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Ethics and Public Policy (EPP)

Ethics and Public Policy

Co-Directors:

Contact: ethicsandpublicpolicy@gmail.com

Goals:

  • Promote research on the ethical dimensions of public policy.
  • Improve ethics education for Public Policy/Public Affairs/Public Administration students.
  • Build a community of teachers and researchers.

Members: 

  • Scholars teaching and conducting research on the normative dimension of public policy.

See: Upcoming Workshops and Events | Past Workshops and Events | Member Directory | Recent Publications | Teaching Resources

Upcoming Workshops and Events

November 1st, 9:30am ET (Zoom) Mark Fabian, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

Title: “Philosophical Issues and Issues for Philosophers in Wellbeing Public Policy”

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Abstract: I will compare two paradigmatic approaches to wellbeing public policy – the social planner perspective and what might be called the citizen perspective – and evaluate them philosophically and practically. By practically, I mean in terms of their usefulness to everyday policymakers, especially in the bureaucracy and sub-national levels of government. The social planner perspective, which characterises economic and philosophical approaches to ‘rational’ policymaking among academics, preponderates in central government agencies, especially treasury departments. In line agencies (i.e. those that deliver services) and in other academic disciplines it is generally regarded as actively harmful to good governance. Conversely, the citizen perspective, which is bottom-up, context-sensitive, participatory, politics-first, and leans qualitative, appeals to line agencies and policy studies scholars but is unwieldy for treasury and coordinating ministries. I will sketch ways in which I think these perspectives could be made complementary rather than competitive, at least for wellbeing policy. 

December 6th, 9:30am ET (Zoom) Brookes Brown, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto

Title: TBA

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Abstract: TBA