Fall, 4.0 credits, Jo Ivey Boufford
Cross-listed with P11.2244 (Wagner)
Traditionally, governments have the ultimate responsibility for assuring the conditions for their people to be as healthy as they can be. As our understanding of the multiple determinants of health has dramatically expanded, exercising this responsibility calls for a national health policy that goes beyond planning for the personal health care system and addresses broader issues of education, economic development, and environment among others and raises the important issue of equity within the country and their relative contributions to the health of populations.
In the face of this added complexity, countries, especially developing countries and those in transition, face challenges to their national health strategies from the effects of globalization and global decision making on issues that affect health. Government leaders must not only address health problems within their borders, but those that come across their borders, whether specific diseases like HIV/AIDS , avian influenza, or the pressures of the global labor market that lead to movement of health professionals seeking better pay and working conditions from the developing to the developed world. After discussing definitions of health in international agreements and the general influences of globalization on health and health equity, the course will explore the roles and responsibilities of national health leadership, primarily Ministries of Health, in assuring the health of their populations and the different strategies and variable capacity of national governments in developed, developing and countries in transition. We will then explore in some depth the role, functions and effectiveness of global organizations affecting health in the UN, NGO and business sectors as well as multilateral and bilateral donors and how they interact with each other and with national leadership. Finally we will look at emerging instruments for global health governance, how they operate and their effectiveness for promoting health action at the country level.

Fall/Spring/Summer, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2171 (Wagner); Prerequisite U10.2995, course in microeconomics strongly encouraged
Program evaluation is a critical component in designing and operating effective programs. Evaluations supply information to policymakers and program managers that can assist them in making decisions about which programs to fund, modify, expand or eliminate. Evaluation can be an accountability tool for program managers and funders. This course serves as an introduction to evaluation methodology and evaluation tools commonly used to assess publicly funded programs. Students will become familiar with the concepts, methods and applications of evaluation research; learn how to read evaluation research critically; understand how to use evaluation results to anticipate or improve program performance; and be able to propose an appropriate evaluation plan to assess the implementation and effectiveness of a program.

Fall/Spring, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2875 (Wagner); Prerequisite U10.2371, U10.2995
This course covers selected analytic and design issues that are relevant to policy research and program evaluation. The course is not a comprehensive or exhaustive review of the field of policy-relevant research or program evaluation, nor is it a course in how to evaluate a program. The focus is on impact analysis (rather than process evaluation, performance monitoring, cost effectiveness analysis, or evaluation synthesis) To that end, there is a substantial amount of data analysis both in and out of class. There is also a significant amount of new statistical material presented. All of this is done using real world examples, to solidify the base as you build your career as a practitioner and consumer of the research that informs public policy.

Spring [alternating years], 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2852 (Wagner); prerequisite U10.2110, microeconomics encouraged
We tend to be ethnocentric in our views of health care organization and policy. A look abroad, however, can provide insights about problems at home. In spite of differences in the organization and financing of their health care systems, most countries share a number of common problems with the United States. First, is the question of deciding - or not explicitly deciding - what proportion of GNP should be devoted to health and welfare. Second, is the problem of agreeing on appropriate criteria to allocate health and social service expenditures. Third, is the problem of how to implement established policies: through regulation, promotion of competition, budgeting, or reimbursement incentives directed at health care providers. In this class, students will be asked to become "experts" about a health system of their choice outside the United States but in a nation belonging to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Students with a special interest in developing nations and the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe may choose to become an expert in a second health system, as well, but all students must choose one relatively wealthy nation that they can compare to the United States. We will examine a range of health systems with respect to their own published data, as well as data collected and analyses conducted by international organizations, e.g. the World Health Organization (WHO), OECD, the World Bank, and UNICEF. The readings, lectures and class discussions will focus on the common problems and themes noted above as they affect the organization and financing of health systems in wealthy OECD nations. We begin with a discussion of the impact of globalization on health system development and an overview of health system models around the world. Second, we examine conceptual frameworks and methods for health systems analysis, and a range of myths about health systems with universal coverage. Third, and this is the heart of the class, we apply these approaches to the empirical analysis of health systems in selected nations and examine the extent to which the available evidence supports or refutes these myths. Throughout the class, we will also consider issues of medicine, culture and public health infrastructure; and the strengths and weaknesses of alternative methods of comparative analysis in cross-national research.

