School of Architecture and Planning

IMPORTANT update about the final exam

Please note that the news article you will need for the final exam has been simplified. You now only have the one article covering the trucking deregulation. We've decided the questions from the dairy case were unhelpful and unnecessary (this is the part where you all cheer our kindness and generosity of spirit...).

The file posted under the "Final Exam News Article" topic reflects this change -- it is now just the one NYT story about the trucking case. If you already have downloaded the original file, please just ignore the story about dairy policy.

My apologies for whatever headaches this change creates for you all. Whatever the hassle, though, this simplification of things is the right thing to do. It makes the exam a better, fairer thing.

-- GM

Announced on 13 December 2006  8:21  p.m. by Gary McKissick

News articles for the exam

The news articles you'll need for the final exam are now up on Stellar. Please note that there are two articles in the one document, one story on trucking deregulation and one on dairy subsidies. The questions on the exam will point you to these two cases, so you should read these articles beforehand and look for familiar pieces of the policy process (there are many!).

While I'm here, let me just say one thing about tax incentives that I should have addressed when it came up in class discussion today. Remember the conversation we were having about whether people give to charity only because of the tax implications of doing so? As we discussed, people give to charities for all sorts of reasons; tax deductions are just one reason, and likely not the most important reason. That, of course, is an especially nice reminder (and one I should have pointed out in class) that the behavioral choices people make are complicated and driven by all sorts of concerns besides the effect on one's tax liability. Which is to say, we ought to be modest in our expectations about the power of tax inducements to reshape behavior in many contexts. When the choices people make are only marginally driven by tax considerations, if at all, then the effects of tax incentives are likely to be, well, quite marginal...

Cheers to a pleasant, healthful week of finals and best wishes for the exam.

-- GM

Announced on 12 December 2006  2:58  p.m. by Gary McKissick

Essay #4

The assignment for your fourth (and final!) essay is now up on Stellar, under the materials for Nov. 30. The essay is due by 5:00 PM, on Monday, Dec. 4th.
-- GM

Announced on 27 November 2006  10:05  a.m. by Gary McKissick

Healthcare readings for next week

Folks,

As I mentioned at the end of class last Thursday, we've decided to make some changes to the readings for next week. Mission accomplished (to quote a famous banner...). The readings for next week are now online, all under the November 28 date. I'd like you to do them all by that date; the conversation and case study will continue on Thursday, Nov.30.

-- GM

Announced on 21 November 2006  10:16  a.m. by Gary McKissick

A reminder about attending lecture

Folks,

Just a word about about our expectations for attending class from your kindly professors, before things get to the point where we START YELLING. To wit: please get to lecture on time. We have noticed an increasing tendency for many students to come quite late to class, a habit that is both distracting and disruptive. A couple of students have been given permission to get to class late on occasion because of exceptional circumstances, but these are just that -- exceptional cases, not the rule. Please, for the sake of the class and the sanity of your professors, get to class on time.

Thanks!

-- GM

Announced on 06 November 2006  8:16  p.m. by Gary McKissick