Module POL3195 for 2016/7
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3195: The Politics of Regulation: Risks and Regulatory Failures
This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.
Module Aims
The course will aim to: provide you with a good grasp of the most important debates and approaches to regulation; enhance your understanding of the challenges and trade-offs involved in regulatory policy; develop your ability to apply key insights to a variety of regulatory fields; advance your understanding of risk and the role of regulators and businesses in anticipating and managing risks.
To illustrate theoretical approaches, the course will draw on extensive empirical examples of regulatory policy in various domains (ranging from utilities, to financial or social regulation), with an emphasis on UK, EU and US examples.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate understanding of key theoretical debates and approaches to the study of regulation 2. demonstrate understanding of both generic regulatory issues as well as specificities of regulating key regulatory domains 3. demonstrate critical awareness of the challenges and trade-offs involved in anticipating and regulating risks and the limits of regulation |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. apply key theories, models and concepts within the discipline 5. draw on and apply key theoretical insights and frameworks to specific empirical examples |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. demonstrate advanced skills in written and oral communication, research and critical analysis 7. digest and dissect complex information and to build and present rigorous, adequately supported arguments |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
While the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, this plan is indicative of some of the main topics to be covered by the module. More details will be given and the plan finalised in the module syllabus available on ELE prior to the start of the course.
What is Regulation?
The Regulatory State &the ‘Risk Society’
Theories of Regulation: Public Interest, Capture, Rational Choice
Regulatory Tools and Approaches
Regulatory Agencies
Regulating Risks
Risk Governance: Comparative Approaches
Regulatory Enforcement
Regulatory Failures and Unintended Consequences
Regulatory Competition: Races to the Top, Races to the Bottom
Regulatory Reform &Innovation
Crisis Management &Preparing for Future Crises
Regulatory Oversight
The Future of Regulation
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 44 | 22 weekly sessions each lasting 2 hours, each consisting of a mix of formal lecture, student-led seminar, collective discussion and presentations |
| Guided independent learning | 256 | A variety of private study tasks directed by the module leader, including: reading and preparation of assigned readings for seminars (roughly 130 hours); the research, preparation and completion of essays (roughly 50-60 hours/per essay); research and preparation of the presentation (roughly 10 hours). |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
A number of articles, reports or book chapters will be available for every topic on the module website. These will be supplemented with empirical materials from different government and non-government regulatory sources, as appropriate.
