PUBP 861: Culture and Social Policy Analysis Desmond Arias Office: 672 Founders Hall Office Hours: 6:50-7:20 Mondays; 6:50-7:20 Wednesdays or by appointment Course Description This course will examine social policy in comparative perspective. The goal of the course will be to develop an understanding of the dynamics and characteristics of social policy in different countries. This course will consider how different cultural and political dynamics affect the choice of social policies. During the semester we will discuss these issues at a theoretical level and then will examine retirement, gender, health, education, and migration policy. The course will conclude with a discussion of how policy paradigms change. Learning Objectives Readings 1. Students should develop an understanding of the diversity of social policies across different cultures. 2. Student will hone their skills researching and writing about social policy. 3. Students will develop skills in critiquing the work of their peers and making scholarly presentations. All readings are available through the library website, on the Internet, or through Blackboard. Assignments Draft Introduction: 5% Reaction Paper: 20% Reaction Presentation: 10% Peer Critique: 5% Final Paper: 50% Participation: 10% Class Policies: Statement on Special Needs: Students with disabilities requiring accommodation should contact the Disability Resource Center at 993-2474. Class Policies: Grading will follow the standards of the School of Public Policy and the University.
Late Assignments: All assignments must be turned in on time. Late Assignments will be docked 1/3 of a letter grade for every day they are turned in late (i.e. an A becomes as A- after one calendar day). Students needing an extension should speak to the instructor in advance. No extensions will be given after the due date. All assignments, unless otherwise noted, should be completed independently and within the academic standards of the School of Public Policy and the University. Students should properly cite all works they reference. All citations should be consistent with Chicago hmanual of Style or some other approved style that the student has previously discussed with the instructor. Students who have doubts about proper citations styles should consult the School of Public Policy s website at http://popp.gmu.edu. Absences: Students are required to attend all classes. Students may miss two classes without penalty. Additional absences will count against the student s grade. Students with more than six total absences will fail the course. If students arrive after role is called they are responsible for informing the professor of their attendance after class. If students arrive after role is called on more than two occasions future late arrivals will be recorded as absences. Once attendance has been recorded it will not be changed at a later date. Recording: All recording or class meetings, digital, analog, audio, video or any other type or format, is forbidden without the express approval of the instructor. If you would like to record any class session you must speak directly with the instructor. Lectures and other class materials provided to you are the intellectual property of the instructor. All recordings that the instructor may allow are expressly for the personal use of the individual student who has sought the permission of the instructor and may not be distributed to other students either free of charge or for profit. Correspondence: Under university policy students should only correspond with faculty through their GMU e-mail account. Please e-mail the professor using these accounts. Assignment Descriptions Final Paper (50%): This is a research paper that students may want to think about as a draft of a scholarly article or as preparation for field examinations. The paper should focus on a core research question related to the underlying themes of the class and should engage readings and data presented in class but also work that the student has done beyond the assigned readings for class. The paper should be built around a clear research statement and present evidence to defend that statement. This paper should be 8000-10,000 words in length. Draft Introduction (5%): This paper should be approximately two pages long and should be a version of the introduction to your final paper. I should include a paragraph explaining the importance of the subject of the paper, a paragraph laying out the proposed argument of the paper, and a paragraph or set of paragraphs that
provide an explanation of the evidence that will be discussed in the paper as well as an outline of the content of the paper. Reaction Paper (20%): In this five- to seven-page paper the student will examine and critique two or more readings from a particular week. The student will develop an argument and critically analyze the readings around this theme. The student may want to think of the paper as a book review that seeks to organize an analysis and synthesizes of a set of articles from one weeks readings. The student should provide discussion questions at the end of their paper and the paper should be distributed to the entire class the Monday before the class meeting at which we will discuss the readings. Reaction Presentation (10%): The student will deliver a 10-minute presentation on their reaction paper on the day that the class is discussing those readings. Peer Critique (5%): The student will constructively critique another student s reaction paper after the reaction paper presentation. Assigned Readings: Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are optional. Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: All work for this class, unless otherwise noted in writing by the instructor, is the responsibility solely of the student who should undertake such work unaided by others. Under no circumstances should students allow to appear in their work text written by others that is not fully credited and does not appear in a way that makes apparent that such text was taken directly from another source. All ideas and concepts that come from other sources should be fully referenced even if the text itself explains those concepts is written solely by the student. Papers will be analyzed for plagiarism through web applications such as Turnitin.com and Safe Assign. This course will fully adhere to the School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs policy on plagiarism. That policy is quoted below: The profession of scholarship and the intellectual life of a university as well as the field of public policy inquiry depend fundamentally on a foundation of trust. Thus any act of plagiarism strikes at the heart of the meaning of the university and the purpose of the School of Public Policy. It constitutes a serious breach of professional ethics and it is unacceptable. Plagiarism is the use of another's words or ideas presented as one's own. It includes, among other things, the use of specific words, ideas, or frameworks that are the product of another's work. Honesty and thoroughness in citing sources are
essential to professional accountability and personal responsibility. Appropriate citation is necessary so that arguments, evidence, and claims can be critically examined. Plagiarism is wrong because of the injustice it does to the person whose ideas are stolen. But it is also wrong because it constitutes lying to one's professional colleagues. From a prudential perspective, it is shortsighted and self-defeating, and it can ruin a professional career. The faculty of the School of Public Policy takes plagiarism seriously and has adopted a zero tolerance policy. Any plagiarized assignment will receive an automatic grade of "F." This may lead to failure for the course, resulting in dismissal from the university. This dismissal will be noted on the student's transcript. For foreign students who are on a university-sponsored visa (e.g. F-1, J-1 or J-2), dismissal also results in the revocation of their visa. To help enforce the SPP policy on plagiarism, all written work submitted in partial fulfillment of course or degree requirements must be available in electronic form so that it can be compared with electronic databases, as well as submitted to commercial services to which the School subscribes. Faculty may at any time submit a student's work without prior permission from the student. Individual instructors may require that written work be submitted in electronic as well as printed form. The SPP policy on plagiarism is supplementary to the George Mason University Honor Code; it is not intended to replace it or substitute for it. Course Calendar: August 29 Week 1: Class Introduction Neil Irwin, A Big Safety Net and Strong Job Market can Co-Exist. Just Ask Scandanavia, New York Times, December 17, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/upshot/nordic-nations-show-that-bigsafety-net-can-allow-for-leap-in-employment-rate-.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1. September 5 Week 2: No Class September 12 Week 3: General Theories Claus Offe, Democracy against the Welfare State?: Structural Foundations of Neoconservative Political Opportunities Political Theory 15: 4 (1987): 501-537.
Gøsta Esping-Andersen, The Three Political Economies of the Welfare State, International Journal of Sociology 20: 3 (1990): 92-123.Paul Pierson, "The New Politics of the Welfare State," World Politics 48 (1996): 143-79. Paul Pierson, "Three Worlds of Welfare State Research," Comparative Political Studies 33:6/7 (2000): 791-821. *Jens Alber, What the European and American Welfare States have in Common and Where they Differ: Facts and Fiction in Comparisons of the European Social Model and the United States, Journal of European Social Policy 20 (2010). September 19 Week 4: General Theories Wil Arts and John Gelissen. Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism or More? A State-of-the-art Report. Journal of European Social Policy, 12:2 (2002):137-58. Walter Korpi and Joakim Palme, The Paradox of Redistribution, American Sociological Review 63: 5 (1998): 661-687. Peter Swenson, Varieties of Capitalist Interests: Power, Institutions, and the Regulatory Welfare State in the United States and Sweden, Studies in American Political Development (2004). Torben Iversen and David Soskice, Electoral Institutions and the Politics of Coalitions: Why Some Democracies Redistribute More than Others. American Political Science Review 100: 2 (2006): 165-181. September 26 Week 5: Core Theories and Regional Variation Ben Ross Schneider,. Hierarchical Market Economies and Varieties of Capitalism in Latin America, Journal of Latin American Studies 41: 553-575. Lauren M. MacLean, State Retrenchment and the Exercise of Citizenship in Africa, Comparative Political Studies (2010): 1-29. Ito Peng and Joseph Wong, Institutions and Institutional Purpose: Continuity and Change in East Asian Social Policy, Politics and Society 36: 1 (2008). Maurizio Ferrera, The Southern Model of the Welfare State in Europe, Journal of European Social Policy (1996).
