Political Economy Country Briefing Memo

by

Business Finance

The objective of this final assignment is to integrate concepts and prove that you can see policymaking in the development context through “political lenses” so integrate and incorporate in this memo as many as the concepts that you learned in this course as it fits the discussion.

The Ministry of [ your chosen policy area] in Pakistan has contacted you because you are well-known for your skills in applied political analysis. The Minister, a “reformist” who wishes to improve the conditions in [ the policy area you chose], has asked you to assess the government’s chances for a successful reform/policy.

Your job is to help them out make strategic decisions about how to achieve consensus and proceed to implementation:

First, identify a reform your country that you believe will help he reformers achieve their goal of improving conditions in this sector.

Then you will need to consider all the stakeholders, inside and outside government that will be affected, how they are expected to react, what alliances they could seek and what tools and resources they would most likely be using to push for or stop the reform depending on their interests. You are advising the government so you need to address the issues and obstacles they will face. How can they leverage the support?

Finish your memo with a clear political strategy recommendation to the Minister. Remember you want the policy to succeed but a responsible policy analyst you have to be realistic, your reputation is on the line.

This memo should build on the knowledge you have accumulated researching your country during the term. The proposed reform or policy can be real or hypothetical (something that has already been under consideration or something that has not been proposed ever but you think should). The analysis should be based on the real political environment, real actors and any data utilized should be real and its source properly cited.

It should be written following a policy memo format.

Beware of things that could be considered plagiarism, cite all sources properly.

Max 1000 words. Include a word count at the end (find it under review tab in Microsoft word).