DAVID P. CARTER

Public Policy Theory & Application 

This course is an introduction to the critical examination of policy making in democratic societies. The course covers several theoretical approaches as “lenses” through which public policy problems and processes can be analyzed and understood, such as policy diffusion, social construction and policy design theory, and policy feedback.

Public Policy Analysis 

This course provides an introduction to public policy analysis. Topics include the ideal and actual roles of policy analysis in policy processes, assessment of data and evidence during execution of policy analysis, and traditional policy analysis methods (e.g.: cost-benefit analysis), as well as alternative approaches (e.g.: stakeholder analysis, gender analysis, race analysis, etc.).

Research Design

This course introduces the fundamentals of research design in the social sciences. The course takes students through the entire research design process, from developing research questions to selecting and executing various data collection and analysis methods. The course’s overarching goal is to prepare students to critically process, generate, and communicate public affairs research.

Governance & the Economy 

This course provides an introduction to how government actions affect the economy - and vice versa. The course emphasizes the intertwined relationship between government actions and economic activity, and how governance choices result in both desired and unintended consequences for economic markets and citizens.