APPLIED POLICY ANALYSIS - 2025/6

Module Overview

The module introduces students to policy analysis and evaluation techniques covering a broad set of policy areas, including health, education, pensions, crime, pollution and poverty.

Module provider

Economics

Module Leader

RICKMAN Neil (Economics)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

1. Social objectives and allocation of resources


2. Health care provision


3. Human capital investments


4. Savings and pensions


5. The economics of housing


6. The economics of crime


7. Traffic and road congestion


8. Climate change


9. Poverty and welfare

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

NA

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their appreciation of how microeconomic analysis can inform policy.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Coursework assignment


• A final examination 

Formative assessment and feedback

Students will receive verbal feedback during lectures through direct interaction.

Students will receive feedback on the coursework. This feedback will help students to judge their own performance and prepare for the final exam.

In addition, students will be encouraged to attend office hours to receive further verbal feedback.

Module aims

• Introduce students to policy analysis and programme evaluation techniques.
• Provide students with microeconomic tools needed to analyse a range of public policy issues.
• Critically examine individuals', firms', and governments' behaviour and the impact of related public policies, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective.
• Familiarize students with the frontier of research on policy issues.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to enhance skills in analytical and critical thinking, and in written and verbal presentation appreciate the complexities of policy decision making, weighing theory and practice.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• 
   Captured content theory lectures
  


• 
   Workshops during which students present summaries of research articles, followed by group discussion.
  


• 
  Guided learning (reading from textbook and assigned journal articles)
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ECOM054

Other information

In line with the University's curriculum framework, the School of Economics is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Sustainability

The module includes policy issues with direct reference to sustainability, including issues addressing the sustainability of public debt, climate change, inequality and poverty, and pollution and transport. We will discuss the role public policy has in achieving more sustainable outcomes.

Global Capabilities

Journal articles will relate to research in a number of different countries. The course will compare benchmark statistics on a variety of measures, including inequality, across countries based on official international statistics and original research. The course will discuss economic issues beyond national boundaries, including climate change, poverty and international measures of inequality.

Employability

Students will build their ability to read and condense the content of journal articles, critically assess the methods employed, and develop an understanding of causal inference applied to real word economic problems. Students will also work on their presentation skills and discuss research and policies issues in a group setting.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.