This required course for GHP students explores how we study the distribution and determinants of disease, introducing methods for measuring health status, disease occurrence, the association between risk factors and health outcomes, probing evidence for causality, and characterizing how ecology shapes human health. Emphasis on: study design and sampling, bias and confounding, the generalizability of research, identifying causality, infectious disease dynamics, global health.

This course introduces major theories of international relations, uses them to explain historical events from 10,000 BC to the present, and investigates contemporary policy issues such as human rights, terrorism, US foreign policy, climate change and global environmental regulation. The course also trains students how to write academic analyses, policy memos and media opinion pieces, thus preparing them for more specialized courses and research in international relations, as well as jobs in foreign policy.

This course will engage broad questions of how racial politics has impacted democratic health in the United States. Students will design and collect data on measures of racial climate and access to democratic institutions. Students will gain direct training in how to collect original data with an opportunity to visit a government archive and compile novel datasets on race and democracy in the United States.

This course will focus on the state's role in promoting economic growth and distribution in the developing world. The core organizing question for the course is: why have some regions of the developing world been more successful at industrialization and/or poverty alleviation than other regions. The students will learn about the patterns of development in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with special attention to such countries as China, India, South Korea, Nigeria and Brazil. General challenges that face all developing countries - globalization, establishing democracy and ethnic fragmentation - will also be analyzed.

This course forms part of the political economy core, and it introduces political economy models in the context of comparative politics. The course will emphasize the interaction between political institutions and economic goals and it will illustrate the application of the analytical and empirical methods developed in the other core courses in political economy. The course will apply the tools of political economy to understand the reasons for the differences among countries' levels of economic and political development, and to explain the interconnectedness of political and economic outcomes.

This course will examine where and why women and men are not treated equally, how gender inequality impacts human welfare and development, and what works to minimize gender inequality in the Global South. This course will introduce students to cutting-edge research on gender inequality in countries as diverse as India, China, South Korea, Brazil, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Mali, as well as the reasons why some government efforts to reduce gender inequality are successful while others fail or even backfire. The course will emphasize the importance of culture and norms.

A historical study of the politics of human rights. What are human rights? How have dictatorships been resisted from the inside and outside? What policies have been attempted during major historical cases of genocide and mass atrocity? How do war crimes tribunals function and have they made a difference? Historical cases include the Ottoman Empire, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, China, Imperial Japan, North Korea, Bosnia, and Rwanda.

This course explores the political relationship of the military to the state and to society. It introduces students to the core concepts of civil-military relations, including civilian control, professionalism, and military intervention. The course engages significant cases from global twentieth-century history and surveys contemporary military politics around the world. Topics include coups d'état, responses to protests, and democratic transitions.

While before the 1990s democracies typically died through military coups, since 2000 four out of every five instances of democratic decline is due to democratically elected leaders undermining the very institutions established to ensure their accountability (i.e., "democratic backsliding"). Today, approximately one-third of the global population lives in a country that was once well-functioning democracies but is now experiencing a decline in the fairness of elections, the independence of courts, and the respect of minority rights. This course familiarizes students with the cutting edge of the current democratic backsliding literature.

This course provides a broad introduction to qualitative research design and analysis techniques. Topics include small-n comparative case design, comparative-historical analysis, in-depth interviewing and ethnography. The core emphasis of the course is on application of these skills to students' own work, as well as engaging critically with qualitative work across

Who succeeds in school, and why? What do schools teach students, in addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic? What is the role of schools in modern society? How do schools reproduce, interrupt, or legitimate the social order? In this course, you will apply sociological perspectives to the study of education.

The course is an introduction to probability and statistical methods for social science research focused on public policy. Topics include data analysis, descriptive statistics, distributions, random variables, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, bivariate regression, and multiple regression. Examples will be discussed from tax, health, environment, energy, education, security, law, and other policy areas. Students will be introduced to the statistical software R. (No prior experience with statistics, programing or calculus is required)

The junior policy research seminar serves to introduce departmental majors to the tools, methods, and interpretations employed in policy research and writing. Students may choose from a range of topics.

In policy seminars students work in groups first formulating the general problem, then engaging in individual research on subtopics, and finally presenting their inferences for discussion and debate and producing a collective policy report.

Microeconomics studies individual choices under constraints, and how these interact with one another to produce economic outcomes. We focus on how microeconomics can help us understand the effects of alternative public policies. We begin by studying how individuals and firms make consumption, labor, and production decisions, how consumers and firms interact in a competitive market, and how taxes and regulations affect market outcomes. We then introduce Game Theory. We study imperfect competition, externalities and public goods, market failures, and the political economy of government intervention.

