There is a well-known connection between the barriers to entry created by an overburdensome regulatory climate and lower levels of productivity that create less economic growth. Many economics students are under the impression that regulations are designed to protect the workers and consumers as well as improve product quality, so they are often…

The Instagram Activism Slideshow helps undergraduate students bridge theory and practice by connecting the media arguments they see in their daily lives to the principles of policy argument they learn in argumentation courses. Students use a relevant argumentation theory or concept to argue for a public policy in a concise and palatable Instagram…

This tool is part of the Countering Truth Decay initiative, which is focused on restoring the role of facts, data, and analysis in U.S. political and civil discourse and the policymaking process. RAND researchers developed this educational tool, consisting of five sequenced lesson plans for middle school teachers, with the goal of improving RAND's…

Courses: News Reporting, Advertising, Strategic Communication, Media Studies, Introduction to Communication, Intercultural and Interracial Communication, Business Communication, and Hybrid Public Speaking. Objectives: This module facilitates a process for students to interrogate how they relate to the public and to understand the profound…

This case study is designed for use in graduate courses in student affairs and higher education administration. This case presents some of the challenges that higher education professionals face concerning policies and laws as they relate to student mental illness and emotional support animals. Requests for emotional support animals are becoming…

Some policies try to maximize net benefits by targeting different individuals to participate. This is difficult when costs and benefits of participation vary independently, such as in land conservation. The authors share a classroom game that explores cases in which minimizing costs may not maximize benefits and vice versa. The game is a…

The purpose of this guide is to help lower barriers for instructors who are interested in using student response systems, or "clickers," but are intimidated by the technology or the time investment. This guide is a step-by-step overview of the process of adopting clickers based on the author's experiences as a professor who recently took the…

A brief teacher's guide supplements a videotape of two 15-minute segments on homelessness. The stated objective of the video is to cover the issues of homelessness as they exist today and to dispel the stereotypes of homelessness leftover from earlier eras. A family which has found itself homeless is introduced and then aspects of the phenomenon…

This teacher's guide accompanies a videotape of the same name. Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., discusses current issues with students who question Mr. Gore on such topics as the environment, reinventing government, voter participation, crime, and the United States' role in foreign affairs. Gore tailors his answers to the teenage audience as the…

Presents a simple diagrammatic exposition of a pollution-permit market in which firms that generate pollution and consumers who are harmed by pollution are allowed to purchase permits at a single market price. Illustrates that the market equilibrium is efficient only if the endowment of permits is equal to the efficient level of pollution. (JEH)

Presents a two-stage pedagogy to help students establish original policy arguments. The two steps are designed to help students arrive at their own policy arguments once they have carefully identified and assessed the arguments of others. (HTH)

Proposes a course of study that would have high school students study and practice a public policy analysis model used by public policy professionals. Elaborates on the meaning of and rationale for public policy analysis and presents a detailed conceptual framework. Argues that competence in this activity will strengthen popular sovereignty. (DSK)

This teacher's guide accompanies a videotape of the same name. Experts from the fields of energy and the environment, along with an official from the U.S. Department of Energy, discuss these concerns. The video is a condensation of five programs produced by Close Up Television and Video as part of a national institute for high school social…

This article discusses the National Issues Forum (NIF), a national, nonpartisan program designed to encourage citizen discussion of important public issues. The programs try to recreate the town meeting concept of reaching consensus on public issues. Short workbooks are available on two reading levels for issues such as the superpowers, crime,…

Reviews various aspects of the sale of state-owned assets to the private sector. Lists assets sold and those still awaiting sale. Reviews who benefits from this policy, and provides discussion questions and follow up work for secondary students. (Author/JDH)