Track Public Policy & Management Rationale Economists and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Track Public Policy & Management

Faculty of Economics & Business 2

Rationale

Source: Porter, Michael E. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. Basingstoke : Macmillan.

• Economists and managerial approaches of

business put great weight on state action and the polity

• Doing business is to a large extent determined

by government action

• Porter’s Diamond Model may serve as an

illustration

Faculty of Economics & Business 3

Rationale

• Two elementary motivations

1. Understand policy effects on business: ‘doing business’ 2. Work for government / non-profit / lobbying: ‘doing policy (influence)’

• Basic goal: hands-on knowledge and skills to understand, manage, and

evaluate policy: Generic in areas of public policy, with stress on socio-economic issues Specific economic and economists’ perspective Tailor programme to your prospective career

Faculty of Economics & Business 4

Rationale

1. Doing business

• Starting point: underestimation of the role of

public sphere in business

• Learn to understand the economic and

business relevance of government 2. Doing policy

• Starting point: general dearth of economic /

managerial background in public sector

• Also: influencing policy
• Learn about policy, evaluation of programs,

and policy management

Faculty of Economics & Business 5

Future career opportunities

• Prepares students for positions that relate to public administration

Corporate: sectors that strongly depend on policy (from real estate over healthcare to the military) Management in business demanding some insight in government functioning In public administration (EU, international, national, local) Applied research for public administrations (consulting) Lobbying Business or non-profit jobs interacting with / servicing public administrations

• Depending on your ambitions, we advise to fine-tune your profile with a

strategic choice of electives (12 study points)

• Opportunity to study European institutions and decision-making

• Three courses (6 credits each) are compulsory

I. Economics of the public sector II. Policy Evaluation III. Policy, Economy, and Society

• All make use of (partial) continuous assessment

(paper, presentations, reviewing fellow students’ work, class discussions)

• Semester 1 courses: also written exam
• Professors: policy-oriented research profile,

quite a bit of hands-on advisory policy experience

Courses: core

SEMESTER 1 I. Economics of the Public Sector (prof. M. Maes & T. Van Puyenbroeck)  Economic framework for government interference in a market economy, as well as potential reasons for government failure  Discussion of typical (EU/national) budget framework and components  Measurement and evaluation of redistributive effects & welfare costs of taxes and subsidies, sustainability of public debt, fiscal federalism,… II. Policy Evaluation (prof. Nick Deschacht)  Hands-on discussion of contemporary methods for policy debates  Case-based  Goal: application and critical evaluation of evidence-based policy methods

Courses: core

Courses: core

SEMESTER 2 III. Policy, Economy, and Society (prof. Stef Adriaenssens & Dieter Verhaest)  Learn about policy in action  Applies knowledge and skills acquired in 1st-semester courses  Focuses on ‘what works’ (what works not), and on the management and design dimension of policy  5 diverse substantial policy themes discussed with

• Ex cathedra introduction (assessment: quiz)
• Presentation of 1-2 crucial research papers by students (assessment:

presentation and discussion quality)

• Review by other student (assessment: quality of review)

Depending on your orientation, you choose two more courses (2*6 credits). Some suggestions (5): I. Standard ‘European’ orientation  European Institutions and Decision Making (sem. 1) General outline of the architecture of European institutions → Alternative, oriented to more than the EU: International and European relations (sem. 1)  European Affairs Management (sem. 2) Hands-on discussion about organizing influence in EU institutions II. Environmental policy  Sustainable Management (sem. 1)  Sustainable Economics (sem. 2) Both courses from the track in the MA Sustainability Management

Courses: electives

III. Orientation public finance & accounting  Advanced Financial Statement Analysis (sem. 1)  Management Control and Cost Management (sem. 2) Both courses from the track in the MA Accounting IV. Data analysis option  Predictive Business Analytics (sem. 1, elective)  Data Management and Business Intelligence (sem. 1, BIM)  … or econometrics / methodology course in Leuven campus V. ‘Free as a bird’-option  Choose any 12 credits in FEB-courses at MA level

Courses: electives

• We advise students to apply and sharpen their acquired skills and

knowledge in their thesis

• This is not compulsory, though
• Preferred format: article
• We will provide a sufficient number of thesis topics related to policy and

policy management, e.g.  Studying the effect of a certain policy measure  Ex-ante empirical research (e.g. discrete choice experiment)  Literature review (systematic review, meta-analysis) of a specific field or set of measures

Master Thesis

• Examples of master thesis topics:

 Differences in overeducation across countries: the role of public and private investments in higher education  ‘Squeeze ‘em till they squeak’? A natural experiment in tax compliance, enforcement, and government legitimacy  The European Social Progress Index: Sensitivity Analysis and Conditional Benchmarking  Can policy influence attitudes and norms? The case of affirmative action in employment  The labour market effects of the Belgian tax regime for company cars: an evaluation  Labour market participation of mothers and fathers: an instrumental variable study  The economic effects of crime: solving the crime-poverty conundrum

Master Thesis

More information required? stef.adriaenssens@kuleuven.be

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