Electives

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is one of the most widely-used tools in public policy to help decision-makers choose between different projects. As the name suggests, CBA is essentially a comparison of a project’s costs and benefits. The popularity of this tool is due to its intuitive and direct application. In this module, we will learn the fundamental concepts and techniques behind the application of CBA. The goal of this class is to equip students with theoretical knowledge that underpins CBA and the practical steps in conducting a CBA study.

This course introduces students to core principles of taxation and expenditure analysis required in policy making. It covers equity and efficiency consequences of taxation, different forms of taxation (such as income, value-added, wealth and capital gains taxes) as well as elements of expenditure policy. Students are also introduced to topical issues facing policy makers, such as globalisation and fiscal systems, tax evasion and avoidance and social sector financing.

The objective of the course is to develop a thorough understanding of basic terms, concepts, and methods in public budgeting. In this course students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public and not-for-profit organisations. Students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organisational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis.

This course is a broad introduction to organisations and management. It consists of lectures and discussions based on weekly reading assignments. Students will combine their practical knowledge with the class readings to gain new perspectives. The topics include data and decision-making, reengineering work, organisational structure, organisational network and institutional theories. Students are expected to keep up with the readings and be prepared to discuss them in class. Understanding organisations is important for public administration and decision making in public policy. Under new public management, we have to understand organisations outside the public sector as well as in the public sector.

Behavioural Insights (BI) is a leading tool for policy makers in policy formulation, evaluation and public management. Internationally, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are prominent global champions of BI adoption in public policy and communications. This module introduces the BI lifecycle that includes scientific foundations, behavioural measurement, data collection, experimental design and messaging framing for policy communications.