MGSOG

SPECIALIZATION BOOKLET 2011-2012

Specialization Globalization, Trade & Development

International Development Law has two distinct but interconnected aspects. The first of these concerns international legal regulatory frameworks and the extent to which they provide incentives for state- and non-state actors to set policies which move human development forward. In this respect, the specialization gives an introduction to rules of international law that aim to promote human development. The second aspect concerns international development and the rule of law, including an examination of the extent to which rule of law is necessary for development and the attempts by the international community to support state growth and stability through rule of law. Projects and programs aimed at judicial reform and support for the rule of law in developing and transitional countries have increased significantly in recent decades, often with little attention paid to the context in which these activities are carried out or the assumptions underlying their development and implementation. This specialization critically assesses the goals of economic development and the role of legal rules in facilitating or hindering that process, as well as the international activities directed at judicial reform and other legal assistance in developing and transition countries. We examine the current international legal development regime; examine the underlying social and economic factors that contribute to failure of efforts at legal reform; analyze the reform strategies of selected development agencies; and explore alternative modes of analysis that may lead to more effective strategies than many legal assistance programs have enjoyed to date. February (4a): International Economics In principle, international trade and factor movements are advantageous for the citizens of countries. Households can buy goods and (factor) services where they are cheaper. Firms can specialize in goods in which they are better than their international competitors, making them cheaper again for households. This is the basic idea behind trade liberalization. However, there are disadvantages as well, which are well known not to overthrow the advantages if taken into account properly by economic policy. Many of them are not taken into account though: they are mostly ignored in the trade negotiations and abused as arguments in favour of protectionism. This course teaches the basics needed to understand these conflicts and find sophisticated solutions. March (4b): The Law and Policy of the WTO There is a broad consensus among economists and policymakers that economic globalization in general, and international trade in particular, may offer an unprecedented opportunity to eradicate poverty and hunger worldwide. In 2001, the World Bank estimated that abolishing all trade barriers could increase global income by 2.8 trillion US dollars and lift 320 million people out of poverty by 2015. However, to ensure that this opportunity is realised, economic globalization and international trade has to be managed and regulated at the international level. If not, economic globalization and international trade are likely to be a curse, rather than a blessing to humankind, aggravating economic inequality, social injustice, environmental degradation and cultural dispossession. The World Trade Organization and its law are at the heart of the international communitys current efforts at managing and regulating economic globalization and international trade.

April (5a): International Intellectual Property Law and Policy In the modern world of sophisticated high technology and international communication many professionals need to understand the legal issues arising from the use of intellectual property law. This course will provide an introduction to international intellectual property and policy issues and their connection with efforts to free world trade (WTO) and of regional integration, such as the European Union, NAFTA, and ASEAN, to create an internal market with a level playing field for the protection of intellectual property and economic development in innovation and creativity. The course will provide an overview of substantive and procedural matters, as well as international obligations and economic and policy questions involving intellectual property acquisition, enforcement and exploitation. Account will also be given of diverging perspectives on topics ranging from the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore to high technology. May (5b): International Development Law This course focuses on the international framework for development, starting with the question whether the idea of development is not problematic in itself. This is partially demonstrated by the use of a varied of catch all but rather undefined categories such as Least Developed Countries (LDC), Emerging Economies, Fragile States, Transitional Regimes. The course then moves on to study the actors of these international efforts, and the role of law in structuring development. Is there a law for development? What does this legal field cover? Is it the International Law of Development popularized in the 1970s as part of the NIEO and intending to establish a new human right to development? What are the intellectual underpinnings of this legal field? Why should it be clearly distinguished from the Law and Development movement? These are only but a few questions this international development law course will address in great details. In using a right-based approach to globalization, international development law goes beyond the traditional legal boundaries between public and private law and is envisaged as a unifying tool building bridges between the respective bodies of law that affect development issues. The course concludes by focusing on the practical legal coverage of such a complex and loosely defined discipline.

