Microeconomics and Policy Analysis I

Microecon & Policy Analysis I

This two-semester course shows students that it is both possible and useful to think about public policy rigorously to see what assumptions work; to understand how formal models operate; to question vagueness and cliches; and to make sophisticated ethical arguments. An important goal of the class is to have students work in groups to apply microeconomic concepts to current public policy issues having to do with urban environmental and earth systems. The course includes problem sets designed to teach core concepts and their application. In the spring semester, the emphasis is on the application of concepts to analyze contemporary policy problems. Some time is also devoted to international trade and regulation, and industrial organization issues. Students not only learn microeconomic concepts, but also how to explain them to decision-makers. Student groups take on specific earth system policy issues, analyze options through the use of microeconomic concepts, and then make oral presentations to the class.

• S 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• S 2:10 p.m.-3:40 p.m.
• 0 points

Microeconomics and Policy Analysis I

Microecon & Policy Analysis I

This two-semester course demonstrates that it is both possible and useful to think about public policy rigorously: to examine underlying assumptions; to understand how formal models operate; to question vagueness and clichés; and to make sophisticated ethical arguments. An important goal of the class is to have students work in groups as they apply microeconomic concepts to current public policy issues having to do with urban environmental and earth systems. The course includes problem sets designed to teach core concepts and their application. In the spring semester, the emphasis is on the application of concepts to analyze contemporary policy problems. Some time is also devoted to international trade and regulation, and industrial organization issues. Students not only learn microeconomic concepts, but also how to explain them to decision-makers. Student groups take on specific earth system policy issues, analyze options through the use of microeconomic concepts, and then make oral presentations to the class. 

• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Dong Guo
  Info
• 3 points

Urban Politics and Policy

All public policy occurs within a political context. The purpose of this seminar is to examine the politics of America's large cities. While we rely on case material from American cities the theoretical and applied problems we consider are relevant to understanding public policy in any global city. Cities are not legal entities defined in the American Constitution. Yet, historically they have developed a politics and policymaking process that at once seems archetypically American and strangely foreign We will consider whether America's traditional institutions of representation work for urban America; how the city functions within our federal system; and whether neighborhood democracy is a meaningful construct. We will also consider the impact of politics on urban policymaking. Can cities solve the myriad problems of their populations under existing institutional arrangements? Are cities really rebounding economically or does a crisis remain in communities beyond the resurgence in many downtown business districts? Do the economic and social factors which impact urban politics and policy delimit the city's capacity to find and implement solutions to their problems? Finally, can urban politics be structured to make cities places where working and middle class people choose to live and work and businesses choose to locate; the ultimate test of their viability in the twenty first century.

• M 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Ester Fuchs
  CULPA: 4 Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Comparative Development: Lessons of Succ

This course will first, examine the nature, ingredients and gradations of the extraordinary success of several East Asian economies. The lessons of their experience have been the subject of an extensive literature. The course will introduce students to the main controversies. The second part will illuminate the debate by contrasting the experience and policies of East Asia with stylized trends and overviews of developments in each of the regions of Latin America, South Asia (Indian subcontinent), Sub-Saharan Africa and the transition economies of Europe and Central Asia. These comparisons will be informed by the question of what the lessons of East Asian success are for these other regions.

• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Akbar Noman
  Info
• 3 points

Leadership & Urban Transformation

American cities are playing an increasingly important role in America’s economic future. Whether it is high tech, clean energy, finance or expanded retail, the Mayor plays a unique and vital role in finding the solutions to our nation’s most important problems. Even as there is extraordinary optimism about the future of America’s cities, most continue to grapple with the devastating effects of 20th century deindustrialization and racial disparities in education, income, housing, and health. It has become the task of the Mayor to both balance the demands of disparate interests and govern fairly and effectively. As the federal government continues to disinvest in domestic policy, Mayors have taken up the challenge to ensure an urban future that both supports innovative economic development, sustainability, and social inclusion. In this course, we will explore how Mayors make their cities work, including campaigning for election, the relationship of politics to governing; managing the city bureaucracy; leadership during crisis, and transforming policy through innovation. I will rely on my experiences as Mayor of Philadelphia, but we will focus broadly on American cities. The readings will help provide additional theoretical and empirical context. With limited power but vast possibility, today’s Mayors can help set agendas not only for their cities, but also for their nation.

