This class provided an introduction to quantitative analysis for public policy. Students were introduced to the basic toolkit of policy analysis which includes sampling, hypotheses testing, regression, experiments, difference in difference, and regression discontinuity. Students learned how to use R or STATA to organize and analyze data, and in doing so explored the effects of policies when answering empirical, policy-relevant questions from observational data. Most importantly, students learned the principles of critical thinking essential for careful and credible policy analysis.

In this course, students were introduced to industrial organization- the study of firms in imperfectly competitive markets. Broadly, this field analyzes the acquisition and use of market power by firms, strategic interactions among firms, and the role of government regulation. Cases studied included antitrust suits brought against Facebook and Google’s search engine and related websites, the California electricity crisis and electricity industry restructuring, and merger analyses. Students explored the relationship between competition and price markup in varying markets, non-linear pricing schemes, vertical and horizontal relations, as well as U.S. and EU government intervention in these markets.

This course reviewed the conceptual foundations of Cost Benefit Analysis as applied in the public sector and gave an overview of the basics steps involved. Using Excel and R, students had hands-on experience with common techniques for non-market valuation, conducting a sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation, discounting and present valuation, and calculating changes in welfare from market data. Students also explored the most common practical problems that arise during CBA including uncertainty, who has standing, the choice of discount rate, estimating externalities, and how to measure the value of a statistical life.

In this course students were introduced to game theory within the context of of the policymaking process. The main concepts explored where varying normative frameworks, the goal of efficiency in practice versus theory, the identification and classification of social dilemmas (externalities, coordination traps, commitment problems) and how policy can try to remedy these. Students also explored strategic adjustment to regulation, unintended consequences, and mechanism design in the presence of asymmetric information.