The standard model used in economics is that of perfectly rational agents endowed with unlimited cognitive resources. However, there are many cases in which human behavior systematically differ from this benchmark. The goal of this class is to discuss these cases: when do they tend to occur, what form do they take, how to model them. We will discuss how people relate to the presence of risk, intertemporal choice, fairness, complexity, etc. For each topic, we will discuss the empirical evidence and leading models. Overall, this class will offer an introduction to one of the most exciting areas of research in economics.

Grand strategy is the broad and encompassing policies and undertakings that political leaders pursue- financial, economic, military, diplomatic- to achieve their objectives in peacetime and in war. This course will examine the theory and practice of grand strategy both to illuminate how relations among city-states, empires, kingdoms and nation states have evolved over the centuries and also to identify some common challenges that have confronted all who seek to make and execute grand strategy from Pericles to Barack Obama.

Disruption across the globe has placed U.S. diplomacy in the spotlight What are the secrets to the art of diplomacy at the highest levels? What have been the great successes and failures of American statecraft? What is the proper role of the U.S. in the world today?

Since the end of World War II the developing world has experienced numerous violent conflicts. These conflicts often pit government and allied forces against those of relatively small armed groups, called "insurgents." This course will explore the roots of insurgency, the organization and tactics of insurgent groups (including the use of terrorism), counterinsurgency campaigns, and efforts at conflict resolution. It will focus on the conditions under which insurgents are most likely to prevail in their fight against better-resourced armed forces.

Introduction to communications policy and law, covering classical dilemmas and current controversies over the media, including such topics as freedom of the press, libel and privacy, the precarious economics of journalism, communications regulation, power of the giant tech platforms, and disinformation.

This course focuses on contextual factors, health actors and processes that are typical of policy development and implementation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We review health issues/outcomes across the lifespan and implications for health systems strategies, financing, organizational changes, and policy. We analyze political, bureaucratic and other influences on health policymaking, including by government, civil society, private sector, and global health institutions. The course will involve class discussion and lectures, in-class exercises, and review of academic literature and international and governmental reports.

This course covers policing in the United States as it intersects with constitutional rights and racial justice. Topics include studying the history of police institutions, from slave patrols to big city police departments; the constitutional framework for policing powers, including police use of force and search and seizure powers; various theories and tactics of policing, such as Broken Windows policing and other proactive policing strategies; policing practices in the context of schools, drug enforcement and immigration enforcement; and various models of police accountability and the challenges they face.

Prejudice is one of the most contentious topics in modern American society. There is debate regarding its causes, pervasiveness, and impact. This goal of this course is to familiarize students with the psychological research relevant to these questions. We will review theoretical perspectives on prejudice to develop an understanding of its cognitive, affective, and motivational underpinnings. We will also discuss how these psychological biases relate to evaluations of, and behavior toward, members of targeted groups. In addition, research-based strategies for reducing prejudice will be discussed.

This course examines the ways domestic US and international environmental regulatory frameworks adopt, interpret and otherwise accommodate scientific information. The course focuses on several case studies, that provide insights into the science-policy interactions which emerge from managing natural resources and environmental risk. Topics include air pollution; climate change; ozone depletion; managing the world's forests, fisheries, and ecosystem services, and global trade in wildlife. Students will explore the science underlying these issues as well as current policies and the range of future policy responses.

This course will study the system of international protection, who is understood to qualify and why, how the system has changed over time, and what these developments mean for a broader understanding of human rights across borders. We will also take a critical look at asylum, examine ideas of deservingness and innocence and their intersection with categories of race, class, and gender, and question what it means for certain people to be constructed as victims and others to be seen as not eligible for protection. This class will also collaborate with a New York organization to work directly on ongoing asylum claims.

The course examines major moral controversies in public life and competing conceptions of justice and the common good. It seeks to help students develop the skills required for thinking and writing about the ethical considerations that ought to shape public institutions, guide public authorities, and inform citizens' moral judgments in politics. We focus on issues that are particularly challenging for advanced, pluralist democracies such as the USA, including justice in war, terrorism and torture, market freedom and distributive justice, immigration, refugees, and criminal justice in conditions of social injustice.

This course will explore how women's rights activists, lawyers, and legal scholars have considered legal institutions and law to be arenas and resources for transforming women's lives and gender norms, identities, and roles. Since the early 1970s, feminist legal scholars and lawyers have challenged traditional understandings of law and the core civic values of freedom, justice, and equality. Others have questioned whether litigation-centered approaches to reform have harmed more than helped advance the goal of women's equality and liberation.