Specialization Health & Development

The objective of this specialization is to acquaint students with the global aspects of public health, and to offer students insights into the various related disciplines such as biomedical sciences, behavioral sciences, law, policy sciences and economics. By combining these disciplines in four themes or modules, students are provided with the academic skills and conceptual knowledge necessary to analyze issues on public health. Graduates are able to effectively apply relevant theoretical models and concepts to public health policy issues and, vice versa, to reflect upon theoretical developments on the basis of practical experience in the field. This specialization is offered in collaboration with the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. February (4a): Health Policy This course attempts to provide a comprehensive introduction to the study of power and process in health policy-making and implementation, which are rarely covered by the schools of public health or medicine. Therefore the course takes a different approach towards understanding the making of health policy. To understand the same, the readings use medicine, epidemiology, organizational theory, health economics, evidence-based studies, empirical and theoretical studies to provide evidence for, or evaluation of, health policy. Legions of doctors, epidemiologists, health economists, and organizational theorists develop technically sound solutions to problems of public health importance in this globalized world. Ironically, much of what is currently available deals with the content of health policy the what of policy. And, surprisingly this seemingly endless knowledge does not holistically guide the public health practitioners or social (health) scientists who wish to understand how issues make their way to policy agendas (and how to frame these issues so that they are better received), how policy makers treat evidence (and how to form better relationships with decision makers), and why some policy initiatives are implemented while other languish would be covered or partly answered once you complete the course. March (4b): Global Health Management In this course, local and global dynamics will be addressed in their interconnected context, and their impact on global health will be analysed. After having studied different managing styles (f.i. demand versus disease management), health information technology, health systems management, human resource management, and global health diplomacy, global collaboration will be scrutinised in more depth to obtain a broader understanding of the various dynamics, problems, and possibilities in management in a global context. Especially the possibilities, limitations, and actors in international collaboration will be studied to illuminate the interaction between various local, national, global, and sectorial systems. April (5a): Assessing Needs and Understanding Behaviour The first step in any public health project is to develop an understanding of the needs that exist within the community, i.e. to study the gap between the existing conditions and the desired situation, and what the origins of this gap are. This course aims to create an understanding of the processes involved in making a needs assessment, to practice measuring the determinants of environmental conditions and determinants of behaviour and lifestyle which have an impact on human health and to acquire skills in writing a high quality scientific proposal for a needs assessment that also is attractive for funding organisations (NGO, Government/Ministry, etc). May (5b): Quantitative Techniques in Health Care Financing Health care financing is a backbone of a sound and functioning health care

delivery system in a country and affects the access, the provisions and the quality of health care to the population. The financial design of a health care system should be established on the basis of solid analysis and assessments of the health care financing, including short- and medium-term financial projections in order to secure financial sustainability of the health care system. The ability to quantitatively analyse a health care system as well as to come up with proper financial design options based on new reform directions in a country, becomes increasingly important throughout the world. The methods presented in this course allow students to (1) clearly describe how a health care system is financed; (2) examine how the financial design of a system and demographic, economic and social environments affect the financial sustainability of the system in the short and medium term; and (3) carry out status-quo financial projections and financial projections corresponding to future reform options of the system.

