This course explores how policy processes and frameworks need to be evaluated in light of the social context in which they are developed. Factors to be considered include the interplay between public values and expectations and public policy; the implications of cultural diversity and demographic change, and understandings of ethical principles of conduct in public organizations. A related goal is to help students learn how to use empirical research to answer highly contested issues in policy circles and in public life. These objectives are pursued by introducing students to major trends in inequality in Canada, assessing these trends within a comparative context, reflecting on their normative implications, and examining alternative policy responses to these developments. Restricted
This course explores how policy processes and frameworks need to be evaluated in light of the social context in which they are developed. Factors to be considered include the interplay between public values and expectations and public policy; the implications of cultural diversity and demographic change, and understandings of ethical principles of conduct in public organizations. A related goal is to help students learn how to use empirical research to answer highly contested issues in policy circles and in public life. These objectives are pursued by introducing students to major trends in inequality in Canada, assessing these trends within a comparative context, reflecting on their normative implications, and examining alternative policy responses to these developments. Restricted