This course is about how U.S. constitutional law distributes policy-making power among and within the branches of the federal government; between the federal government and the states; between governing officials and the People they govern. It is not about what substantive policy should be, but about who does and should have the power to settle the answer. The course aims to provide students sufficient fluency in the language of law to excel in the world of U.S. public policy.

Since the 1920s, the term "gang" has been used to describe all kinds of collectives, from groups of well-dressed mobsters to petty criminals and juvenile delinquents. In nearly a century of research the only consistency in their characterization is as internal Other from the vantage of the law. This class will investigate how the category of "the gang" serves to provoke imaginaries of racial unrest and discourses of "dangerous," threatening subjects in urban enclaves. More broadly we will examine the methods and means by which liberal democratic governments maintain their sovereign integrity through the containment of threatening populations

The Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, was the defining (and polarizing) initiative of the Obama era, with provisions to expand health insurance coverage, control health care costs, and improve the health care delivery system. This course will focus on the history of health reform, as well as implementation challenges since the law's enactment. We will examine the federal regulatory process, the many legal challenges to the law, the role that states have played in implementation, and Congressional repeal efforts. We will also investigate the role of federalism in health care policy and the future of health care reform.

How can the world conserve its forests? Forests, cover 1/3 of global land and play critical roles in addressing climate change, supporting biodiversity and supplying wood. This class will explore the science and policy of conserving the world's forests. Starting with an exploration of forest ecology and effects on climate, the class will then explore forces that drive forest loss or degradation including growing food and wood demand, roadbuilding, concessions, and shifting development patterns. It will address the question of whether the world should use more or less wood, and carefully evaluate various public and private policies.

This course explores the fundamental role of public policy, economics, and technology in transforming the national healthcare landscape through progressive innovation over time. Through lectures, discussions, and cases studies we will examine the complex history, present day realities, and future considerations of health policy, healthcare economics, emerging technologies and their cumulative role in shaping care delivery, access, and national health outcomes for all Americans. We will examine landmark health policy decisions over the past century that have defined American healthcare and will analyze their downstream impact.

This course studies the science-policy interface: how it works, how it fails, and how to revamp it. It will critically examine whether the kinds of evidence science produces match the kinds of evidence useful for policy. Topics: self-correction in science (theory & practice); science reform; science journalism; public trust in science; modeling the science-policy boundary; evidence synthesis; the roles of scientific & non-scientific evidence, and values; policy making under incomplete evidence; theories of policy change; science funding. Student papers will empirically advance understanding of these topics and/or develop proposals for reform.

This is an experiential learning course. Students will learn about the criminal legal system broadly and in NJ specifically, while working towards the freedom of an incarcerated person. It includes skill development: advocative writing/narrative building, oral advocacy, investigative research, trauma-informed interviewing, creating supportive evidence, and cross cultural relationships. Skills are contextualized by readings and media about the criminal legal system, the factors that lead to incarceration, and decarceration tools. The course aims to educate at the intersection of subject matter expertise/context, fieldwork, and creativity.

This course introduces you to environmental justice, which examines the processes that systematically lead poor and marginalized communities to face a disproportionate degree of environmental risks and hazards. Beginning with the birth of the environmental justice movement focused on the siting of waste facilities, we will trace the development of the field as it has expanded into examination of food, climate, water, energy, and the international waste trade.

Policy ideas are useless unless used. The proof of their value is in implementation. Yet, across the public, non-profit, and private sectors, there are many more good policy ideas than there are good ideas implemented. Why? Because implementation is hard. This course will consist of a guided and case-informed analysis and conversation about domestic organizations and leaders who have been demonstrably effective at translating ideas into action, and implementing policy.

Democracy may not exist, but we will miss it when it's gone. The course will examine countries that are ostensibly democracies, but where the political culture, institutions, the way governments behave, and how money corrupts, all indicate backsliding. Countries will include: US; South Africa; Turkey; Israel; India; In the EU: Hungary & Poland. In the case of India and Israel, there will be a critical look at ethno-nationalism. And an overarching look at whether capitalism is the best and natural partner for democracy. How to strengthen institutions will also be examined.

Basic concepts and experimental findings of psychology that contribute to an understanding of the effects of policy on human behavior and well-being. Also covered are psychological factors that affect the formulation, communication, and execution of policy. Topics include a descriptive analysis of boundedly rational judgment and decision making, a consideration of social motives and attitudes, and an introduction to the ways in which agents influence and negotiate with one another.

