Assignment: Policy Outcomes
Write a five to six page paper in which you:
1. Construct constitutive and operational definitions for any three of the actions and outcome variables listed in the shaded box under Review Question 1 at the end of Chapter 6. (Note: The box includes Program expenditure, Equality of educational opportunity, Energy consumption, etc.)
2. Identify three policy problems listed in the shaded box under Review Question 5 and determine an appropriate indicator or index that would help determine whether each of the identified problems are being solved through government action. Justify your position on each.
3. Construct valid rebuttals to the following argument using at least four (4) threats to validity: (B) The greater the cost of an alternative, the less likely it is that the alternative will be pursued. (W) The enforcement of the maximum speed limit of 55 mph increases the costs of exceeding the speed limit. (I) The mileage death rate fell from 4.3 to 3.6 deaths per 100 million miles after the implementation of the 55-mph speed limit. (C) The 55-mph speed limit (National Speed Law of 1973) has been definitely successful in saving lives.
4. Include at least two peer-reviewed references (no more than five [5] years old) from material outside the textbook to support your views. Note: Appropriate peer-reviewed references include scholarly articles and governmental Websites. Do not use open source Websites such as Wikipedia, Sparknotes.com, Ask.com, and similar Websites are not acceptable resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Examine the nature, characteristics, models, and / or methods pertinent to the structuring of policy problems.
• Compare and contrast approaches and / or techniques for prescribing preferred policies.
• Evaluate policy outcomes by applying a variety of methods and techniques.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in policy analysis and program evaluation.
• Write clearly and concisely about policy analysis and program evaluation using proper writing mechanics.