SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

PUAF U6187y Education for Sustainable Practices In this course we will aim to problematize both education and sustainability and to connect theory and practice. We will begin with a simple question, what is education and then expand it to: what is education for sustainable practices? As I will note, conflicting views of education have persisted throughout the last century and continue to today. We will then turn to examining what is meant by sustainable development. What concepts are included and excluded from the notion of sustainable development? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Given the above, what do we mean by education for sustainable development? How is it similar and different from concepts such as environmental education and environmental health? Consequently, please note that while in the text below I repeatedly refer to education for sustainable development and practices, what these terms mean remains problematic and contested. SIPA: Development Practice.

PUAF U6237y Implementing Better Health: Systems-Based Problem Solving In this course, we will examine real time political efforts to improve national health at different scales in Nigeria (national), India (state-based), and the United States (district level). Given the complexity of this challenge, a practitioner's eye is required to guide the mechanics of a scalable and sustainable health system. We will focus on the alignment of governance, community participation, and information feedback required to successfully meet this high level goal. Each of these initiatives are being technically advised by an interdisciplinary team of Earth Institute advisors. Using case-based methodology to explore implementation challenges, we focus on the intersection of community need, technical feasibility and political will in building health systems. We will highlight the cumulative nature of content and situational analyses to examine three recurring course themes: (1) the components of a dynamic health system in the context of integrated community development, (2) the importance of regional and local context in planning for scalability and sustainability, and (3) bridging the gap between policy and implementation. This will be a hands-on, practical look at the implementation mechanics required to connect community level management to national policy. The major course output will be a guided, semester long exercise in writing a strategic development plan from a practitioners perspective to guide political decision making. The focus on health systems is a concrete means to understand the more general skills involved in this process, which include political, financial, technical and organizational analysis. SIPA: Development Practice.

PUAF U6305y Leadership and Politics: Bridging Theory and Practice to Achieve the MDGs The seminar is divided into three broad sections: Scaling Policies and Programs, the Politics of Scale, and Managing at Scale. The first unit starts by reviewing briefly how major policy is derived and programs identified, then turning to sessions on decentralization and local variation, determining resources and constraints, and "second best" (aka "real world") policymaking. Unit Two will form the bulk of the seminar and will include six weeks looking at the major political institutions in developing countries, including legislative, executive and judicial branches, sub-national government, NGO and private sectors as well as international development partners. The politics unit will also look deeply at topics such as the budget process, national executive branch planning and development partner planning, election cycles, and bureaucratic politics. The final unit will examine the specific management and administrative challenges of scaling programs nationwide, and will focus on challenges of aggregate demand shocks, leadership of programs in transition, and building an appropriate institutional base. SIPA: Development Practice.

PUAF U6411y Global Food Systems 3 pts. Introduces and explores systems of producing and ensuring equitable access to food. The course begins with an overview of the core bio-physical elements of food production: land and soil, water and biodiversity. The course then surveys a selection of important smallholder farming systems that provide food and livelihoods for more than two billion people on the planet. Building on this understanding, students will examine the underlying history, science and impact of the Asian Green Revolution that doubled global food supplies between 1970 and 1995. Country case studies from Asia and Africa will be examined to understand the roles of science, policies, politics, institutions and economics in advancing agriculture and food security. SIPA: Development Practice.

PUAF U6413y Global Health Practice 3 pts. The aim of this course is to provide non-health experts with a basic understanding of global public health issues. The course will focus on the Millennium Development Goals 4 (child health), 5 (maternal health) and 6 (malaria, HIV, TB and other important diseases) alongside the interdependence of the MDGs and health outcomes. In addition, challenges to health systems and barriers to access are addressed. All students are required to complete the Introduction to Global Health (HGH 6810) course offered in the fall prior to registering for this course. SIPA: Development Practice.