Provides hands-on experience in the application of econometric methods to policy issues. Various aspects of empirical research in economics are covered including 1) development of testable hypotheses, 2) appropriate use of data, 3) specification and estimation of econometric models. The course is taught using a set of cases in which students apply quantitative methods covered in SPI 507b to data in order to answer specific policy questions. Emphasis is placed on interpreting and writing about results.

Provides a thorough examination of statistical methods employed in public policy analysis, with a particular emphasis on regression methods which are frequently employed in research across the social sciences. Emphasizes intuitive understanding of the central concepts, and develops in students the ability to choose and employ the appropriate tool for a particular research problem, and understand the limitations of the techniques.

The main tools of econometric analysis and the way in which they are applied to a range of problems in social science. The emphasis is on using techniques and understanding and critically assessing others' use of them. There is a great deal of practical work on the computer using a range of data from around the world. Topics include regression analysis, with a focus on regression as a tool for analyzing nonexperimental data and discrete choice. An introduction to time-series analysis is given. There are applications from macroeconomics, policy evaluation, and economic development.

Covers the theory of modern macroeconomics in detail. Focus is on the determination of macroeconomic variables - such as output, employment, prices, and the interest rate - in the short, medium, and long run, and addresses a number of policy issues. Discusses several examples of macroeconomic phenomena in the real world. A central theme is to understand the powers and limitations of macroeconomic policy in stabilizing the business cycle and promoting growth.

This course offers a broad treatment of macroeconomic theory and policy issues, using the formal methods of modern macroeconomics. Topics include long-run growth and development, labor, consumption, savings and investment decisions, the role of expectations, short-run fluctuations and stabilization policy, inflation and unemployment, trade and exchange rates.

This course is about the economics and some of the politics of central banking, especially monetary policy. Special emphasis is given to central banks as unique policymaking institutions and, especially, to the Federal Reserve System, although other central banks are mentioned frequently. Since the focus is on monetary policy, the course presupposes a working knowledge of the relevant macroeconomics, but particular aspects thereof are taught in the course. Attention is paid to the causes, consequences, and central bank behavior during and since the financial crisis and the Covid-19 crisis.

In this course, we analyze examples of development strategies in the United States, Europe and Asia, at the urban and regional levels, with a focus on the practical role of city government leaders and strategists, and how to make their role more effective. This course is taught primarily through case studies. Most of the classes focus on economic development, but we also spend some time discussing related issues (such as sustainability and income inequality).

A brilliant policy that suffers from poor leadership or bad management is likely to result in failure. This course is about best practices in leading and managing governmental and not-for-profit organizations in industrialized democratic societies. We assume that the policy problem has been solved and will focus on the non-policy aspects of being a leader and manager. This is a case study course. The goal is to place you in the position of a senior leader-a decision maker-so that you can experience these challenges, as much as possible, in the way actual leaders experienced them.

This class will use historical analysis to understand how different kinds of economic policies have succeeded or failed in ameliorating insecurity and inequality in the United States. Looking back to the 1930s, we will explore the template that FDR's New Deal program offers policymakers in 2023. We will evaluate to what extent the New Deal, as one the most transformative moments of American public policy. provides a roadmap as well as cautionary signs for how to address the overlapping crises of today - inequality, inflation, global warming, pandemics, and more.

Advances in science and technology bring about opportunities as well as many thorny societal challenges. From nuclear weapons to artificial intelligence, from genetic engineering to research on pandemic potential pathogens, these new frontiers of knowledge evoke questions central to societal ethics ranging from long-standing ones to new dilemmas emerging from the evolving scientific and technological prowess. This course studies this history in key fields and examines how practitioners, policy-makers and the public have grappled with them in the past, as well as reviewing some current challenges.

This course examines the histories, processes and nuanced dynamics that contribute to the making of cities in the Global South. We explore central debates in the study of these cities across geography, urban studies and planning, and development studies. Students deepen their understanding of the Global South, how it is conceptualized and what this means for urban development, while identifying patterns and specificities across the comparative contexts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Ultimately, we consider how these actors are, or should be considered, in policymaking and planning interventions in the Global South.

This course examines the roles of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in international security historically, at present, and in possible futures. The technical basis for these weapons will be presented at a level suitable for the non-scientist, and the challenges of state and non-state acquisition or development will be assessed. Topics to be examined include deterrence, defense, preemption, arms control, nonproliferation, and plausible terrorist capabilities.

