European Higher Education, «HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY», 2019, 73, pp. 10 – 28
• Capano, Giliberto, Pritoni, Andrea e Vicentini, Giulia, 2019. "Do Policy Instruments Matter? Governments’ choice of policy mix and higher education performance in Western Europe. Journal of Public Policy, published online first, 5 March 2019 doi:10.1017/S0143814X19000047
• Capano, Giliberto; Pritoni, Andrea (2020) What Really Happens in Higher Education Governance? Trajectories of adopted policy instruments in Higher Education over time in 16 European Countries. Higher Education, published in early view 4 May, DOI: 10.1007/s10734-020-00529-y
• Dobbins, Michael, and Christoph Knill. 2014. Higher Education Governance and Policy Change in Western Europe. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Enders, Jurgen, Harry De Boer, and ElkeWeyer. 2013. Regulatory Autonomy and Performance: The Reform of Higher Education Revisited. Higher Education, 65(1): 5–23.
• Huisman, Jeroen, eds. 2009. International Perspectives on the Governance of Higher Education. London: Routledge.
• Williams, Ross, Gaetan de Rassenfosse, Paul Jensen and Simon Marginson. 2013. The Determinants of Quality National Higher Education Systems. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 35(6), 599–611.

Readings on governmental responses to Covid19 crisis

The 11 articles included in the no. 3/2020 of the  journal Policy & Society (https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rpas20/current)

Teaching methods

The course is designed as a "structured seminar"

The course lasts 30 class hours, plus 10  hours (only online) devoted to support students in their activities related to the preparation of presentations, papers and working groups.

The main organizational features of the  course are as follows:

1. One  3-hours class per week

2. Except the  first, introductory,  every class will devote 2 hours to partecipatory activities of the  students, while in the third hour the teacher will introduce the topics and the readings of the  following week

3. Each student is assumed to be very pro-active in preparing the classes

4. Students will prepare 3 short papers during the course, in which they will asked to show their capacity to critically assess the  treated and discussed topics.

The course will be held "in presence" (if the health conditions will allow it).

In any case, the attendance only in sync will be guaranteed (MS TEAMS).

The detailed syllabus containing all the topics, activities and related specific reading of the course will be presented during the first introductory class

 

 

Assessment methods

Students’ learning will be assessed in the following way:

• quality of in class presentations (30%)
• quality of in class participation (20%)
• quality of the 3 short papers (50%)

Teaching tools

Web resources

Office hours

See the website of Giliberto Capano