SDEV U8606y Macroeconomic Policy & Development 3 pts.Not offered in 2012-2013. The course will focus on major macroeconomic policy issues relevant for developing countries. It will mix theory with empirical evidence and institutional analysis. It will analyze first with questions relating to short-term macro adjustment and end with long-term growth. Two specific issues will be dwelt with in the intermediate sessions: the effects of financial development and capital account liberalization, and the effects of macro adjustment and growth on poverty and equity. Throughout the course, we will consider both orthodox and heterodox views on macroeconomic issues. As developing countries are essentially open economies. Models of open economy macroeconomics will thus be the essential theoretical tool. Students must thus have some basic tools of open economy macro, or be willing to invest in reading some basic textbooks (suggested on syllabi). SIPA: EPD. SIPA: Development Practice.

SDEV U9240y Human Ecology and Sustainable Development 3 pts. This course describes the interactions between physical ecology and economic development, and stresses the two-way interactions between the physical environment and economic development. Ecological constraints (climate, disease ecology, physical resources such as soils and energy sources, topography and transport conditions) significantly shape the patterns of economic development, demography, and wealth and poverty. At the same time, anthropogenic activities (farming, resource depletion, demographic stresses, energy use) change the physical environment. The course aims to give a rigorous treatment of this two-way interaction, building on a rigorous foundation of earth systems processes to understand the ecological bases of human settlement. SIPA: EPD. SIPA: E&E- Environment Policy. SIPA: USP- Social Policy Track. SIPA: Development Practice.

SDEV U9255y Science, Technology, and Sustainable Development 3 pts.Not offered in 2012-2013. Science and technology are increasingly viewed as important tools to address health, nutritional, and environmental challenges facing developing countries. They are also widely seen as means to create jobs, raise productivity, and thus improve living standards. Accordingly, there is growing consensus that science and technology policies are central to the process of sustainable development. This course provides an introduction to the academic and policy literature on science, technology, and development. We begin with a discussion of the roles of technology in growth and development, drawing on the historical and macroeconomic literatures. Next, we turn to the literature on the microeconomics of innovation, learning and diffusion. Third, we discuss the main policy instruments used by governments in developed and developing countries to affect the rate and direction of technical change and diffusion. Much of the literature in this field historically has focused on developed countries, and the reading list reflects this. However, class presentation and discussion will focus on drawing implications for economic development SIPA: Applied Science. SIPA: Development Practice.

SIPA U0010x and y (Section 11) Concentration: Development Practice All MPA-Development Practice candidates are required to register this policy concentration in each semester of matriculation at SIPA. Registration will be for zero academic credits and will not affect or be affected by fees or financial charges. SIPA: Development Practice.

SIPA U6401y Economic Analysis for International & Public Affairs II 3 pts. This course continues the one-year sequence initiated with U6400 and focuses on macroeconomics. The goal of this course is to provide students with the analytical framework to examine and interpret observed economic events in the global economy. The causal relationships between macroeconomic aggregates is based upon microeconomic principles. The subject matter always refers to concrete situations with a particular focus on the causes and effects of the current global financial crisis. The controversial nature of macroeconomic policies is central. SIPA: MIA- Economics. SIPA: MPA- Economics. SIPA: Development Practice.

SIPA U6500x and y Quantitative Analysis for International & Public Affairs 3 pts. This survey course introduces students to the fundamentals of statistical analysis. We will examine the principles and basic methods for analyzing quantitative data, with a focus on applications to problems in public policy, management, and the social sciences. We will begin with simple statistical techniques for describing and summarizing data and build toward the use of more sophisticated techniques for drawing inferences from data and making predictions about the social world. The course will assume that students have little mathematical background beyond high school algebra. Students will be trained on STATA. This powerful statistical package is frequently used to manage and analyze quantitative data in many organizational/institutional contexts. The formal mathematical foundation of statistics is downplayed; students who expect to make extensive and customized use of advanced statistical methods may be better served by a different course. This course also offers less practice in writing research papers using quantitative analysis than some courses (e.g., Political Science 4910). Most SIPA students, however, should benefit from our emphasis on generating and interpreting statistical results in many different practical contexts. There are multiple sections of this course, and they are taught by different professors. Because each faculty member takes a somewhat different approach to teaching this course, students should examine each professor's syllabus to understand the differences.