• W 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Michael A Nutter
  Info
• 3 points

Authoritarianism

The vast major of human society has been governed by non-democratic regimes.  Today more than half the world’s people live in autocracies.  Many SIPA students come from countries whose governments are not democratic, and will work in the public sector where the regime is not democratic.  Yet almost all of the literature of political science on how policy is made is devoted to democracy—its genesis, stability, challenges, consolidation, processes, merits and flaws. How are we to understand the regimes we collect together as “non-democratic?”  Do the authoritarian regimes of the world have anything in common? Are there effective ways to understand how policy in made in the absence of the transparent and routinized laws and procedures associated with democratic regimes? And are democratic regimes, once installed, immune to breakdown or change into less transparent, routinized and accountable regimes? This course is designed to examine these questions, to probe the notion of “authoritarianism” as an analytical concept, to explore how we should approach the study of policy-making processes in regimes that are stable, enduring, sometimes even dynamic and enlightened, but not democratic, and to investigate how such regimes arise from or develop into democracies. Note: this course entails a heavy reading load, frequent written assignments and active and sustained participation in class discussions.  Students who do not have prior experience in English medium university-level coursework may find it difficult and they should consult with the instructor about how to manage the course requirements. Attendance is required; class sessions will not be recorded. 

• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Lisa S Anderson
  Info
• 3 points

Financial Stability Monitoring

This course focuses on financial stability monitoring and evaluation as an essential discipline for macroeconomic, financial and prudential policymakers.  We begin by defining financial stability, examining the dynamic behavior of macroeconomic models with developed models of the financial sector, and considering conceptual frameworks for assessment of threats to financial stability.  From there, we identify key signatures of financial instability, how they can be measured and combined in a monitoring system, and how such measurement systems signal changes in the level of systemic risk.  Through case studies, class participation and two assignments, you will interpret these measures, develop questions for further investigation and assess the nature and extent of systemic risk. You will be asked to write two policy memoranda:  the first proposing and justifying a small set of financial stability indicators for monitoring; and the second assessing the risk of financial instability in indicators for that (or another) country, in indicators of vulnerabilities with strong network effects, and in unconventional risks such as cyber or widespread trade tensions.  Both assignments emphasize developing timely and persuasive analysis that prompts policymakers to consider the need for action to preserve financial stability.  

• M 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Christine Cumming
  Info
• 1.5 points

Macroprudential Policy

This short course will start with a brief overview of the post-crisis reforms and focus on the gap that macroprudential policy was meant to fill: the lack of a system-wide perspective on financial stability. It will explore the conceptual and practical difficulties in defining financial stability and setting an operational target for policy; provide a high-level overview of the tools for monitoring systemic risk, including stress tests, as well as of the various macroprudential policy instruments available to mitigate it; and discuss the governance challenges in setting up an institutional framework for macroprudential policy. The course will review how the major advanced economies (US, UK, Euro area) have tackled these issues, as well as discuss aspects of macroprudential policy specific to emerging market (EM) and developing countries. Lastly, the course will examine recent and emerging challenges to financial stability, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber risk, and the transition to a low-carbon economy; discuss the experience so far with macroprudential policy responses to these challenges; and assess the adequacy of the existing tools to address them.

This course will have a practical focus, emphasizing the perspective and actual experience of policymakers. By the end of this course, students should have a good understanding of the concepts of financial stability and systemic risk and their measurement, as well as how they are applied in the real world; the difference between the micro- and macro-prudential approach to financial regulation; the architecture and working of macroprudential policy in a variety of country circumstances; the role of central banks and the associated political economy challenges; and emerging risks to financial stability. Students will be encouraged, including through class discussions and assignments, to approach these issues from the standpoint of policymakers.