Fall/Spring, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2214 (Wagner); prerequisite U10.2110, microeconomics encouraged
This course is required for all students in the international specialization in both the PNP and HPAM programs. The course provides an introduction to the current thinking and practice of public sector institutional reform with a particular focus on developing and in-transition countries. Part-time students should plan to take this course next year when it will be offered in both the fall and spring semesters; at least one of the two sections will be offered in an evening time slot. The bulk of the course is devoted to an examination of key institutional reforms that are intended to promote good governance as economies liberalize and societies democratize. Major topics include institutional restructuring, civil service reform, anti-corruption, fiscal framework reform, citizen engagement mechanisms, public-private partnerships, performance evaluation and change management. In addition, the role of development aid and the institutions that provide it in supporting institutional reform are covered. The course concludes with a synthetic review of the topics covered and a case study exercise.

Spring [alternating years], 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2852 (Wagner); prerequisite U10.2110, microeconomics encouraged
We tend to be ethnocentric in our views of health care organization and policy. A look abroad, however, can provide insights about problems at home. In spite of differences in the organization and financing of their health care systems, most countries share a number of common problems with the United States. First, is the question of deciding - or not explicitly deciding - what proportion of GNP should be devoted to health and welfare. Second, is the problem of agreeing on appropriate criteria to allocate health and social service expenditures. Third, is the problem of how to implement established policies: through regulation, promotion of competition, budgeting, or reimbursement incentives directed at health care providers. In this class, students will be asked to become "experts" about a health system of their choice outside the United States but in a nation belonging to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Students with a special interest in developing nations and the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe may choose to become an expert in a second health system, as well, but all students must choose one relatively wealthy nation that they can compare to the United States. We will examine a range of health systems with respect to their own published data, as well as data collected and analyses conducted by international organizations, e.g. the World Health Organization (WHO), OECD, the World Bank, and UNICEF. The readings, lectures and class discussions will focus on the common problems and themes noted above as they affect the organization and financing of health systems in wealthy OECD nations. We begin with a discussion of the impact of globalization on health system development and an overview of health system models around the world. Second, we examine conceptual frameworks and methods for health systems analysis, and a range of myths about health systems with universal coverage. Third, and this is the heart of the class, we apply these approaches to the empirical analysis of health systems in selected nations and examine the extent to which the available evidence supports or refutes these myths. Throughout the class, we will also consider issues of medicine, culture and public health infrastructure; and the strengths and weaknesses of alternative methods of comparative analysis in cross-national research.

Spring [alternating years], 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2867 (Wagner)
All health systems in the industrialized world are grappling with problems of cost, access, equity and quality of health care, and the tradeoffs between these objectives. Reforms based on promoting markets, managed competition, public contracting, improved management, and changing financial incentives are some important issues under discussion in many countries. This seminar applies the tools of public policy analysis and draws on international comparisons of health systems to analyze efforts at health care reform. The readings, lectures, and class discussions should make students more knowledgeable about policy options and policy changes in different countries. The seminar begins with an examination of the key problems in the financing and organization of health systems. Next we focus on ideas, concepts, and theories of health care reform. We then go on to study concrete proposals, as well as implementation of health care reform in the United States and abroad in the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Fall/Spring, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2230 (Wagner); prerequisites U10.2995 and course in microeconomics
This course takes up issues of economic growth and social change in a comparative perspective. While some countries have achieved unprecedented rates of economic growth in the past half century, other countries have experienced setbacks. For those that have seen rapid growth, economic changes have not always translated in proportional social changes and sometimes rapid social changes have occurred in the absence of economic growth. The course begins by reviewing theories of economic growth and recent evidence. In that context, attention then turns to policy interventions to improve education, address market failures, confront rapid population growth, and strengthen safety nets.

Spring, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2665 (Wagner); prerequisites U10.2110
This class presents an overview of the theory and practice of planning in developing countries. A central theme is that the structure of a planning system and its success in producing good results depends heavily on the economic, political, institutional, and cultural context of a particular country. Conceptual planning models are considered and evaluated, but the focus of the class is on analyzing how planning systems can work effectively in different country contexts. Detailed case studies drawn from the work of the Institute of Public Administration and exercises based on these cases are an integral part of the class.

