Policy evaluation
Stage one instruction (approx. 1000 words)
Find a policy related to labor economics that was proposed in North America within the last year (an example of a past policy proposal is Elizabeth Warren’s universal childcare plan).
In stage 1 of your paper, I want you to discuss the details of the policy proposal. I.e., tell me what is being proposed, who is proposing it, what country it is being proposed in, who is being targeted, why is the policy being proposed, etc.
Make sure you cite all the references.
Stage 2, approx 1500-2000
Use the economic framework we have learned throughout the semester to work through the expected “effects” of the policy. For example, can the policy be considered a demogrant? If so, given what we have learned about the labour-leisure model, how do we expect the policy to affect the allocation of labour supplied? Once you have described the theory underlying the expected effects, summarize at least 5 empirical papers that have looked at similar policies in other contexts. What are their findings? Do they align with what the theory predicts? If not, why? An empirical paper is one that uses data to evaluate a specific policy. You may want to start looking for relevant papers in leading economic journals, including, but not limited to:
– The American Economic Review
– The Quarterly Journal of Economics
– The Journal of Labor Economics
– Labour Economics
– The Journal of Human Resources
– American Economic Journal: Applied Economics – American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
And for Canadian content:
– The Canadian Journal of Economics – Canadian Public Policy
• Stage 3, approx 1000 words:
Provide an analysis of the policy. This should reflect your opinion of the policy: What will be the outcomes of the policy based on your description of the theory and the empirical results? Will it be successful? Are there aspects of your setting that will lead to a more or less effective implementation compared to other similar settings? Are there aspects of your setting that are different from the other papers you read and if so, do you expect these institutional differences to lead to different policy outcomes? You may also wish to suggest ways in which this policy could be improved upon.