Specialization Migration Studies

Migration is a growing phenomenon that has gained importance in the public debate on development, welfare and immigration policy. According to the International Organization for Migration, there are an estimated 191 million international migrants worldwide, constituting 3 per cent of the world population (2005). Remittance transfers (the money that migrants send back to their home countries) currently amount to more than US$300 billion, surpassing foreign direct investment and official development aid in many countries around the world. Migration is a controversial topic in the international and national policy arena and the effects of migration on migrants, their families and communities in the host and origin country need to be studied carefully. While mass media often focus on a few spectacularly problematic integration cases, the courses in this specialization study the key issues in-depth and with scientific rigor. This specialization comprises four courses that introduce students to the essential components of migration studies including trends, theories, causes and effects, and also migration policy. Students will have the opportunity to explore the area of migration studies by taking courses with a broad perspective on the prevailing theory and practice. Particular emphasis is put on practical fieldwork. The specialization Migration Studies trains students for the international labor market as policy advisors, practitioners, researchers, etc. working for governments, international organizations or academic institutions. February (4a): Introduction to Migration Studies What really motivates people to migrate? This course gives an introduction into the field of migration studies. Preparing students for the more focused courses that will follow; the introduction covers such topics as the actual flows and trends in migration and remittances; demography and historical developments; theories of migration from different disciplines such as economics and sociology; different types of migrants and generational issues; and an introduction to comparative migration studies. March (4b): Migration and Remittance Effects Is migration good or bad for the migrant receiving country and what effects does it have on the sending country? What about the money sent by migrants back to their home countries? Does this have only positive effects? These are some of the issues that are touched on in this class. Special attention is paid to labour market issues in the receiving country and development issues in the sending country. April (5a): Data Collection and Analysis for Migration Studies This course aims to give a practical taste of what it is like to work in the area of migration studies, both collecting data and analyzing it. The course will consist of learning both quantitative and qualitative modes of data collection and analysis. The course is set up in a series of workshops focusing on different methods of data collection and analysis. Methodologies that are covered in individual workshops include: surveys, in-depth interviews, using CSPro data software, focus groups, scenario analysis, econometric issues in migration studies, etc. May (5b): Comparative Migration Studies The final course in this specialisation deals with immigration and integration policy. Migration policy has been all over the news in most developed countries recently. It is the talk of political parties and a subject in new elections. We explore migration entry policy for different types of migrants across different receiving countries. A special comparative focus is made between Europe and the United States and other major migrant receiving regions regarding integration

policy as well as ethnic relations. The sending policies of origin countries are also studied: do they encourage or discourage migrations and from which groups?

Specialization Risk & Vulnerability

Throughout history, societies have had to face disasters and crises. Whether they are natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina or the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, medical crises such as mad cow disease or wholly man-made such as the Chernobyl incident. How do we deal with uncertainty and risk? is a relevant question for decision makers and their advisors, as well as for key actors in society such as environmental lobbyists. This specialization follows a process approach, starting with risk assessments, discussing the building of more resilient societies and studying how to manage the situation if a crisis occurs. The concluding course discusses how to communicate risk to the general public. This specialization is taught in collaboration with United Nations Universitys institute on Environment and Human Security (EHS). February (4a): Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Identifying patterns and trends that increase risks and vulnerability is key for improving governance and sustainable development in the light of climate change and socio-economic transformation. What are key factors and indicators that allow characterizing vulnerability and risk to extreme events and climate change? How to assess and evaluate capacities of societies and communities to cope and adapt to changing environmental and socio-economic conditions in different world regions? And finally, how can assessment and monitoring systems inform governance processes of state and non-state actors and institutions at different scales? March (4b): Building Resilience and Adaptive Governance Crises and disasters cannot always be avoided, so building resilience and promoting adaptive governance are key issues in the international discourse on how to respond to an increasing frequency and magnitude of environmental change and extreme events. In this course, we seek to learn from crises and to develop strategies for more resilient social-ecological systems. April (5a): Risk Management in Crisis Situations Since the middle of the 20th Century, increasingly sophisticated technical models have been developed to manage risks. Yet, no model is flawless and, once in a while, bad events happen. Controversies have escalated as a result of such failures, from the BSE crisis in the food sector to the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents in the nuclear field. Major scandals raise questions about public confidence and expectations. In regulatory and Industry circles, the decline of trust in science and government combined with a stronger involvement of stakeholders leads to increasing worries that any event may lead to a full-fudged crisis. Are these worries justified? What could be done to manage crises better? Risk studies bring a crucial insight to tackle crises in a challenging governance environment. Key variables such as perceptions, feelings, trust and social amplification have been shown to affect individual and social attitudes in the face of risk events. During this module, students will capitalize on this knowledge to analyze crisis situations in the post-trust environment. Three critical sectors have been selected: (i) natural disasters (ii) nuclear events and (iii) vaccines and drug events. May (5b): Risk Communication Risk communication appears as a relatively new discipline within risk analysis. It has emerged from the risk perception studies developed from the 1970s onwards. In only few decades risk communication theory has contributed strong evidence about what sort of risk communication works best, for example two-way (Fischhoff 1995), proactive (Lfstedt 2005) and non-persuasive (Fischhoff 2007) communications. Unlike risk assessment and crisis management most

Government and Industries have yet to take this new science on board. Many practices are lagging behind the state of the art. Yet, the need for adaptation has become critical due to mounting pressures to share decision-making with NGOs and to open government to more transparency. In that sense risk communication may be described as the last frontier of risk analysis.