T. Mkandawire Social Development Policies: New Challenges for the Social Sciences. International Social Science Journal, Vol.58, Issue 189 (2006): 395-404. October 3 Week 6: Retirement Martin Feldstein, The Case for Privatization. Foreign Affairs (1997). Jacob Hacker, Privatizing Risk without Privatizing the Welfare State: The Hidden Politics of Social Policy Retrenchment in the United States, American Political Science Review (2004): 243-58. Karen M. Anderson, "The Politics of Retrenchment in a Social Democratic Welfare State: Reform of Swedish Pensions and Unemployment Insurance, Comparative Political Studies 34: 9 (2001): 1063-1091. Deborah Mabbett, The Ghost in the Machine: Pension Risks and Regulatory Responses in the United States and the United Kingdom, Politics & Society 40 (2012): 107-129. *Campbell, Andrea L. and Kimberly J. Morgan. Federalism and the Politics of Old-Age Care in Germany and the United States. Comparative Political Studies, 38: 8 (2005): 887-914 October 10 Week 7: Retirement Kurt Weyland, Theories of Policy Diffusion: Lessons from Latin American Pension Reform, World Politics, 57 (2005): 262-295. S.M. Brooks, Social Protection and Economic Integration: The Politics of Pension Reform in an Era of Capital Mobility, Comparative Political Studies 35:5 (2002): 491-523. Carina Schmitt, Hanna Lierse, Herbert Obinger, and Laura Seelkopf, The Global Emergence of Social Protection: Explaining Social Security Legislation 1820 2013 Politics & Society December 2015 43: 503-524. Pamela Herd, Women, Public Pensions, and Poverty: What Can the United States Learn from Other Countries? Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 30: 2 (2009): 301-334. Silvia, Stephen J. 2009. Why Germany Reformed Public Pensions, but the United States Did Not. German Studies Review, 32: No. 1 (2009): 23-50.
*Alan M. Jacobs, `How Do Ideas Matter? Mental Models and Attention in German Pension Politics Comparative Political Studies, 42: 2 (2009): 252-279. *Gary Burtless, Can Improved Options for Private Saving Offer a Plausible Substitute for Public Pensions? Politics & Society 40 (2012): 81-105. October 17 Week 8: Employment / Gender Ann Shola Orloff. Gender and social rights of citizenship: the comparative analysis of gender relations and welfare states, American Sociological Review 58 (1993): 303-328 Jelle Visser, The First Part-Time Economy in the World: A Model to be Followed? Journal of European Social Policy (2002). Torben Iversen and Anne Wren, Equality, Employment and Budgetary Restraint: The Trilemma of the Service Economy, World Politics 50: 4 (1998): 507-546. Kimberly Morgan, The Politics of Mothers Employment: France in Comparative Perspective, World Politics 55 (2003): 259-289. Patrick Emmenegger, The Politics of Job Security Regulations in Western Europe: From Drift to Layering, Politics & Society March 2015 43: 89-118. *Michael Shalev, Class Divisions among Women, Politics & Society 2008: 421-44. *Margarita Estevez-Abe, Gender Bias in Skills and Social Policy: The Varieties of Capitalism Perspective on Sex Segregation, Social Politics (2005): 180-215. DRAFT INTRODUCTION DUE October 24 Week 9: Family Policy and Children Ken Battle, Michael Mendelson, Daniel Meyer, Jane Millar and Peter Whiteford, Cash for Kids in Four Countries: Child Benefits in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Focus 21: 3 (2001): 44-49. Sook-yeon Won and Gillian Pascall, A Confucian War over Childcare? Practice and Policy in Childcare and their Implications for Understanding the Korean Gender Regime, Social Policy & Administration (2004): 270-289.
