This information is for the 2020/21 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Sarah Brierley CBG 4.37
Availability
This course is available on the BSc in International Social and Public Policy with Politics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics, BSc in Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics and History, BSc in Politics and International Relations, BSc in Politics and Philosophy and BSc in Social Policy with Government. This course is not available as an outside option. This course is available with permission to General Course students.
Pre-requisites
Comfort with basic statistics as covered by Research Design in Political Science (GV249) or an equivalent course in research design or introductory statistics (such as ST102, ST107, ST108, GY140, SA201) is recommended.
Course content
The design and implementation of government policies depends on the actions and capacity of politicians and bureaucrats. For policies to be effective, they must be implemented according to programmatic criteria, while avoiding leakage. This course will overview recent theoretical and empirical work on governance, corruption and state capacity. The cases we investigate will be focused on low- and middle-income countries in South Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. We will also use the historic experiences of the USA and UK to investigate paths to better governance in these countries. During the course we will explore questions such as: why do politicians and bureaucrats engage in corruption? Do multi-party elections encourage graft? Are anti-corruption bodies effective? Can technological solutions improve the delivery of public services?
Teaching
20 hours of seminars in the LT.
Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.
Formative coursework
Students will be expected to produce 1 piece of coursework in the LT and 1 exercise in the Week 9.
Indicative reading
Assessment
Essay (80%, 2500 words) in the ST.
Class participation (10%) and memo (10%) in the LT.
Students will submit a single assessed memo on the week that they are assigned to be the class discussant. This memo should be approx. 3 pages. Criteria will be given on the info. that the memo should contain.
Key facts
Department: Government
Total students 2019/20: Unavailable
Average class size 2019/20: Unavailable
Capped 2019/20: No
Value: Half Unit
Personal development skills
Important information in response to COVID-19
Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.