This assignment asks you to take on the role of a policy advisor for a public official. Your boss (that’s the public official!) will soon have to cast a vote for or against a specific proposal. They have asked you to prepare a 4-5 page policy brief which gives them background information that they will use to take a position on the policy. Knowing of your fantastic economics training, your employer expects you to make a specific recommendation and to support that recommendation through a coherent argument that incorporates, presents, and interprets relevant data.
Evaluation
You will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
Coherency and persuasiveness of argument.
Quantity of data used to support your analysis (Have you missed opportunities to support your claims and/or argument with numerical evidence? Have you overused data so that the numbers detract from your brief?)
Quality of the data chosen (How well have you selected your data? Are these powerful pieces of information or are they less useful? Are the data well-connected to the policy under consideration?)
Quality of the data presentation in text, table, and chart (Is the table/chart clear? Does the table/chart reflect the lazy reader principle? Are sources and definitions appropriately defined and explained? Are limitations of the data appropriately considered?)
Attention to task and audience.
Grammar and style of policy brief.
Preparation for oral presentation.
You are tasked with providing your employer with a 4-5 page policy brief that a) provides background information on the student loan crisis, b) includes the presentation and interpretation of data relevant to the crisis and, based on the above, c) makes a recommendation on how your employer (a public official) ought to respond to various proposals to resolve the student loan crisis. You are expected to make a specific recommendation and, using reasoning and data, to defend/support that recommendation.
Your brief must include a data table of your own construction.
Your brief must include a data graph of your own construction. (Excel makes nice graphs, but you may use other software or draw freehand.)
Your brief must include a discussion of some of the major policies being proposed in policy circles (e.g., congress) to respond to the student loan crisis.
