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Robert M. La Follette
School of Public Affairs
1225 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Telephone: 608.262.3581
Fax: 608.265.3233

Last updated:
May 21, 2012

Publications: Workshop Reports: 2012

Editorial and formatting resources

The Public Affairs Workshops are the capstone courses for the La Follette School's two master's degree programs, the Master of International Public Affairs and the Master of Public Affairs. Workshop students gain practical experience applying the tools of political, economic and statistical analysis they acquired during three semesters of coursework. In addressing actual problems faced by clients in the public, non-governmental and private sectors, the students work closely together in teams to produce carefully crafted reports that meet high professional and academic standards. This culminating project is the equivalent of the thesis for a degree from the La Follette School of Public Affairs. The students produce research-based, analytical, evaluative and prescriptive reports for real-world clients who range from municipal government offices to international development organizations. Through these reports, students contribute to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's outreach mission and to the Wisconsin Idea.

PA 869: Workshop in Public Affairs

Professor Karen Holden

The Future of Wisconsin Conservation Funding: Alternatives and Options for Fishing and Hunting Licenses

Prepared for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources by Ishmael Amarreh, Peter Braden, Stephanie Chase, Kimberly Farbota, and
Nathaniel Inglis Steinfeld

More than 90 percent of Wisconsin’s fish and wildlife conservation funding comes from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. License sales have fallen in recent years, a trend expected to continue in the absence of policy intervention. This report recommends several changes to the current revenue structure to maintain participation in hunting and fishing, improve revenue expenditures, and expand participation. The proposals seek to ensure a sustainable future for the state’s conservation funding. Presentation slides

Policy Options for Improving Educational Financing and Oversight for Children in Wisconsin Residential Care Centers
Prepared for the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families A major responsibility of the Department of by Jami Crespo, Nicholas Heckman, Katherine Kruse, Ciara Mentzer, and Ryan Schowalter

To ensure the safe of Wisconsin children, the Department of Children and Families sometimes places them in residential care centers if DCF determines children to be unsafe in their own homes. Fiscal responsibility and educational oversight of children who reside and receive educational services in Wisconsin's residential care centers are divided among public agencies. This report examines Wisconsin's complex funding and oversight structure and assesses areas for improvement, and it offers policy options, informed, in part, by funding and oversight structures in other states, and shaped by the policy goals of equity, efficiency and political feasibility.

Alternatives for Administering the Wisconsin Retirement System: Current Policy versus Total Retirement Outsourcing
Prepared for the Wisconsin Legislative Council by Bethany Ackeret, Hope Harvey, Daniel Kleinmaier, Noah Natzke, and Susanna Rasmussen

This analysis explores the potential costs and benefits of outsourcing the administrative and investment services of the Wisconsin Retirement System . The authors compare two policy alternatives: the current policy, characterized by the partial outsourcing of WRS services and an option that would contract out all WRS investment and benefits administration functions to a single private firm. They conclude that the current policy is the most desirable policy alternative for the WRS. Presentation slides

PA 869: Workshop in Public Affairs

Professor Andrew Reschovsky

Strategies for Bulky Waste Collection in the City of Milwaukee

Prepared for the City of Milwaukee, Department of Administration, Budget and Management Division by Anne Chapman, Rachel Johnson, Ben Williams, Brendan O'Brien and Carolyn Clow

This report evaluates policy alternatives for bulky waste collection in the City of Milwaukee to address the program's low level of cost recovery. The authors examine the current policy and three policy options: a monthly bulk collection day, a volume-based outside-the-cart fee structure, and elimination of the bulky waste pickup fee. The report analyzes these policies in terms of their efficiency, fairness, and ease of implementation. Based on the evaluation, the authors recommend that the city establish a monthly bulk collection day. Presentation slides

Single Sales-Factor Corporate Income Tax Apportionment: Evaluating the Impact in Wisconsin

Prepared for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue by Jamie Bernthal, Dana Gavrila, Katie Schumacher, Shane Spencer, and Katherine Sydor

States have traditionally taxed corporations based on the corporation's sales, payroll, and property in the state. An influential paper by economists Austan Goolsbee and Edward Maydew claimed that a switch to taxation based only on sales would increase manufacturing employment. The La Follette School authors re-estimated Goolsbee and Maydew's statistical model and extended the data through 2010. They found found much smaller effects on employment, calling into question the validity of Goolsbee and Maydew's study. Presentation slides

Alternative EMS Deployment Options
Prepared for the City of Milwaukee Budget and Management Division by Jessica Gartner, Teague Harvey, Shaun Hernandez, Jason Kramer, Alex Marach, and Jason Myatt

The City of Milwaukee provides emergency medical services through a public-private partnership between the Milwaukee Fire Department and four privately owned ambulance companies. Although MFD personnel dispatch EMS calls to both MFD and private ambulances, the city receives no remuneration from the private providers. The authors evaluate alternative EMS deployment options that aim to compensate for revenue shortfalls and recoup the costs of providing transport services while maintaining quality of care. Presentation slides

PDF of summaries for 2011