DPDPP22 - LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY DECISION MAKING

courses
ID:
DPDPP22
Duration (hours):
48
CFU:
6
SSD:
DIRITTO AMMINISTRATIVO
Located in:
PESCARA
Url:
ECONOMICS AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES/CORSO GENERICO Year: 2
Year:
2026
Course Catalogue:
https://unich.coursecatalogue.cineca.it/af/2026?co...

Overview

Date/time interval

Primo Quadrimestre (02/10/2026 - 02/12/2026)

Syllabus

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

Distinguish among a collective problem, a policy objective, a decision, an instrument and a policy outcome.
Reconstruct the relationship between objectives, instruments, causal mechanisms and target-group behaviour.
Identify actors, interests, resources, roles and obstacles within a decision-making process.
Compare policy instruments and instrument mixes with regard to effectiveness, distribution of effects and implementation capacity.
Distinguish legal validity, political and administrative feasibility, and policy effectiveness.
Develop and justify an innovation strategy, explicitly addressing alternatives, limitations, uncertainties and evaluation criteria.

Teaching Methods

Course Organisation

Each week consists of three sessions of 3, 2 and 3 hours, for a total of 8 hours per week over 6 weeks. Reading assignments, preparation of presentations and completion of assessments take place outside class hours.

Lectures, discussions, assignments and assessment are conducted in Italian. The main textbook and part of the supplementary material are in English; the course supports reading through explanations and a glossary of key concepts. Basic knowledge of public institutions and legal reasoning is recommended.

Teaching Method

Classes generally begin with an explanation of key concepts, proceed to practical examples, and include guided activities on Moodle that allow students to check their understanding and receive feedback.

Assessment Methods

Mixed Assessment Scheme
Participation (10%)

Prepared contributions, attentive listening and reasoned participation during exercises. Assessment is based on the quality rather than the frequency of contributions.

Individual Case Analysis (20%)

A 2,000-word paper addressing:

the policy problem,
the relevant actors,
a comparison between two policy responses,
implementation conditions.

Due after Lecture 10.

Group Presentation (20%)

A 12-minute presentation followed by 8 minutes of questions.

Students must present a reasoned policy proposal and discuss one objection to it.

Presentations take place during Lectures 11-16.

Final Multiple-Choice Test (50%)
40 questions in 60 minutes
Four answer options per question
One correct answer only
Conceptual questions and short policy scenarios

The test takes place after the course and outside the 48-hour teaching period.

Assessment Criteria

For participation, the case analysis and the presentation, assessment focuses on:

conceptual accuracy,
reconstruction of causal relationships,
quality of sources,
comparison of alternatives,
clarity of argumentation.

For group presentations, responses to questions are also evaluated.

When analysing legal provisions or real-world cases, students must specify the relevant legal system, time period and sources.

Deadlines and arrangements for non-attending students will be specified in the official course calendar.

Structure of the Final Test

The final test consists of:

10 questions on policy foundations and processes,
10 questions on instrument families,
10 questions on instrument mixes, policy capacities and risks,
10 questions applying concepts to short scenarios.

Each correct answer is worth 1 point. Incorrect or omitted answers receive 0 points, with no penalty for guessing.

The test score accounts for 50% of the final course grade.

Moodle exercises are also designed to prepare students for this assessment format.

The test specifications described above constitute the proposed syllabus and are subject to incorporation into the official examination arrangements.

Texts

Main Text

Michael Howlett, Designing Public Policies: Principles and Instruments, 3rd edition, Routledge, 2024.

The H readings indicated in the syllabus refer to this edition and its chapter numbering.

Supplementary Reading

Bruno Dente, Understanding Policy Decisions, Springer, 2014.

The D readings refer to sections of this edition. The Italian-language alternative, Le decisioni di policy. Come si prendono, come si studiano (Il Mulino, 2011), may also be used; correspondence between sections should be agreed with the instructor.

Contents

This course examines how public policies are designed, adopted and implemented, and the role that law plays in these processes. A proposal may be technically convincing yet encounter decision-making obstacles; a formally valid decision may produce outcomes different from those expected. The course links the choice of policy instruments to the political, institutional and organisational conditions that make their use possible and shape their effects.

The course is structured around Michael Howlett’s Designing Public Policies. It progresses from the core concepts of policy design to behavioural mechanisms, the formulation of alternatives and advisory systems, before addressing organisational, authoritative, financial and informational instruments. The final part of the course focuses on instrument mixes, risks, policy capacities and adaptation over time. Analysis of actors, resources, interactions and strategies is integrated throughout.

Course Language

Italian

Degrees

Degrees

ECONOMICS AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 
Master’s Degree
2 years
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