Policy Design and Implementation in Developing Countries PAD3020E/8021E
Spring 2023 - Friday 15:00 to 16:30 - Lecture Room C
GRIPS instructors: Izumi Ohno, Kenichi Ohno
Guest speaker: Masumi Shimamura
kohno@grips.ac.jp gdforum.sakura.ne.jp/lec/index.htm
This is a small-group interactive class for people directly engaged or deeply interested in policy making indeveloping countries.
Lack of leadership, poor coordination and weak implementation are common features of policies in many
developing countries, but some governments solve these problems better than others. This course aims to offera practical and comparative perspective on policy methodology (how policies should be made and executed)
for government officials engaged in policy formulation. We will look at concrete international—especially
East Asian and African—experiences. We are also interested in transition dynamics from the existing system
to the desired system. Our purpose is not just to describe policy problems. We want to analyze policymaking
from an institutional viewpoint, and through case studies and international comparison.
Class is conducted in a small-group setting. Each session consists of a kick-off presentation of a featured
idea/case by an instructor, followed by discussion by all participants. Instructors will take turns in leading thediscussion. Lecture slides are downloadable from the lecture website shown above (subject to revision andupdating at any time). Some lectures have accompanying reading materials. Toward the end of the course,
some (or all) students will be asked to present their policy analyses based on their own experiences.
This course uses materials and findings from policy research in many Asian and African countries including
policy dialogue in Vietnam and Ethiopia conducted by the GRIPS Development Forum headed by theinstructors of this course, in cooperation with the Japanese MoFA, JICA and other agencies.
DateTopic

By

Apr 07

Orientation and overview

KOApr 14

Political regime for development

KO

Apr 21Development administration systems*

MS

Apr 28

Leadership: the case of the PhilippinesMS

May 12 Ownership, policy autonomy, donor management*

IO

May 19 Economic technocrats in East Asia*

IO

May 26 Quality of industrial policy*

KOJun 02

National kaizen movement

IO

Jun 16

Decentralization and development

KOJun 09

Cambodia: water supply project

MSJun 23

Large-scale infrastructure development*MS

Jun 30Japanese policy making (or student presentations)

KOJul 07

Student presentations-Jul 14

Student presentations-Jul 21

Student presentations-Jul 28

Student presentations-Note: topics and order are subject to change. (*) indicates classes with reading materials.
1Requirements
Students must have practical experience, concrete knowledge and/or deep interest in policymaking in theircountries or other developing countries. The knowledge of development economics and global development
trends are useful, but not required. Students should participate actively in discussion.
GradingStudent score = (Attendance, 0-50) + (Participation, 0-50) + (Optional presentation, from -50 to +50)
Grading is based on attendance and participation in all sessions. There will be no exam or term paper. Latearrival and absence from class will count negatively. Absence without prior notification is not allowed except
in sudden emergency. In addition, some students can volunteer (or be asked) to do presentations on the policy
experiences of their countries or countries they have worked in. They will receive additional positive points if
the presentation is good. But if it is poor, it will count negatively on your grade (in reality, very few students
received negative points for presentation so far). Non-presenters receive zero points.
Attendance, participation and (optional) presentation are all normalized and added with equal weights. Letter
grades will depend on the summed score of each student subject to the GRIPS grading rules (we cannot give“A” to all students even if they all perform well, for example).
For more on course enrollment, lecture contents or grading policy, please consult the website or instructors.
Reference books
These and other materials will be made available to participants prior to relevant lectures.
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GRIPS Development Forum (2008), Diversity and Complementarity in Development Aid: East Asian
Lessons for African Growth.
Izumi Ohno, ed, (2005), True Ownership and Policy Autonomy: Managing Donors and Owning Policies,
GRIPS Development Forum.
Izumi Ohno and Masumi Shimamura (2007), Managing the Development Process and Aid: East Asianexperiences in building central economic agencies, GRIPS Development Forum.
Kenichi Ohno, ed, (2006), Industrial Policy Formulation in Thailand, Malaysia and Japan, Vietnam
Development Forum.
Kenichi Ohno (2009), Middle Income Trap: Implications for Industrialization Strategies in East Asia andAfrica, GRIPS Development Forum.

Related materials (optional, not required)

Izumi Ohno and Kenichi Ohno (2012), “Dynamic Capacity Development: What Africa Can Learn fromIndustrial Policy Formulation in East Asia,” ch.7, A. Norman, K. Botchwey, H. Stein, and J.E. Stiglitz,eds, Good Growth and Governance in Africa: Rethinking Development Strategies, Oxford Univ. Press.
Kenichi Ohno (2013), Learning to Industrialize: From Given Growth to Policy-aided Value Creation,
Routledge, paperback edition – this book is Open Access, download for free.
Izumi Ohno and Kenichi Ohno, eds. (2013), Eastern and Western Ideas for African Growth: Diversityand Complementarity in Development Aid, Routledge – this book is also Open Access, download for free.
Arkebe Oqubay and Kenichi Ohno, eds. (2019), How Nations Learn: Technological Policy, Industrial
Policy, and Catch-up, Oxford University Press.

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