• M 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Dimitrios Demekas
  Info
• 1.5 points

Intersections of Race and Power in Devel

Intrsectn-Race & Power in Devp

While intersectionality is beginning to take hold within the international aid and development industry, addressing race as a construct that has shaped the history, practice and culture of development as a whole is just emerging across much of the sector. This course will be a participatory exploration of concepts and practices of race and power in international development. We will draw on critical race, feminist, intersectionality and decolonial conceptual frameworks and tools, and examine different sites of transformation throughout the course. The ‘arc’ of the course will be from self/individual level, to exploring relevant concepts, learning frameworks for analysis and strategizing, engaging with practice and determining a course of inquiry and action in the context of a development organization or program. Students will be engaged with readings, group discussions, discussions with guest practitioners and group projects. The course will be a participatory exploration, at multiple levels -  individual, interpersonal, organization and society – of how race and racism operate in international development institutions and programs. They will reflect on their own understanding of and experiences of race, power, privilege, and marginalization and reflect on how intersecting identities shape their interactions with others. Students will examine the colonial history of international development, and the ways in which neo-colonial attitudes persist in contemporary development systems, organizations, policies and practices and learn about tools and frameworks to better understand these dynamics and create change strategies to transform them. 
Registration priority will be given to EPD, MDP, IO/UN and GPP students. 

• R 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Shawna Wakefield
  Info
• 3 points

Finance for the World's Poorest

Finance for World's Poorest

For the poorest, the lack of a safe convenient place to save and easy and timely access to small loans translates into doing without, selling assets and making decisions that keep families locked into poverty. The focus of this class is helping the poorest begin to move out of poverty by improving how they save, borrow, and manage their money. What you learn in class and through the readings will help you to design and implement large-scale, low cost even self-replicating projects. This in contrast to the sea of ill conceived, top down, expensive, small-scale, low performing development initiatives that are all too common. This class focuses on catalyzing the capacity of local people to take the lead on solving their own problems. We will cover various strategies for assisting the poorest: Microfinance, Mobile money, Savings Groups, Ultra-Poor Graduation Programs, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and Cash Transfer programs, and Traditional savings circles in developing and developed countries. This course will provide you with the practical tools you need to design and launch effective projects in the field. This course meets for seven four-hour sessions.

• T 6:10 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Instructor: Jefferey Ashe
  Info
• 3 points

The Use of Science-based Evidence in Dec

Sci-based Evid/Dec&Policy

In all societies, public policies are developed to solve social problems such as extreme poverty, inequality, basic sanitation, health and basic care, family planning, food security, mental health, abuse of illegal substances, education, and protection of vulnerable groups. How can we ensure that these public policies are based on solid evidence, which would guarantee the greatest probability of effectiveness? And how do we plan and adapt the implementation of these policies to different realities, respecting cultural and historical differences?

In order to achieve this, it is useful, if not necessary, to be acquainted with scientific thinking and the accumulation and use of evidence. It is also necessary to understand our own limitations and cognitive biases that interfere in the decision-making process. This course aims to provide students with the tools necessary to assess public policies critically and rationally, as well as to evaluate different types of scientific evidence and understand how and where it is appropriate to include scientific evidence in building effective public policy.

• T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Natalia Pasternak Taschner
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Issues in Contemporary Security Policy

Issues-Contemp Security P

This course examines central issues in contemporary international security policy such as general causes of war, American primacy and the rising challenge from China, terrorism and unconventional warfare, nationalism and ethnic strife, humanitarian intervention and global justice, the role of new technologies, environmental conflict and cooperation, and key concepts in the study of international politics and conflict.

• R 6:10 p.m.-9:10 p.m.
• Instructor: Stuart M Gottlieb
  CULPA: 12 Info
• 3 points

Climate Change Policy and Diplomacy

Climate Change Pol & Dipl

What should the world do about climate change? This is a normative question. Answering it requires an understanding of the science and impacts of climate change, of the technological options for addressing climate change, and of the economics and ethics of pursuing these options. Why does the world say that a lot must be done about climate change, but fail to do what is needed to achieve this goal? This is a positive question. Answering it requires an understanding of politics, international law, international relations, and game theory. Finally, how can the world do better? This is a question of strategy. Answering this question requires all the tools listed above, especially game theory. All three questions lie at the heart of climate policy and diplomacy. By the end of this course, students will not only be able to answer these questions, but to have made a start in designing a more promising approach to limiting future climate change.

• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• R 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Scott Barrett
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Emerging Capital Markets: Theory & Pract

Emerging Cap Mkts: Thry & Prac

The goal of this course is to teach students about the historical relationships between financial risk, capital structure and legal and policy issues in emerging markets. Our strategy will be to develop a model of how and why international capital flows to emerging market countries and to use the model to examine various topics in the history of international financing from the 1820's to the present. Students will identify patterns in investor and borrower behavior, evaluate sovereign capital structures, and analyze sovereign defaults, including the debt negotiation process during the various debt crises of the past 175 years. We will focus primarily on Latin America, emerging Asia, and Russia, although the lessons will be generalized to cover all emerging market countries.

• T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• 3 points

Global Financial Services in the 21st Ce

Global Fin Services-21st Cent

This course will provide a framework with which students can evaluate and understand the global financial services industry of both today and tomorrow. Specifically, the course will present an industry insider's perspectives on the (i) current and future role of the major financial service participants, (ii) key drivers influencing an industry that has always been characterized by significant change (e.g. regulatory, technology, risk, globalization, client needs and product development), and (iii) strategic challenges and opportunities facing today's financial services' CEOs post the 2008/09 financial crisis. Furthermore, this course is designed not only for students with a general interest in the financial system, but for those students thinking about a career in the private sector of financial services or the public sector of regulatory overseers.

• R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Richard Goldberg
  Info
• 3 points

Propaganda, Russia, & The World Informat

Prop, Russia & Info War

This course is a highly current guide to the international information war, why propaganda and disinformation work, and how they can be fought. After an introduction to the philosophy of information – how people process it and whether there can in fact be multiple truths – the course looks in depth at the disinformation tactics that state and private actors use to advance their goals. The course then considers a broad range of techniques to combat false information – including the ethics and effectiveness of overt and covert counter-disinformation campaigns conducted by Western countries. The course draws heavily on information operations by Russia, but also considers other disinformation actors – as well as the impact of disinformation on the US, Europe, Africa and Latin America. It concludes with a discussion of the future of information and disinformation, with an emphasis on the promise and dangers of artificial intelligence.

• M 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Thomas Kent
  Info
• 3 points

Ukrainian Foreign Policy: Russia, Europe

The newly revised 3 point seminar-like course deals with the performance of independent Ukraine on international arena, its relationship with major powers: Russia, Europe and the US and the trajectory of its foreign policy. Having illegally annexed Crimea and conducting a proxy war in Eastern Ukraine, Russia has challenged the basic principles of international law, numerous bilateral agreements and threatening global peace and security. What is to be done to rebuff the aggressor? Can diplomacy still play a role? These and other issues are dealt with in this course. Special emphasis is made on the assessment of current conflict with Moscow and on the new trends in foreign policy doctrine. The issues of national security and current political situation are dealt with extensively. The course delivers first-hand insights by a career diplomat, who has been actively involved in the implementation of Ukrainian foreign policy for over three decades. The format of the course will encourage active dialogue and analytical reflection on the part of the students. The course is aimed at attracting both graduate and advanced undergraduate students.

• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Valerii Kuchynskyi
  Info
• 3 points

Sustainable Investing Research Consultin

Sustainbl Invest Research

The Sustainable Investing Research Consulting Project course aims to foster the next generation of systems-thinkers in sustainable investing. Through engaging in a live sustainable investing research consulting project with a global client, students will gain first-hand experience in the sustainable investing field. The course provides an action-based learning experience to students interested in sustainable investing, covering both sustainable investing in the financial sector (impact investing and sustainable finance) and the real economy (fo profit and non-profit organizations). For example, students will learn about the opportunities, challenges, and limitations faced by sustainable and impact investors to finance a more sustainable world. Moreover, they will learn how (for-profit and non-profit) organizations develop innovative products and services that help mitigate grand challenges―such as climate change, biodiversity loss, social inequality, poverty, etc.―and enable them to grow their business and sustain their competitive advantage over time. Throughout the semester, students will work on a live sustainable investing research consulting project for a client from across the world. They will (e-)meet with the client on a regular basis, discuss their progress, obtain feedback, and present their recommendation to the client. Furthermore, students will conduct research and interviews to learn about the broader business environment and institutional context (including cultural, political, economic, and social factors, etc.) to better understand the opportunities and challenges the clients face. This course is ideal for students interested in pursuing careers in sustainable finance, impact investing, ESG, corporate sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable development.