Fall/Spring, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2411 (Wagner); prerequisites U10.2110
This course addresses the dual issues of the nature of the policy-making process and the role of analytic activity in that process. It identifies hypotheses about the conditions under which analysis is most and least likely to have an impact on policy outcomes and the kinds of analysis that are most appropriately prepared for different types of political circumstances. Students use case studies of important federal, state, and local decisions to examine the validity of hypotheses presented by political scientists and to develop their own judgment about how to best apply analytic resources.

Fall/Spring, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2228 (Wagner); prerequisites U10.2110, U10.2314, microeconomics
This course provides students with a rich sense of the institutional and political context within which policy is made and implemented. The course aims to give students exposure to important ongoing debates in international development and their historical context. The class will provide an overview of some of the major contemporary analytical and policy debates regarding the politics of development. Topics to be covered are: States, Regimes and Industrialization; Politics of Poverty, Growth and Policy Reform; Governance, Civil Society and Development; and The Politics of Development in the Age of Globalization.

Fall, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2221 (Wagner)
This course examines the need for humanitarian care during conflict situations, the role of NGOs and public and international organizations in delivering political, social, and physical services. Topics focus on strengthening governance and participation, supporting democratic values, restoring basic respect for human rights, reducing poverty and balancing scarce economic opportunities, rebuilding and establishing infrastructure, as well as many others.

Fall/Spring, 2.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.4205 (Wagner); prerequisite U10.2301
Beyond the basics of negotiation lie areas of greater complexity. One such area is the realm of culture, encompassing the cross-cultural (attempting from one cultural perspective to understand or describe another), the intercultural (the interplay of cultures) and the transcultural (aspects of negotiation that are common to all cultures or, in intercultural situations, transcend them). Culture can be thought of in terms of both the relatively simple, though not unimportant, aspect of etiquette and behavior, and the more complex and profound aspect of consciousness and worldview. In the first segment of the course, we will consider a framework of cultural variables that comprise or underlie negotiation styles; and then, by way of looking at one culture in particular in greater depth, contrast four efforts to understand Chinese negotiation practices; and, finally, look at implications for the practitioner.

Fall/Spring/Summer, 2.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.4201 (Wagner)
Through readings, discussions, case studies, and role plays, students develop an understanding of the role of conflict and its dynamics; strategies for eliciting cooperation; the fundamentals of negotiation; the variety of conflict resolution approaches used to overcome the common barriers to negotiated resolution of conflict; communication skills; and strategies for dealing with public controversy. This course emphasizes both the theoretical and the practical. Students are encouraged to apply the principles and methods of effective conflict resolution to their own professional lives.

Fall/Spring, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2135 (Wagner); prerequisite Intro-level management course
Designed for public and non-profit managers rather than human resource professionals, this course gives a broad overview of HR dynamics and responsibilities. It will cover basic HR functions such as recruitment, career development, performance appraisal and rewards, providing feedback and job design. It will also explore current issues within HR management, which could include diversity and identity at work, the role of unions, or other topics. The course will include practical application through case discussions and reflection on students work experiences. While it will focus on values-based organizations, it will compare HR practices in the public, non-profit and for-profit sectors.

Fall, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2652 (Wagner); prerequisites Ð microeconomics and financial management
Projects are key instruments of development administration in developing countries and a widely used modality of international development assistance. The course will focus on public investment projects, with emphasis on urban and rural infrastructure and introduce students to the management of the project cycle, the logical framework approach to project planning and the techniques of financial and economic appraisal of investment projects, including risk analysis and the assessment of distributional effects and impact on poverty.

Fall, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2211 (Wagner); prerequisite U10.2314
This course examines the inner workings of successful international public service projects and gives students the opportunity to design one or more themselves. Students will then study the characteristics of effective programs, which bring together a series of projects for mutually supportive and concerted action. Particular attention is paid to programs selected from the five areas where international public sector entities are most active: peace building, relief, development, advocacy and norm-setting. Case studies will be used in each of these areas to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between policy and implementation.

Fall/Spring/Summer, 4.0 credits
Cross-listed with P11.2110 (Wagner)
This course examines management theory and practice through a framework involving strategic thinking and strategic planning. It covers a number of important management topics, including the context of strategy, leadership, managerial uses of structure and design, and performance. Case studies of managerial practice in the public and nonprofit sectors are used throughout the course.