Week 1: Evidence-Informed Public Policy

Instructions

In this first meeting, we will talk about the role of evidence in politics. What is evidence-based (evidence-informed) public policy? Where does it come from? What is considered evidence and why is not all policy based on evidence? Read the required texts with an eye on these questions. You might also want to check out the list of groups promoting evidence-based public policy (see resource page). How do they promote evidence-use?

Required readings

  • Baron, J. “A Brief History of Evidence-Based Policy”. In: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 678.1 (2018), pp. 40-50. DOI: 10.1177/0002716218763128.
  • Bowers, J. and P. F. Testa. “Better Government, Better Science: The Promise of And Challenges Facing the Evidence-Informed Policy Movement”. In: Annual Review of Political Science 22 (2019), pp. 521-542. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-polisci-050517-124041.
  • Bogenschneider, K. and T. Corbett. Evidence-Based Policymaking: Envisioning a New Era Of Theory, Research, and Practice. 2nd. New York: Routledge, 2021. DOI: 10.4324/9781003057666. PDF on Moodle

Further reading

  • Gueron, J. M. and H. Rolston. Fighting for Reliable Evidence. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2013.
  • Nutley, S. and J. Webb. “Evidence and the Policy Process”. In: Introducing Evidence-Based Policy and Practice in Public Services. Ed. by H. Davies, S. Nutley and P. Smith. Bristol: The Policy Press, 2000, pp. 13-42. DOI: 10.1332/policypress/9781861341914.003.0001.
  • Haskins, R. Evidence-Based Social Policy: The Promise and Challenges of a Movement. Ed. by R. Haskins. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2018. DOI: 10.1177/0002716218770642.
  • Mehmood, S., S. Naseer, and D. L. Chen. “Training Policymakers in Econometrics”. Working Paper. 2021.

Suggested media

Acknowledgments

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