• R 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Courtney Sara L Minard
  Info
• 3 points

Capstone Workshop for Executive MPA

Capstone Workshop for EMPA

The EMPA Capstone workshop applies the practical skills and analytical knowledge learned during the EMPA program to a current, real-world issue. Students are organized into small consulting teams (typically 7 students per team) and assigned a policy-oriented project with an external client. Student teams, working under the supervision of a faculty expert, answer a carefully defined problem posed by the client. Each team produces an actionable report and presents an oral briefing of their findings at the close of the workshop that is designed to translate into real change on the ground. Capstone or Portfolio Presentation Workshop is a graduation requirement for the EMPA program and it is typically taken in the final semester at SIPA. Registration in this course is managed by the EMPA Assistant Director and requires an application.

• T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: William B Eimicke
  Info
• 3 points

Capstone Workshop

Capstone workshops apply the practical skills and analytical knowledge learned at SIPA to a real-world issue. Students are organized into small consulting teams (typically 6 students per team) and assigned a substantive, policy-oriented project with an external client. Student teams, working under the supervision of a faculty expert, answer a carefully defined problem posed by the client. Each team produces an actionable report and an oral briefing of their findings at the close of the workshop that is designed to translate into real change on the ground. The Capstone is a graduation requirement for all Masters of Public Administration and Masters of International Affairs students; it is typically taken in the final semester at SIPA. Registration in this course requires an application, please visit: sipa.columbia.edu/academics/workshops/workshop-students for more information. A course fee of $400 will be applied to students traveling internationally for the Capstone Workshop.

• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• F 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Isabelle Marie F Delalex
  Info
• Instructor: Jeanne Fox
  Info
• 3 points

Sustainable Development Seminar I

Sustainable Development Sem I

This course is restricted to PhD in Sustainable Development

• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• F 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
• Instructor: Douglas V Almond
  Info
• 1.5 points

Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Manage

Wks in Appl Earth Syst Mgmt II

In the summer and autumn semesters, the Workshop emphasizes management issues. Students enroll in small, faculty-advised project teams and design a detailed operational plan for addressing an important public policy problem. Each Workshop faculty member selects a piece of proposed but not yet enacted state, federal, or local environmental law (or a U.N. resolution) and students are asked to develop a plan for implementing and managing the new program. In the summer semester, the Workshop groups write reports explaining the environmental science aspects of a management problem to political decision-makers who are not scientists. During the autumn semester the Workshop completes the operational plan for implementing the program. Both the summer and autumn Workshop projects will be on issues central to the two earth systems problem themes that the cohort will focus on throughout their course of study.

• W 9 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Steven Cohen
  CULPA: 1 Wikipedia h-index: 21 Info
• Instructor: Matthew I Palmer
  CULPA: 5 h-index: 14 Info
• Instructor: Lloyd R Kass
  Info
• Instructor: Louise A Rosen
  Info
• Instructor: Ryshelle M McCadney
  Info
• 3 points

Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Manage

Wks in Appl Earth Syst Mgmt II

In the summer and autumn semesters, the Workshop emphasizes management issues. Students enroll in small, faculty-advised project teams and design a detailed operational plan for addressing an important public policy problem. Each Workshop faculty member selects a piece of proposed but not yet enacted state, federal, or local environmental law (or a U.N. resolution) and students are asked to develop a plan for implementing and managing the new program. In the summer semester, the Workshop groups write reports explaining the environmental science aspects of a management problem to political decision-makers who are not scientists. During the autumn semester the Workshop completes the operational plan for implementing the program. Both the summer and autumn Workshop projects will be on issues central to the two earth systems problem themes that the cohort will focus on throughout their course of study.

• W 9 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
• 0 points

Portfolio Presentation Workshop

Portfolio Presentation Workshp

This is a course during which the mid-career executives who are enrolled as students in the Executive MPA program exhibit and share professional work they have managed or directly created during their first year in the program. Materials are presented to the faculty and students for criticism, analysis, and potential improvement.

• S 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Richard Greenwald
  Info
• 3 points