PPE 3003 - Choices, Models and Morals: Foundations of Public Policy

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2025

Good public policy should be fair, effective, and rational. But all of these attributes are conceptually contentious. In this capstone course for the program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, we will take an interdisciplinary approach to these fundamental ideas in policy design and evaluation. The course will include at least the following topics: understanding theoretical explanations of social phenomena and the nature of economic models; the role of rationality in economic models (rational choice theory and game theory); causal models and causal inference in social science, and their role in policy interventions; the idea and reality of evidence-based policy; the nature of welfare, well-being, and welfare economics; markets and morals, including market failures; inequality, fairness, and distributive justice. The emphasis is on conceptual issues accessible to all PPE students. As a capstone, the course also provides a key opportunity for the PPE cohort to engage with one another.

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Course Details

Course Code	PPE 3003
Course	Choices, Models and Morals: Foundations of Public Policy
Coordinating Unit	School of Humanities
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	6
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	ECON 2507 and ECON 2514
Incompatible	PPE 2002
Assumed Knowledge	At least 6 units of Level II PHIL courses and at least 6 units of Level II POLIS courses
Restrictions	Available only to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program
Assessment	Major essay, Minor essay, Group presentation, Discussion preparation

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Antony Eagle

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

Individually, and in collaboration with peers, investigate and present the main controversies around rational choice theory and evidence-based policy;
Demonstrate understanding of major theoretical approaches from philosophy, politics, and economics to public policy through oral and written argument;
Identify relevant contemporary policy challenges and demonstrate the ability to apply the major foundational approaches covered to a particular policy proposal.;
Explain and evaluate, through extended written argument, selected proposed foundations for successful policy development.

最新糖心Vlog Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

最新糖心Vlog Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1,2,4
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	1,3,4
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	1,3
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	1,3
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	1,2,3,4
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	1,3

Learning Resources
Required Resources

The course textbook is

Julian Reiss (2013), Philosophy of Economics: A Contemporary Introduction. Routledge.

We will read a number of book chapters and articles as supplements to the textbook. These will be available through a course reading list in MyUni.

Recommended Resources
Several books that might be useful supplements to the core textbook:
- Bykvist, Krister (2010) Utilitarianism. A Guide for the Perplexed. Continuum.
- Cartwright, Nancy (2012) Evidence Based Policy: A Practical Guide to Doing it Better. Oxford 最新糖心Vlog Press.
- Hausman, D., McPherson, M., and Satz, D. (2016). Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy, and Public Policy. Cambridge.
- Kahneman, Daniel (2012) Thinking, Fast and Slow. Penguin.
- Peterson, Martin (2009) An Introduction to Decision Theory. Cambridge 最新糖心Vlog Press.
- Quiggin, John (2019) Economics in Two Lessons. Princeton 最新糖心Vlog Press.

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course is taught in small group seminar. Seminars are structured by an initial presentation of course material and then leading into whole class discussion. Appropriate to the advanced level of the course, students are expected to take high levels of responsibility for their own learning, and to be proactive in class preparation and in facilitatating and enabling class discussion by their own example.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Note: this is a 6-unit course.

WORKLOAD	TOTAL HOURS
STRUCTURED LEARNING
3 hours seminar per week	36 hours per semester
SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
10 hours reading/independent thought per week	120 hours per semester
2 hour discussion preparation per week	24 hours per semester
10 hours assignment preparation per week	120 hours per semester
TOTAL	300 hours

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Learning Activities Summary

Introduction
1. PPE and the Philosophy of Economics
Explanation in Economics
1. Economic Explanation
2. Rational Choice and its Limits
3. Game Theory and Decision Theory
Economic Theory and Observation
1. Causal Explanation and Economic Models
2. Statistics and Experiment in Economics
3. Evidence-Based Policy and Evidence
Ethics, Politics, and Economics
1. Welfare and Well-Being
2. Welfare Economics
3. Markets and Market Failures
4. Inequality and Distributive Justice
Conclusion: Beyond the Individual
1. Social Choice Theory

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The 最新糖心Vlog's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

ASSESSMENT TASK	TASK TYPE	WEIGHTING	COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
Major Essay	Formative and Summative	40%	1,2,3,4
Final Exam	Summative	25%	1,2,3,4
Group Presentation	Formative and Summative	25%	1,2,3
Workshop activities	Formative and Summative	10%	1,2

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Assessment Detail

Assessment	Description	% weighting
Major essay	An extended essay of 4000 words on the foundational issues discussed in the course.	40
Final exam	An inviligated open book/open note exam comprising short answer and short essay questions. Students will have the opportunity to co-design exam content during semester.	25
Group presentation	This group activity, completed by groups of students, will take the form of a policy paper, identifying, analysing, and proposing a resolution to a specific policy challenge, with reference to the course material. Work will be assessed on a group presentation and a report, which should involve equal contributions from each group member. The contributions of each individual to the presentation and report will amount to the equivalent of 2000 words.	25
Workshop activities	Students should attend the workshop and participate in class discussion.	10

This course is assessed by means of written work of various sorts, which is essential to build the fundamental philosophical skills of close analysis, extended complex argument, attention to detail, and the articulation of thought. Achievement of the learning outcomes in this course requires that you build skills in the analysis of written texts, you develop knowledge of various philosophical positions, and you understand how to construct a persuasive written argument. Some of these things can be done, to an extent, by a variety of generative AI tools, the use of which therefore tends to obscure the degree to which students have mastered the basic skills of understanding and summarising course materials and generating and expressing their own thoughts on the topics.

Accordingly, in this course the use of generative AI tools is strongly discouraged, and the use of any AI tools to generate ideas or give feedback on content or argument of assessment pieces is prohibited, as is any use of AI to produce work for submission. You may use elementary features of such tools to undertake spelling and grammar checking and to make suggestions about style and concision.

This course has an invigilated exam, and a presentation component, both of which help to provide assurance of student attainment and to validate performance on other assessment tasks.

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Submission

This course is assessed by written essays, a group presentation/report, and an invigilated end of semester exam. The exam is to be undertaken at the time directed under standard 最新糖心Vlog conditions.

Essays and reports must be submitted electronically through MyUni. This semester, I will be using Cadmus for the essay to help scaffold best practice in assessment design and to encourage and bolster academic integrity. I will be interested to hear your feedback about how effective it is. I will update you during the first few weeks of semester on how to use the platform. It is ultimately your responsibility to submit assessments correctly.

Further details about assesment and marking will be available through the course MyUni page.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The 最新糖心Vlog places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the 最新糖心Vlog to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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