Block A (Theory and Methodology of Public Policy) will test the knowledge acquired during the two years of study in the compulsory subjects and the ability to link them together into coherent conceptual units. Preparation for Block A should be at the core of the student's home preparation for the national examinations. Re-study of course texts, notes and other resources from individual subjects relevant to the question is recommended.

Theory and methodology of public policy: compulsory subjects (public policy, microeconomics in public policy and public finance, social aspects of public policy legal aspects of public policy, instruments of public policy and public policy analysis):

1. Defining public policy and its delimitation in relation to other social science disciplines

2. Dimensions of public policy - policy, politics, polity. The difference between these dimensions and their common features using concrete examples from practice

3. The process of public policy making in terms of the relationship between actors and the environment

4. Agenda setting in the public policy making process - basic issues of the relationship between the choice of issues, requirements and behaviour of actors

5. The implementation phase of the public policy process and its possible causes of failure

6. Dilemmas in decision making. Dilemma of decision-making power of first-level bureacracy

7. Theories of rationality and the rationality model of the public policy-making cycle. Lindblom's theory of incrementalism

8. Critiques of the rationality model: bounded rationality, Kingdon (window of opportunity), Sabatier (advocacy coalition framework), Baumgartner (punctuated equilibrium)

9. Legislative process at the level of the Slovak government, the National Council, including the return of the law by the President. Stages of the public policy-making process and opportunities for public input

10. Impact assessment in the SR and EU legislative process (process and content)

11. Use of knowledge in public policy making. Evidence-based public policy making.

Equity, efficiency, economy, effectiveness and fairness as criteria for decision-making.

13. Market and market failure in the context of state intervention

14. Subject matter, legal effects and problematic aspects of the national referendum in the Slovak Republic in the context of the case law of the Constitutional Court (in particular the ruling PL. ÚS 24/2014)

15. The concept of the state and state failure and the role of civil society, public policy actors and their action in public policy

16. Defining public policy instruments and types of instruments in public policy. The relationship between public policy instruments, public policy analysis and implementation

17. Defining regulation and its importance in the social, economic and environmental fields in terms of public policy instruments

18. Public policy information tools: Mandatory tools (Freedom of Information Act and others) vs. voluntary tools

19. Administrative public policy instruments

20. Economic public policy instruments: subsidies/grants vs. vouchers for users of public services (vouchers) vs. user charges

21. Inputs and outputs in public policy analysis, basic characteristics of analytical and advocacy materials (policy papers)

22. Cost-benefit analysis as a public policy tool

23 Public policy evaluation, its types and importance

24 What is and is not economics? The relationship of economics to public policy

25. Basic economic concepts and their use in public policy: supply and demand, consumer behaviour, individual and market demand, production, profit maximisation

26 Defining the public sector and the basics of fiscal management. Relationship between fiscal policy and the business cycle and the tax system

27. Game theory as a tool for public policy analysis

28. Public policy externalities and public goods

29 Transaction costs and public goods theory in service provision and delivery decisions. Competitive markets versus hierarchies, transaction costs and contract completeness

30. Use of selected economic concepts in public policy: uncertainty, risk and expectations, information asymmetries

31. Paradigms of approaches to the organisation of public administration organisations. Characteristics of bureaucracy, managerialism and governance through networks

32. Fiscal decentralization in Slovakia (development and current status) as part of overall fiscal management

33. Typology and characteristics of public finance revenues

34. Modes of service delivery, their suitability for different types of services, weaknesses and strengths of different modes of service delivery

35. Methods of deciding on public service delivery methods

36. Dimensions of power (Dahl, Bachrach and Baratz, Lukes) and their commonalities and differences - conflict, (non)decisions, agenda, influence, conscious/unconscious actions

37. The problem in public policy as a social construct, framing the problem

38. Social cohesion and social stratification of society in relation to public policy

39. Social capital in relation to social cohesion -implications for public policy. Links between clientelism and social capital

40. Old age and pension systems as key public policy issues

41. Social inclusion/exclusion as key concepts in public policy and social sciences

42. Conceptualising the welfare state in relation to public policy

43. Defining decentralisation (decentralisation as polity, policy and politics), identifying its weaknesses and strengths

44. Legislation at local government level (compliance requirements, problems, process, public input)

45. Judiciary in the state - its functions, structures and actors. Relationship to public policy and failures of the judiciary

46. The constitutional judiciary and the triadic division of powers in the state: mutual influences

47. Changes in the Constitution of the Slovak Republic since 1992 on the example of one of the constitutional institutes (referendum, the position of the President, the relationship between the law of the Slovak Republic and international law, the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic) Hierarchy of legislation in the Slovak Republic and the changes that have taken place in it after the accession of the Slovak Republic to the EU

48. Appointment powers of the President of the SR in the context of the case law of the Constitutional Court (appointment of a member of the Government, Attorney General, Constitutional Judges)

49. Defining features of a modern state (according to Pierson)

50. Failure of collective action, advocacy and lobbying in public policy

51. Administrative traditions and their impact on human resource management (e.g. Westminster, Napoleonic, Germanic, Scandinavian, Communist, etc.)

