Public Policy Concentration
Concentration Leader: Prof. Tatsuo Oyama, Prof. Morohoshi Hozumi

1. Objective
  The objective of the Public Policy (PP) concentration is to give students knowledge related to various policy issues from many different disciplinary viewpoints and to help them understand and investigate policy-related problems.
  Every student is required to write a policy proposal based on the application of either quantitative or qualitative analytical tools to the policy issue he/she chooses.
  In preparing policy reports, students need to (a) collect quantitative and/or qualitative (categorical) data, (b) analyze the data, and (c) write a policy proposal based on their investigation.

2. Fields & Issues
  The PP concentration covers the following types of domestic and global policy issues:  
-industrial policy
-energy policy
-environmental policy
-agricultural policy
-social security policy
-medical policy
-labor policy
-local and central governance
-public administration

Some examples of recent PP concentration papers include

-Investigating the adoption of Supplemental Irrigation (SI) system in Rwanda

-An Inquiry into the Economic Development and Democratic Consolidation in Bangladesh

-Renewable Energy Portfolio Scenarios for Electricity Generation in Hungary by 2020.

-An Analysis of Malaysia Water Services Reform Towards Operational Efficiency

-Fiscal risks of Public-Private Partnerships: case of the Kyrgyz Republic

-Tax Buoyancy in Malaysia

-Bhutan’s right to information bill: Exploring the opportunities and challenges

-Assessment on roles of public research institute in supporting the industries’ technological development and innovation: Institutional case study

-Supporting industry in the manufacturing sector in Vietnam – Its role, development and future strategy

-The role of Public Employment Service to reduce the number of unemployed people in Indonesia

-Promoting Transparency in Philippine Local Governments

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  The students may use methodologies listed below in their policy report:

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-quantitative data analysis tools
-statistical methods
-systems analysis techniques
-optimization theory
-simulation technique
-modeling approach
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3. Coursework
Those courses are strongly recommended for MP1 and MP2 students.
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Public Policy Concentration Supplementary List of Concentration Courses
Course Name

• Government and Market
• Introduction to Applied Econometrics
• Trade and Industrial Development
• Resource and Energy Economics
• Development Economics
• International Security Studies
• Structure and Process of Government
• Politics of Global Money and Finance
• Introduction to Quantitative Methods
• Quantitative Social Systems Analysis
• Introduction to Data Science
• Data Science in Practice
• Outline of Energy Policy
• Energy Data Analysis

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