Marian Negoita, A Model in the Desert: Modernization, Advanced Liberalism, and Child Protection Reform in Postcommunist Romania, Politics & Society 38 (2010): 95-117. Patricia Boling, Demography, Culture, and Policy: Understanding Japan s Low Fertility, Population and Development Review 34:2 (2008): 307-326. *Christine Skinner, Jonathan Bradshaw and Jacqueline Davidson, Child Support Policy: An International Perspective. London: Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No. 405, 2007 http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/pubs/pdf/rrep405.pdf October 31 Week 10: Health Jonathan Oberlander, Long Time Coming: Why Health Reform Finally Passed, Health Affairs 29: 6 (2010): 1112-1116. Jacob Hacker, "The Historical Logic of National Health Insurance: Structure and Sequence in the Development of British, Canadian, and American Medical Policy," Studies in American Political Development 12 (1998): 57-130 Sven Steinmo and John Watts, "Its the Institutions, Stupid!: Why the United States Can't Pass Comprehensive National Health Insurance," Journal of Health Politics Policy and Law 20: 2 (1995): 329-372 * Jill Quadagno, Why the United States Has No National Health Insurance: Stakeholder Mobilization against the Welfare State, 1945-1996, Journal of Health and Social Behavior (2004). November 7 Week 11: Health T. Marmor, K. Okma, and S. Latham, National values, institutions and health policies: what do they imply for medicare reform? Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 12: 1-2 (2010): 179-196. Susan Giaimo and Philip Manow, Adapting the Welfare State: The Case of Health Care Reform in Britain, Germany and the United States Comparative Political Studies 32, 8 (1999): 967-1000. Kenneth C. Shadlen, The Political Contradictions of Incremental Innovation: Lessons from Pharmaceutical Patent Examination in Brazil, Politics & Society 39 (2011): 143-174.
November 14: No Class November 21 Week 12: Education Kathleen Thelen and Ikuo Kume, The Rise of Nonmarket Training Regimes: Germany and Japan Compared, Journal of Japanese Studies 25:1 (1999): 33-64. Helen F. Ladd, School Vouchers: A Critical View, Journal of Economic Perspectives 16:4 (2002): 3-24. John Boli, Francisco Ramirez, and John W. Meyer, Explaining the Origins and Expansion of Mass Education, Comparative Education Review 29 2 (1985): 145-170. Torben Iverson and John D. Stephens, Partisan Politics, the Welfare State, and Three Worlds of Human Capital Formation, Comparative Political Studies 41: 4/5 (2008):. 600-637. November 28 Week 13: Education Anne West and Rita Nikolai., Welfare Regimes and Education Regimes: Equality of Opportunity and Expenditure in the EU (and US), Journal of Social Policy 42: 3 (2013): 469-493. Stephanie Allais, Will Skills Save Us: Rethinking the Relationship Between Vocational Education, Skills Development, and Social Policy in South Africa, International Journal of Educational Development 32 (2012): 632-642. Paul Glewwe and Ana Lucia Kassoui, The Impact of the Bolsa Escola / Familia Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Enrollment, Drop Out Rates, and Grade Promotion in Brazil, Journal of Development Economics 97:2 (2012): 505-517. December 5 Week 14: Transformation Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, `Winner Take All Politics Politics and Society, June 38: 2 (2010).
Vivien.A. Schmidt, `Does Discourse Matter in the Politics of Welfare State Adjustment? Comparative Political Studies, 35:2 (2002): 168-93. Sarah M. Brooks, Social Protection for the Poorest: The Adoption of Antipoverty Cash Transfer Programs in the Global South Politics & Society December 2015 43: 551-582. Peter A. Hall, `Policy Paradigms, Social Learning and the State: The Case of Economic Policy-Making in Britain, Comparative Politics 25(1993): 275-297. James Habyarimana, Macartan Humphries, Daniel N. Posner, and Jeremy Weinstein, Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision? American Political Science Review 101: 4 (2007): 709-725. *Colin J. Bennett and Michael Howlett, The Lessons of Learning: Reconciling Theories of Policy Learning and Policy Change, Policy Sciences 25: 3 (1992): 275-94. December 12* Week 15 Conclusion Ronen Mandelkern and Michael Shalev, Power and the Ascendance of New Economic Policy Ideas, World Politics, 62:3 (2010), 459-495. Frank Dobbin, Beth Simmons, and Geoffrey Garrett, The Global Diffusion of Public Policies: Social Construction, Coercion, Competition or Learning? Annual Review of Sociology 33 (2007): 449-472 Kelly Kollman, `Same-Sex Unions: The Globalization of an Idea, International Studies Quarterly 51(2007): 329-357. William D. Coleman, Grace D. Skogstad, and Michael M. Atkinson, `Paradigm Shifts and Policy Networks: Cumulative Change in Agriculture, Journal of Public Policy, 16: 3 (1996): 273-301. Final paper is due on the final exam day