SA4M4E      Half Unit
Policy Appraisal and Impact Assessment

This information is for the 2016/17 session.

Teacher responsible

Séverine Toussaert

Availability

This course is compulsory on the Executive MSc in Behavioural Science. This course is not available as an outside option.

Course content

This course aims to introduce students to the main concepts and tools of policy appraisal and project impact assessment. The course covers the following topics: 1) Architecture of Cost-benefit analysis for market and non-market goods; 2) Elicitation of monetary values through revealed and stated preference methods; 3) Adjustments for time discounting, risk and uncertainty; 4) Welfare analysis of policy interventions: efficiency, equity and asymmetric paternalism; 5) Evaluating welfare beyond monetary choices: the subjective well-being approach to valuation. The course offers practical examples and applications to key policy sectors, such as health and the environment.

 

Teaching

17 hours and 30 minutes of lectures and 5 hours of seminars in the LT.

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 1 piece of coursework in the LT.

Indicative reading

• HM Treasury (2011) The Green Book: Appraisal and policy evaluation in central government. London, UK.

• Ahuja A., Baird S., Hicks J.H., Kremer M., Miguel E., and Powers S. (2015), “When Should Governments Subsidize Health? The Case of Mass Deworming,” World Bank Economic Review, 1-16.

• Bayoumi A. M. (2004), “The Measurement of Contingent Valuation for Health Economics,” Pharmacoeconomics; 22 (11): 691-700.

• List J.A., Berrens R.P., Bohara A.K., Kerkvliet J. (2004), “Examining the Role of Social Isolation of Stated Preferences,” American Economic Review, 94(3), 741-752.

• Diamond P.A. and Hausman J.A. (1994), “Contingent valuation: Is some number better than no number?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8: 45-64.

• Bernheim D. and Rangel A. (2008), “Behavioral Public Economics”

• Allcott H. and Sunstein C.R. (2015), “Regulating Internalities,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 1–8.

• Gruber, J.H., and Mullainathan S. (2005), “Do Cigarette Taxes Make Smokers Happier?”, B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy: Advances 5 (1): 1-43.

Assessment

Take home exam (100%) in the ST.

Key facts

Department: Social Policy

Total students 2015/16: Unavailable

Average class size 2015/16: Unavailable

Controlled access 2015/16: No

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Leadership
  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Application of information skills
  • Communication
  • Application of numeracy skills
  • Commercial awareness
  • Specialist skills