Specialization Social Policy Design & Financing

For the vast majority of the worlds population, working is the primary and sole means to earn a living. The market value of labor depends increasingly on investment in human capital marketable in the formal labor market. Education and training are therefore crucial elements of social policy. A form of social protection is needed to guarantee dignified survival for those unable to work, whether temporarily or permanently. Public social protection systems redistribute 5-35 per cent of GDP, depending on the level of development. Deficient and/or inefficient design and management within (and coordination between) social protection institutions may lead to wastage of public resources or to socio-economic inefficiencies, ineffectiveness and misallocation of social transfers. The failure to invest an adequate share of public resources in social protection leads to avoidable loss of welfare and economic performance. In both cases those most in need may not receive a fair share of scarce public resources. This raises debates about the organization and impact of social protection systems, their financing and sustainability. Public policies are needed in the areas of poverty reduction, labor conditions, health care, human capital development, and income security systems (such as retirement pensions). The specializations Social Policy Financing and Social Policy Design discuss these issues in an accessible, contemporary and practical manner. February (4a): Financing Social Protection In any society, social transfers account for a substantial part of national income. Distributive machines of this scale should be designed and operated with the utmost care to pursue the realization of socially, economically and fiscally optimal results. The focal point of social protection systems is to alleviate situations that put people under (financial) strain. In this context, society is often confronted with the question: Is there anybody too poor to share? Within this course, present and future financial planners as well as decision-makers are equipped with the tools for good financial, fiscal and economic governance of national social protection systems. Furthermore the course outlines ways to assist in policy processes that define desirable levels and scope of social protection in a given country. March (4b): Social Budgeting One of the major reasons why social protection has been regarded previously as an obstacle to employment growth is that governance seriously mismanaged the finances of social protection systems that were initially well designed. One prerequisite for developing a system of governance for the social sector is to know what the present overall level of expenditure is, where money is spent, which needs remain unmet, and how the overall national social expenditure, as well as the financial burden for the different financers of the system (employers, workers and government), develop under different economic scenarios and different reform options. In providing students with clear social accounting and meaningful projection systems, this course offers one of the essential factual bases for national social policy. April (5a): Actuarial Practice in Social Protection Actuarial valuations of social security schemes, in particular of public pension schemes, take into account complex demographic, economic, financial, institutional and legal aspects that interact with each other. Future demographic and financial projections of a public pension scheme are carried out by taking into account all of these aspects. This exercise requires the calibration of statistical

data, the formulation of prudent actuarial assumptions, a robust actuarial model which properly maps major scheme design and actuarial assumptions into projection results. Above all, there is a need for sound judgment and plain explanations of the projection results, to guide effective scheme management and policy-making. This course teaches basic methods to conduct actuarial valuations of a public scheme by linking the theory to its practical application. May (5b): Poverty and Inequality Inequality and poverty and other forms of social exclusion are (again) high up the political and research agenda. This course intends to improve the students understanding of both phenomena by introducing them into the cumulated knowledge on both issues and by presenting, analysing and discussing materials on the situation today, in OCDE countries and in developing countries with the help of recent databases and tools for their measurement.

