BIDE

ESSENTIAL ECONOMICS FOR SENIOR POLICY MAKERS

To Be Announced

John Maynard Keynes once said that “the ideas of economists…, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” This quote is as relevant today as it was in 1935. Today most discussions on public policy do indeed start with economics and often end with economics too. In between there is a discussion of political, social and even cultural issues. Yet the success of public policy is ultimately judged by its contributions to the economic welfare of the citizens. Consequently knowledge of economics is now an essential requirement for sound design of public polices.

The growing popularity of economics as a subject in college education reflects its usefulness in a wide variety of human pursuits including public policy. To be sure, Economics has long been the most popular major for individuals intending to work in business. But in the last two decades it has become popular among those planning careers in politics, international relations, law, medicine, engineering, psychology, and other professions. And there is a very good reason for this—practitioners in each of these fields often find themselves confronting economic issues.. For example, lawyers increasingly face judicial proceedings and rulings based on the principles of economic efficiency. Doctors will need to understand how new laser technologies or changes in the structure of health industry in their country affect their practices. Industrial psychologists need to understand the economic implication of workplace changes they may advocate, such as flexible scheduling or on-site child care.

This course is primarily meant for mid-career professionals dealing with various areas of public policy. Prior background in economics is not essential but strong interest in public policy issues is a must. Participants interested in making world a better place will find economics to be indispensable. There is no shortage of serious social problems worthy of our attention—unemployment, hunger, poverty, disease, drug addiction, violent crime, to name a few. Economics can help us understand the origins of these problems, explain why previous efforts to solve them have failed, and enable us to design new more effective solutions.

This is a very comprehensive training workshop and is tailored to be useful to participants with varying degrees of previous background in economics education. Both experienced economists and newcomers will find it useful and enjoyable. This course differs from the typical university courses in its heavy emphasis on applications to real-world public policy issues. Only economic theories that are of immediate use to seasoned mid-career professionals are taught in this course. At the end of the course, workshop participants will have an enhanced capacity to critically review and analyze economic reports, catch mistakes in economic logic, detect misleading statements and out-and-out lies.

The course is based on two decades of Dr. Trivedi’s experience of teaching a similar course to mid-career professionals at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. This course is highly rated by mid-career professionals and is based on his book entitled, “Applied Microeconomics for Public Policy Makers.” This book is a required reading in many sections of the economics course in the Summer Program for Mid-Career MPA students at the Kennedy School of Government and will be one of the core background readings in this workshop.