Instructions
Write a 7 to 10-page paper containing an economic analysis of the causes and policy solutions to a public policy issue. Ensure that you follow the guidelines provided both below and in class.
You will be graded on the aspects below (Note that I have already discussed what I expect from you the aspects that I do not elaborate greatly):
Title page (1 point)
Title (and Sub-title, if you want):
The title page should include a title.
Make sure the title is informative. It should capture the gist of your proposal and, it should be as direct as possible.
For example, if you want to propose that government provides free meals in order to improve student attendance in Indiana’s high schools,
“Education policy in Indiana” is not a good title.
“A policy proposal for improving student attendance in Indiana’s high schools” is a better title.
Better still, you can have a title and sub-title. For example:
“Improving student attendance in Indiana’s high schools: A case for government provision of free meals”
A picture/Image:
The title page should also include a picture/image.
Find an image that best captures the key aspects of your proposal.
The image should speak to me in a way that lets me understand the proposal.
The proposal writer and the person being addressed
Write your name– as the proposal writer– and give yourself a title. The title you give yourself should fit the proposal. In other words, the proposal should reflect the capacity and interests of the office/title you give yourself.
For example, if your title, is “Chairperson of the Democratic Party (USA)”, I don’t expect you to write a proposal that advocates for illegalizing gay marriage.
Also, write the name and the title of the person/office you are addressing. Think about this seriously. For example, if you want to write a proposal that addresses climate change internationally, ensure that you are not directing it to the Mayor of Bloomington (IN) since his office cannot address an international issue.
Summary/Abstract/Executive Summary
The summary should capture the essential aspects of the rest of the paper. It should be written as concisely and precisely are possible.
The summary should contain NO citations.
You should take it as a given that if your summary is not written well, or if it is confusing, the reader will get the impression that the entire proposal is not good.
The issue == (3 points)
Specify the issue and convince the audience that it is worth addressing.
Here, graphical information that illustrates the magnitude of the issue is usually great.
Also, highlighting the secondary issues that arise from this issue is great.
Provide references where necessary.
The cause(s) == (3 points)
Here, describing several causes and specifying one of the them as the main cause is critical.
Remember, the main cause guides the way you write the rest of the proposal.
Ensure to economically model as many relationships between issue and causes as possible.
Ensure to provide some empirical evidence to support those relationship. Ideally, it should also be well cited.
Current policies == (3 points)
Specify the existing policy(ies) for addressing the issue.
Ensure to economically model the ways in which current policies address the issue.
Alternative policies == (3 points)
***Clearly specify all alternative policy options. The more of these, the better.
Ideally, for alternative policy options, you can give examples of geographical contexts where they have worked or failed to work.
Ensure to economically model the ways in which current policies address the issue.
Provide references where necessary.
Writing (1 point)
***You are expected to write concisely and precisely
References & Footnotes (1 point)
Use the APA citation formation
Ensure that you have citations well-placed where they are needed. And, organize the references at the back of the proposal.
You can have footnotes [additional notes to supplement what you are saying in the main text], but don’t put in the footnotes the references for material (in the main text)
Organizing the illustrations
Use the format below to organize your tables and figures. If you do not use this format, I will just assume that you do not have any graphical illustrations (Examples that illustrate this format are available on Canvas/Files/Proposal Material).
1st I create a table (let’s say with two rows and one column.
2nd I insert the picture in one of the rows, and use the other row for the caption.
3rd I select the table, right click the mouse and select “table properties”
4th in the “rows” pane you have to unselect the box that allows the table to break (I think that is the first box) and select the second box.