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Specialization Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a fundamental element of modern policymaking. Many challenges related to global human activities require a central focus on sustainability and development. These challenges include: long-term and sudden climate change; extreme poverty; infectious disease in a globalizing world; global demographic change; urban growth; biodiversity loss and ecosystem functioning, and the sustainable use of ocean space and its resources. The main objective of this specialization is to give students insights into the principles of governance, sustainable development and scientific theories, by understanding the challenges, constraints and interactions of academic definitions, decision-making tools and practices. The specialization builds on an understanding of governance and sustainable development as a co-evolutionary, adaptive process that needs to permeate human societies and the natural environment. The emphasis is on explaining and using the generic, complex and, by definition, flexible terminology of sustainable development. Attention is given to the processes of international (environmental) politics, the role of NGOs and civil society. A unique feature of the course is its interdisciplinary core, which provides students with a broad and integrated understanding of sustainable development. It differs from other programs related to sustainable development in its coverage of sustainable development not only from an ecological perspective, but also from social, economic and institutional point of views. February (4a): Knowledge production for SD Sustainable development requires an understanding of complex societal systems, analyzing its economic, ecological, social, technological, and institutional aspects in an integrated way. This challenges our traditional system of science and knowledge production in society. Hence, sustainability science has emerged as a new paradigm that aims to better reflect the complexity and the multidimensional character of sustainable development issues, focusing on interactions between human and environment systems. Sustainability science must be able to encompass different magnitudes of scales, system dynamics, multiple actors (values and interests) etc. In addition, sustainability science has to play a major role in bridging the gulf between science, policy and society. This course addresses means of knowledge production for sustainable development that go beyond the production of truth and allow us to deal with uncertainty and complexity, ambiguity, different perspectives and distributed control. March (4b): Sustainability, Law and Economic Regulation Law is an important instrument to address the behaviour of economic actors in order to prevent pollution. Governments have a wide range of regulatory instruments at their disposal in order to steer activities of industries towards environmental friendly behaviour. This varies from old-fashioned command and control approaches to the in the field of climate change widely applied marketbased approaches. One of the difficulties when building an environmental sound policy and legal framework which is a central pillar of the strive to sustainable development- is how to deal with the need to conduct an integrated approach: governmental legal competences are traditionally based on the rule of law linked to specific tasks, and hence hardly facilitate comprehensive assessments which would take all relevant environmental and sustainability issues into account. Also market-based regulatory instruments often target at specific and hence single-issue goals - like the reduction of carbon emissions by taxes or emissions trading - while a broader scope is needed, like taking into account biodiversity and food security concerns. International law, especially environmental law, has developed into an almost uncoordinated package of more than 150 multilateral environmental treaties, accompanied with a creeping institutionalization.

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Despite the many global institutions and treaties the effectiveness of this international approach is disappointing, and ways to improve this current patchwork have to be explored. In this vein, the course pays attention to three perspectives: the government, businesses and victims, including representative non-governmental environmental organizations. April (5a): Sustainability in a Globalizing World The modern phenomenon of globalisation comprises the various social, economic, cultural, technological and political changes that result in increased connectivity among human societies around the world. This process has led to a historically unprecedented situation in which human activities are affecting many parts of the global system, reflected by a range of unsustainable trends in the natural and social environment. Climate change, loss of biodiversity, global health, and fresh water scarcity are just a few examples of todays worldwide concerns. But what does globalisation mean? What are the nature and form of the global changes that are occurring in the world today? What are the causes of the changes we are witnessing, and what do they mean for us as individuals and as members of societies? As new situations develop they bring new opportunities and challenges, but also threats to the global environment how does the process of globalisation affect the global environment? And what does globalisation mean within the context of sustainable development? These are just some of the questions that will be discussed during the course. This course is primarily about deepening our understanding of the nature, processes and potential impact of what has commonly become known as globalisation. May (5b): International Development Law This course focuses on the international framework for development, starting with the question whether the idea of development is not problematic in itself. This is partially demonstrated by the use of a varied of catch all but rather undefined categories such as Least Developed Countries (LDC), Emerging Economies, Fragile States, Transitional Regimes. The course then moves on to study the actors of these international efforts, and the role of law in structuring development. Is there a law for development? What does this legal field cover? Is it the International Law of Development popularized in the 1970s as part of the NIEO and intending to establish a new human right to development? What are the intellectual underpinnings of this legal field? Why should it be clearly distinguished from the Law and Development movement? These are only but a few questions this international development law course will address in great details. In using a right-based approach to globalization, international development law goes beyond the traditional legal boundaries between public and private law and is envisaged as a unifying tool building bridges between the respective bodies of law that affect development issues. The course concludes by focusing on the practical legal coverage of such a complex and loosely defined discipline.

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