The seminar introduces students to the contemporary strategic environment and provides them with a comprehensive understanding of the nature, the making, and the focus of national security policy in democratic states. It examines (a) main elements that underpin the development of national security policy, (b) major challenges in the current global security environment, and (c) key concepts in security studies.

This course examines the strategies that great powers pursue to achieve foreign policy and national security objectives. It aims to help students understand the drivers and dimensions of competition between the United States and China and is structured around a series of questions related to aspects of Sino-American competition, namely the role of power shifts, perceptions, signaling, coercion, technology, ideology, alliances, economic statecraft, and leadership. Students review foundational literature in each area so that they can better understand the fundamental logic of the emerging strategic competition and its likely future path.

With the Taliban takeover of power in Afghanistan in late 2021, the country entered yet another transition. This seminar attempts to assess needs, and to formulate policy recommendations in the context of the virtually complete international boycott of the Taliban-led government. Students write and present a short paper on an area of intervention. Students also produce a joint report with specific policy recommendations. Students benefit from access to the Afghanistan Policy Lab (APL) and participate in APL-sponsored events led by external experts and present their recommendations in relevant policy-making circles.

A historical study of the politics of human rights. What are human rights? How have dictatorships been resisted from the inside and outside? What policies have been attempted during major historical cases of genocide and mass atrocity? How do war crimes tribunals function and have they made a difference? Historical cases include the antislavery movement, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, China, Imperial Japan, Bosnia, and Rwanda

Considers role of law in gov't: When is a state constrained by law & when it may legitimately change/ignore the law? Use a range of materials from fiction to court cases, legal theory to political history, etc. Proceed by negative example, considering cases from the US: Lincoln's conduct during Civil War, Roosevelt's economic emergency, the Cold War, Nixonian exceptionalism, "war on terror" after 9/11. Also consider comparative examples: Russian Revolution, the collapse of the Weimar constitution, the breaks from communism in the "revolutions" of 1989 & beyond. Also Nuremberg Trials & Kosovar War.

Course examines how and why society can make us sick or healthy and how gender, race/ethnicity, wealth, education, occupation and other social statuses shape health outcomes. It looks at the role of social institutions, and environment-society interactions in shaping health outcomes and examines how these factors underlie some of the major causes of illness and death around the world including infant mortality, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. The course draws on historical and cross-cultural material from the U.S. as well as global examples from different countries around the world.

This course addresses the ethics of development policies and practices. Topics addressed include: 1. What is ethics? Is ethics about the choices you make, the consequences of your actions, or the virtues you exhibit? 2. Global redistribution. How much do rich countries, and the people in them, owe to poor countries and poor people? 3. Effective altruism. 4. Human rights. How do large development organizations deal with human rights concerns? 5. GDP per capita v. the capabilities approach. 6. How should we talk about poverty, and what are the problems with how poor people, poor countries, and development are represented?

This course covers the research on the drivers, consequences, and policies of migration. Taking a global and historical perspective, we explore how different factors have become salient in driving migration flows in different parts of the world and at different times and what policies have been implemented and with what consequences. Crucially, we use a broad definition of migration policy, focusing not just on border enforcement or visa regimes, but also on trade, international relations, and social policy which are all linked to human mobility.

This course asks: What are the political, ethical, and historical bases for making these decisions about citizenship, borders, and in/exclusion? These questions are particularly salient in the context of globalization, migration and refugee flows, war and ethnic conflict, poverty, and now climate change. This course strikes a balance between analyzing theory, empirics, and policy debates- especially in light of contemporary issues facing the 21st century.

Democratic backsliding occurs when democratically elected leaders undermine the very institutions established to ensure their accountability. Today, roughly one-third of the global population lives in a country that was once a well-functioning democracy but is now experiencing a decline in the fairness of elections, the independence of courts, and the respect of minority rights. This course familiarizes students with the democratic backsliding literature and discusses how public policy may alleviate the risk of democratic backsliding in the United States, Brazil, India and Poland.

The course focuses on the "micro" level, not on broad principles of aid effectiveness or unified theories of political development, although it intersects both. It asks you to place yourselves in the shoes of the reformer (think Seretse Khama, Lee Kuan Yew, or Sri Mulyani Indrawati, for example). You have a limited opportunity to build a new institutional order and improve the provision of public goods. How can you get around the challenges that inevitably arise? Is there a way to lock in these changes and help new institutions endure? At the end of the course we return to "big theory" and the task of drawing broader insight.

