Course Syllabus
FALL 2026 • SPEA-V517
Public Management Economics
Use this page as the quick, accessible guide to how the course works. The full syllabus contains the complete policies, assessment descriptions, university language, and semester schedule.
Open the full syllabus (PDF)Go to course modulesUpdated October 1, 2026 • The syllabus is subject to change.
Course at a glance
FORMAT
Asynchronous online
Eight modules and no required live class meetings beyond individually scheduled course appointments.
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Sandra Mensah
samens@iu.edu
Weekly Zoom drop-in support and Teach-the-TA meetings.
COURSE SUPPORT
All Day TA
Open the 24/7 course assistant for concepts, graphs, examples, and module-assessment questions.
What this course is about
This course develops the economic concepts and methods most useful for public management and policy analysis. We begin with choice and incentives, build graphical and numerical tools, and then apply them to markets, organizations, regulation, and public decisions.
By the end of the semester, you should be able to:
- Predict how people, organizations, and markets respond to incentives, prices, and policy changes.
- Represent economic reasoning graphically and numerically.
- Explain an economic mechanism clearly in writing and live conversation.
- Diagnose market and institutional failures and evaluate policy trade-offs.
- Transfer course concepts to new public-management problems and defend or revise your reasoning.
Grading at a glance
Your final grade is a weighted average of five Canvas assignment groups. Within a group, larger assignments count more toward that group’s score.
| Component | Weight | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Module assessments | 15% | Canvas problem sets for the eight course modules. |
| EconTalk | 10% | Two brief quizzes based on assigned podcast episodes. |
| Teach the TA | 25% | Two short Zoom teaching sessions plus a teaching card before each meeting. |
| Decision memos | 20% | Two structured, two-page maximum memos applying economics to public decisions. |
| Oral assessments | 30% | Two individual Zoom conversations: one rolling and one during finals week. |
Where to get help
1 · Course materials
Begin with the module lectures and readings.
2 · All Day TA
Ask follow-up questions any time. If it contradicts the lectures, the lectures win.
3 · Sandra
Attend weekly Zoom drop-in support or email the TA.
4 · Professor Ortega
Policies worth noticing
If something comes up
Canvas-submitted work loses 4% of its points per hour after the deadline until all points are exhausted at 25 hours. Contact Professor Ortega promptly about extenuating circumstances.
Appointments
Teach-the-TA and oral meetings may be rescheduled within the appointment window at least 48 hours in advance. An unexcused missed appointment scores zero.
Artificial intelligence
Use the course’s All Day TA for learning and AI to check work you already completed. Other AI use is prohibited. Never upload course materials to outside AI tools.
Ready to begin?
Open the modules and follow the sequence shown there. Module 1 contains the orientation, lectures, readings, first EconTalk assignment, and first module assessment.
Canvas course summary
The table below is generated automatically from published Canvas assignments and dates. Use the full syllabus and course announcements for the complete semester schedule.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|