Intermediate Microeconomics Expenditure policy brief • Topic (policy) • Policy motivation • Policy history • Economist “efficient” policy

1. Microeconomics
FOR MORE CLASSES VISIT
www.tutorialoutlet.com
Intermediate Microeconomics
Expenditure policy brief
• Topic (policy)
• Policy motivation
• Policy history
• Economist “efficient” policy
• Policy implementation
• Beneficial policy changes Policy brief details
• 5-7 pages double spaced.
• 1” margins.
• 12 pt. Times New Roman font.
• Graded mainly on content, and marginally on grammar.
• Must cite information not “common knowledge” (i.e. not known by
your 15-year-old sibling – you use can either in-text citations or
footnotes).
• Use MLA formatting (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/
747/1/).
• Provide a “works cited” section at the end of your paper.
Expenditure policy brief required information (1/2)

2. 1. Topic (policy) – What is the expenditure policy you are briefing me
on?
E.g. Food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, TANF, etc.
• More local:
• Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program(mandatory state-run
retirement savings
program for private-sector Illinois employers).
• State pharmaceutical assistance programs (SPAPs). 2. Policy
motivation – What is the purpose of the policy? What is the
evidence on the problem the policy is aimed at fixing?
3. Policy history – How long has the policy been in place? In what
other
forms has it existed than its current state? How has it evolved over
time
(for newer policies, this section may be thin). Expenditure policy brief
required information (2/2)
4. Economist “efficient” policy – To correct economic problems,
economists typically have an
“efficient” solution. What do you think is the “efficient” solution that
an economist would
recommend for the problem being corrected by your policy?
• E.g. If the goal of public housing is to make housing affordable to
low-income individuals, an economist
would recommend a policy that directly gives income for housing to
low-income individuals (i.e. housing

3. vouchers, instead of housing projects). 5. Policy implementation -
How has the policy been implemented? Does its implementation
differ from what economists recommend is the “efficient” policy
response to the problem
your policy is trying to correct? Who wins and who loses as a result
of the actual
implementation of the policy? Is any party not supposed to win or
lose that actually does?
6. Beneficial policy changes – Of the problems that you identified
with the current
implementation of the policy, what changes would you recommend
that would improve
the policy? What problems would those changes fix about the current
implementation of
your policy? Policy brief layout example (1/2)
• At top of first page include your name, class, and date.
Introduction – What is the policy?
(These can span multiple paragraphs)
• Paragraph 1: What is the policy you are studying and what is some
basic
background information on it?
• Paragraph 2: What is the motivation for the policy? What issue is the
policy trying to remedy?
• Paragraph 3: A few sentences on what remainder of your brief is
going to

4. be about. Policy brief layout example (2/2)
Body – In-depth policy information. How economists view the
problem & their recommended policy
solution.
(These can span multiple paragraphs)
• Section 1: In depth history of the policy (if the few sentences you
provided in intro was not “in depth”).
Some policies are new and have little historical development to
discuss.
• Section 2: What is the theoretical issue (economically) that the
policy is trying to correct (e.g.
externality, “too low” savings, income redistribution)? What do you
think is the “efficient” solution to
correcting the underlying theoretical issue from the economists
perspective (may require further book
reading or talking to me during office hours).
• Section 3: How is the policy actually implemented? If it does differ
from the economists “efficient”
solution, in what way does it differ? Are there winners and losers of
this policy? If so, who are they?
• Section 4: Do you have any recommended policy changes? If so,
what problem with the current policy
would they fix?
Conclusion – Do not summarize what you wrote. Add something to
your brief here. Often “musings”

5. about the future of this policy, or how this policy related to other
policies and their history are nice
finishing touches. Max 3-4 sentences.