This class provides students with a firm understanding of the quantitative tools and methodologies available for the production and utilization of rigorous evidence, two necessary ingredients in evidence-based policymaking. The class also discusses how and when impact evaluation results can inform decision-making and how public policy decisions can, in turn, influence the production of further evidence. The class provides practical skills and strategies immediately applicable to the production, interpretation and utilization of rigorous evidence.

Why do severe recessions happen? Could we have prevented the Great Recession and its consequences? And what actions are needed to prevent such crises going forward? We undertake an empirical exploration of these questions in this course and debate the various macro and financial policy questions that arise. Our discussions are strictly disciplined by data and evidence. The course analyzes the role of debt in generating the Great Recession and the Great Depression, as well as the current economic malaise in Europe.

This seminar explores the effects of the ease of data collection and algorithmic processing on individuals and society. We examine the technical underpinnings of data collection and the lack of individual ability to meaningfully control it. We delve into algorithms, machine learning and artificial intelligence, examining challenges posed by tools developed in the data-rich paradigms. We end by discussing technical & policy solutions that may have the potential to change the status quo. The course is organized in modules, each introducing the relevant technological practices to facilitate discussion of their implications and interventions.

This course focuses on the policymaking process that led to landmark climate legislation and the development of AI governance policies during the Biden administration. We delve into the substance of each of these topics and explore the roles of key leaders in Congress and the Executive branch who were instrumental in bringing about these major accomplishments. The course covers key public facing leaders, those working behind the scenes, the dynamics with stakeholder groups, and how leaders navigated these complexities to accomplish their goals. We distill lessons for future policy reform efforts.

This class provides an introduction to machine learning in R with a focus on applications in policy. The power of machine learning tools is their applicability around a wide range of tasks. Assuming a foundation in linear regression and basic R knowledge, this course provides an introduction to the tools of machine learning, the kinds of tasks where it can be applied, and some of the unique considerations we should have when applying machine learning to the study of social data.

Climate change has historically been considered a global environmental problem, requiring global cooperative action. A complementary perspective frames solutions to climate change as the result of myriad national & local decisions about investment, consumption, & livelihoods. The challenge is less on global cooperation and more about enabling national and local systems to form a response to climate change. We explore what this perspective implies for the national & local politics of climate change/policymaking. It emphasizes examples and perspectives from the developing world, which have been underrepresented in studies of climate change.

Examines international law and governance in the context of environmental problems. Considers the need for regulation under conditions of scientific uncertainty in issues such as climate change, bovine growth hormones, GMOs, fisheries management, biodiversity conservation, and ozone depletion. Explores the efficacy of diverse regulatory approaches, mechanisms for scientific advice to policymakers and participation by business firms and NGOs. Considers intersections between environmental regulation (both domestic and international) with trade, investment, and multilateral development and aid programs.

Sociologists see social inequality as produced by market exchanges, non-market organization of social groups, and political institutions. This unit aims to (1) develop an understanding of sociological analysis of inequality, and (2) introduce key empirical research in stratification and inequality. Weber's essay provides the classic statement of this approach, elaborated in theories of market networks, cultural transmission of group identities, and forms of citizenship.

A course required for and limited to students in the Joint Degree program in Social Policy. Two major areas of psychology make important contributions to the study of social policy and inequality. The first is social psychology, which focuses on inter-group relations, interpersonal perception, stereotyping, racism, aggression, justice and fairness. The second domain involves the fields of social-cognition, judgment and decision making, areas of research that study human information processing in a way that is not about individual differences, and often not social.

This course focuses on the current geopolitical scenario, including global power competition and the rising influence of the global south. It explores the economic and social causes of organized crime, the connections between transnational crime networks, geopolitics and proxy wars. It also highlights the expansion of organized crime into terrorist networks and irregular warfare structures, and the ways in which it disrupts democracy and harms communities. Finally, we explore the policy options to confront transnational organized crime through international cooperation.

China has lifted 600 million people out of poverty in the past 30 years. This achievement has lead observers within and outside China to trumpet the virtues of the so-called "China Model" as an alternative path of development. The course provides an overview of China's political and economic development in the post-Mao era. Core topics include: state-intervention in the economy, corruption and political accountability, and authoritarian political institutions.

The rapidly growing fleet of Earth observation satellites has enabled the ability to image the entire planet on a daily basis. This course introduces fundamental concepts of remote sensing and geospatial information, builds on a number of hands-on exercises focused on climate change and examines additional use cases from humanitarian contexts and open-source intelligence. We explore opportunities and challenges of applying modern machine-learning techniques for analyzing satellite imagery at scale, consider limits policymaking, and discuss broader ethical issues related to surveillance and privacy.

