| Unit name | Policy Experiments |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ECONM0037 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Burgess |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Economics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Many students want to use their skills and knowledge to make the world a better place. After graduation, this might involve working in a pro-social job, volunteering or donating money. But how do we know which policies are actually useful? How can we find out what are the valuable ways of doing good?
Increasingly, governments and others are using policy experiments to try and find out. Policy experiments run a real-world trial of a particular policy idea, and use statistical methods to estimate whether it was effective in improving outcomes. If you are interested in doing good better, this unit will be very important for you.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is very useful for anyone concentrating on applied economics topics, and for people with a strong interest in policy formation. But rather than looking for existing data out there, in Policy Experiments researchers actually create data. The most common form of policy experiment is a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). These are well-known in medicine for testing new drugs, but are increasingly used in social settings too.
The unit places strong emphasis on both the statistical underpinnings of RCTS and the practical aspects of the issues involved in running a trial. As such, this unit is a natural complement to the courses in econometrics and applied econometrics.
In your other units, you will come across many important policy debates, often full of controversy. These might be in units on education, labour economics, public economics, development economics. This unit therefore fits in very well with those units and provides a link between the more abstract foundational econometric courses and real-world questions.
An overview of content
The unit will review the benefits and potential limitations of using field experiments (compared to other evaluation tools used by economists). It will introduce students to key issues in the design and implementation of field experiments (for example, different ways of randomizing, determining appropriate sample sizes).
Students will see many practical examples of field experiments in different fields (for example, Labour Economics, Development Economics, Education). Students will also be asked to design their own field study in order to think through issues from first-hand perspective.
The unit will consider field experiments in developing and developed country contexts.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
This unit will help to make you a much better judge of proposed public policies. As such, you will be a better-informed citizen and contribute to the better governance of where you live. You will be able to critique evidence for particular policies and understand the complexities and rewards from running RCTs.
Learning Outcomes
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of lectures, large and small group classes, and supported by online resources.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Regular classes solving exercises or presenting outline plans for the coursework. In particular, there is considerable feedback and support for preparing the summative assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The unit is assessed by asking students to develop their own plan for an RCT to evaluate a policy of their choice in the context of their choice. Each year, students come up with a very diverse set of fascinating policies to evaluate using an RCT. This is then written up: coursework, approx. 2000 words. Worth 100% of unit mark. Assesses ILOs 1-3.
When assessment does not go to plan:
With feedback on the first attempt, students will have the opportunity to re-write their coursework.
Coursework, approx. 2000 words. Assesses ILOs 1-4.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ECONM0037).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