52. Career, positional and hybrid systems of human resource management

53. Legitimacy, legality, sovereignty and constitutionality - commonalities and differences

54. Patronage, meritocracy and representativeness in human resource management

55. Dimensions of the concept of public value

Block B will test the ability to use the ideas, opinions and analytical frameworks acquired in the study to comparatively analyse selected topics in the Slovak Republic and EU countries. The individual topics are a coherent interconnection of several smaller units. It is recommended that students prepare an outline response to each of the topics based on the course texts, notes and other sources, or supplement it from other sources.

1. What models of the welfare state is the literature familiar with, what criteria does it use to distinguish between them, and where would you place Slovakia in the context of the post-1989 transformations, and why?

2. How have different models of the welfare state been affected by globalisation - compare the situation in at least 3 member countries representing different models

3. Explain the differences between two ways of approaching transnational issues - multilateralism and unilateralism. Give an example of a country that tends towards multilateralism as well as an example of a country that tends towards unilateralism and explain why. Explain where you place Slovakia in this respect and for what reasons

4. Characterise the organisation of trusted governance as traditional bureaucracy and as managerialism (NPM) and governance through networks (governance) and explain the link between them by analysing a specific organisation at local, national and supranational levels. Apply and explain with an example

5. Explain with at least two examples the impact of EU policies and EU institutions on decision-making at the local level of governance in Slovakia and in one of the other EU countries

6. Using concrete examples, analyse/evaluate what tools the local/national government (and the EU) can use to directly and indirectly achieve its objectives. Choose one of the levels of governance (supranational, national, regional, local) and compare the actors using a concrete example of the use of different tools to achieve the same objective. Point out the advantages and disadvantages of their use in terms of effectiveness and legitimacy

7. Place Slovakia in the context of the EU in terms of forms and degree of decentralisation of public authority. Explain, using concrete examples from Slovakia and another selected EU country, the implications of a fragmented system of public authority for the design and implementation of public policies

8. What formal opportunities for public input into the public policy-making process exist at local, national and EU level? Apply specific tools for participation and consultation at each level of decision-making. Give reasons for and against the use of participatory tools beyond the law with examples from the practice of the Slovak Republic in the OECD context

9. What models of lobbying regulation are known in the literature and what have been used in Slovakia since 1989? Using concrete examples, explain the differences between corruption and lobbying, as well as conflict of interest and corruption. Explain the relationship between the regulation of conflict of interest and the size of the administered entity, including examples

10. Compare the structure of public revenue and public expenditure of Slovakia with 2 selected OECD countries, one of which has slightly and the other significantly higher revenue and expenditure than Slovakia. Where are the biggest differences and the biggest similarities to be seen? Do these differences manifest themselves in public policy outcomes?

11. What are the main functions of human resource management in the public sector and how does it differ from the private sector? Give examples from Slovakia and a selected EU country

12. Paternalism vs liberal paternalism (practical application and critique), heuristics and failures in human decision making. Explain them with examples and interventions in public policy

Block C will test the ability to apply both the knowledge and skills acquired in the course of study to specific public policy situations. In the national exam, the student will be provided with both a case study text and a related assignment text, which he/she will solve after a short on-site preparation. No particular method of preparation is recommended for this unit, but it is advisable to refresh oneself on the basic features of case studies by studying a specific case study.

In the third part of the state questions, you will work with a specific case study. Each student will choose one of a set of 6 case studies that highlight the impacts as well as the advantages and disadvantages of a particular decision made by politicians or public sector workers.

Students will answer two types of questions, the exact answer will be specified at the state exam:

General questions, through which the student demonstrates an understanding of the basic concepts of public policy.

These questions are as follows:

At which stage of the public policy cycle does the case study take place?

Name the different actors who appear in the case study. What interests do the actors represent?

What tools do the actors use? What other tools are available to the actors?

How can other actors from other levels of power intervene in the problem? What tools do they have to enforce their solutions at the level of government at which the case is taking place?

What formal documents (laws, regulations, strategies) frame the situation that is the subject of the case study? Who is their author?

The specific issues of public policy making and implementation that are linked to the case study and therefore to the problem addressed by the case study. These specific questions are listed at the end of each case study.

Case study 1: Local government response to a fiscal shock

Case study 2: The public service delivery dilemma: towing service

Case study 3: Education of Roma children: the use of public policy instruments in local service delivery

Case study 4: So-called Roma housing in the municipality of Rakúsy as a challenge for policy-makers

Case study 5: Institutions, interests and media: Public policy and the case of Andrea B

Case study 6: Selection of a consultant for the privatisation of Slovak Telecommunications

Case study 7: When it's also about the bird: saving the endangered Bearded Bustard in the Syslovské polia protected bird area in Vtáčkovce

Case study 8: Forming coalitions of actors for universal child vaccination in Slovakia

Case study 9: Public transport "for free" - the dilemma of service provision