In this course, we study how individuals' lives and well-being are shaped by the presence of non-state violence and seek to identify policies to reduce it. We cover cases from the developing world from civil conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa, gender violence in South Asia, to gang wars in Latin America. We understand why violence and non-state actors may emerge in some contexts and not others and the consequences for development. We focus on policies to reduce violence and the use of innovative data to understand the causal effects of these policies.

This seminar explores supply-side approaches to addressing this pervasive housing crisis. We examine critically the current policies, challenges, and practice of developing new, income-restricted affordable housing, both single-family and multi-family, for sale and rental, in the United States. We assess the impacts of building affordable housing on residents and communities, including issues of race and class. We conclude by discussing student papers and assessing likely and desirable alternative future affordable housing policies.

This course will consider what many to believe to be the most consequential relationship of the 21st century- that between the United States and China. Assessing the relationship from different angles, and using examples drawn from both recent history and today's headlines, we will confront foundational questions about the character and direction of the relationship- from cooperation to competition to confrontation and conflict. We will consider differing opinions on strategic approaches, tools and tactics of engagement, the question of end states, and, more broadly, visions of global order.

The course is about the urgent need to develop principled leadership. It is based on one premise: a democratic form of government cannot exist if citizens distrust each other, and dishonesty is a form of life. The goal is to expose students who have expressed an interest in developing their leadership skills to the threats, risks, and challenges they will confront. Researching leadership techniques, values, and principles, students will explore how others have defied similar challenges in the past. Through lectures, readings, and case studies, students will have an opportunity to reflect and develop their own concept of effective leadership.

This half-term course provides students an opportunity to explore some of the legal issues that must be considered as policymakers design and implement policies. It surveys some of the basics of a legal education, focusing on the most relevant areas for public policy work. Topics include constitutional law, administrative law (with a focus on agency rulemaking), and statutory interpretation. Course is not open to students who are pursuing or already have a JD.

The course focuses on contemporary topics in labor economics from a macroeconomic perspective. It analyzes topics such as labor supply, labor demand and unemployment. Estimation of the natural rate of unemployment, maximum employment, the Beveridge Curve and the Phillips curve are covered. We conclude with an analysis of trend changes in the labor market such as the rise and flattening of the female labor force participation rate, aging of workers and firms, the decline in the labor share and labor market dynamism.We examine cases in the Hemisphere (Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador), Afghanistan, and Sudan.

This course explores how economics has recently incorporated a number of insights and findings from psychology and experiments and examines some of the implications that follow for the workings of markets and policy. Topics include Imperfect self-control, present bias, fairness and reciprocity, motivation, signaling concerns, wishing thinking, reference dependence, malleable preferences, bounded rationality, and more.

This course examines the relationship between racial identity and political behavior in the US, with a focus on how race shapes policy preferences. Topics covered include the psychological foundations of group identity and its relevance to politics; how racial identity can fuel both outgroup prejudice and ingroup favoritism; and how dynamics such as threat, empathy, and ignorance influence intergroup relations and policy preferences. Students develop the skills to evaluate the relevance of race to policy debates, and critically assess how researchers' positionality (as well as our own) might shape the knowledge we encounter and produce.

This course addressed state and local regulation of public health and health care. It explores the opportunities and limits of government intervention to promote health and address health care deficits, with case examples drawn from New York City, New Jersey and other cities and states. Topics include controversies surrounding efforts to address obesity and other chronic illnesses, regulation of reproductive health services, policies to reduce gun violence, and the opioid crisis. The course combines in-depth readings, discussion, lectures, and a written assignment.

This course examines the principles of negotiation and provide firsthand experience in simulated negotiations. Sample topics include distributive negotiation, integrative negotiation ("expanding the pie"), conflict management, and coalitions. Research on the variables that affect success in negotiations are discussed. Students engage in a series of bargaining exercises between individuals and teams, and results are analyzed by the class.

Why are countries increasingly turning to 'industrial policy' as their primary strategy for transitioning from fossil fuels? This course examines the historical roots of industrial policies and how they have been translated into the contemporary policy architecture of a 'green transition.' We explore key industrial sectors targeted by contemporary green industrial policies, such as semiconductors, automobiles, energy utilities, and the built environment. This course is global in scope and examines cases of green industrial policy in both rich world contexts and middle-income contexts, like China, India, Brazil and South Africa.

This course examines the challenges of managing crises in large organizations. By using real world case studies as well as exploring the literature in the field, students gain familiarity with critical tools needed by leaders confronted with handling events that are beyond the normal capacity of an enterprise to manage.

This course covers new advances in the politics of economic development. We first review key theoretical results from the political economy literature that explain the way political institutions affect development, with a special focus on Africa. We then review empirical findings on a wide range of topics such as democratization, elections, and government accountability, the politics of public good provision, and decentralization. The materials of the course are recent research papers to be presented by students.

This class explores the recent history, current debates, and possible future trajectories of stakeholder capitalism, including the role of public policy in shaping the role of business in society. The course seeks to equip students with an understanding of how business and investment are being used to address social & environmental problems. It provides an understanding of how companies & investors engage with traditional philanthropic, nonprofit and government institutions and equips students with a critical lens on how to differentiate between rhetoric and substance, assess risks & opportunities, in the dialogue around inclusive capitalism.

This course examines the gender dynamics at play in the American political system, including in social/political movements, the electoral process, federal and state government institutions, and in policymaking. The course is divided into two major parts. First, we focus on the participation of women in the political process as voters (i.e., whether gender is an important factor in the study of political attitudes and behavior). Second, we focus on women as political elites (e.g., candidates, elected or appointed officials, party leaders, in the media.)

Is democracy at risk in the United States? Scholars of new democracies have long worried about democratic backsliding. More recently, there is concern that even established democracies are backsliding. Some commentators have raised alarm about growing support for political violence and the refusal to accept the outcome of elections, and the apparent willingness of some voters to elect candidates who violate democratic norms and laws. What is democratic backsliding? What is the role of partisan polarization, misinformation, institutional checks & balances, conspiracy theories, populism, economic inequality, and xenophobia and other prejudices?

Even though numerous influential reports call for earlier and better integration of behavioral science theory and insights into the policy process, the reality is that disciplines other than economics and the law have had little or no influence on the design or implementation of environmental or technology policy. We review reasons and consequences for this failure and examine paths towards better future integration.

The handling of personal information by both public and private entities has become one of the central concerns of our time. The use of new technologies and their rapid innovations pose ever new challenges for the protection of privacy. In this half-term course, we study the legal frameworks pertaining to data privacy in the US and the EU and their interaction, we critically examine the policy behind it and we engage in readings (including relevant case law) and discussions surrounding the current topics like government and private surveillance, privacy and media, platforms liability, privacy harms or targeted advertising.

Vaccination is one of the most powerful tools in global health. However, vaccines are arguably much less deployed than they should be, due to a combination of economic and biological constraints, as well as the rising trend of vaccine hesitancy Here, we review the biology of vaccines and their impact on infectious disease dynamics, focusing especially on the key concept of herd (community) immunity. We then use case studies to discuss the successes and limitations of vaccination against human diseases, drawing general implications about their optimal future deployment.

Significant investment in mitigation, adaptation & resilience is needed to avert the most dangerous impacts of climate change in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). Their climate investment needs are estimated to be in the trillions, with most financing to come from the private sector. The course examines climate mitigation & adaptation finance in EMDEs, its evolution, and how it compares to developed markets. It explores the financial and institutional landscape driving climate finance, and the barriers to accessing private capital. It concludes with examining the role of sustainable finance in driving systemic change.

This course surveys a wide range of health effects from climate change and discusses strategic opportunities to improve health outcomes through energy decarbonization efforts. The course is highly interactive, combining lectures with a wide variety of in class activities. Class participation is a critical component of the learning experience. Course activities and assignments are designed to help students understand the topics covered in the class, as well as to develop key research and communication skills related to climate and health.

This course combines a traditional public health course in epidemiology with a policy-oriented course on population health. Conventional topics include measurement of health and survival and impact of associated risk factors; techniques for design, analysis of epidemiologic studies; sources of bias and confounding; and causal inference. We also examine: models of infectious disease with an emphasis on COVID-19, inference and decision making based on large numbers of studies and contradictory information, the science underlying screening procedures, social inequalities in health, and ethical issues in medical research.

This course is limited to students participating in the Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative (SINSI) or an approved MPA middle year out. Enrolled students participate in one or more internships with a federal, state, or local government agency, non-governmental organization, or multilateral institution in the U.S. or overseas. The purpose is to provide a learning environment for students to use/develop quantitative and qualitative analytical skills in an active public policy setting, with oversight from Princeton University faculty and staff.

This course will examine different crises confronting cities in the 21st century. Topics will range from informal settlements, to immigration, terrorism, shrinking population, sprawl, rising seas, affordable housing, gentrification, smart cities. The range of cities will include Los Angles, New Orleans, Paris, Logos, Caracas, Havana, New York, Hong Kong, Dubai among others.