Abstract for: Teaching Policy Design, Using a Case Study of Unintended Consequences when the EU Regulates Hospital Doctors’ Hours

The purpose of this paper is to encourage readers to help us assess and improve the major project in a graduate level system dynamics course in policy modeling. This year, we modified the project in hopes that it would contribute more to the learning objectives in the course. We have seen both positive and negative effects of the change; the jury is still out. To provide a context for reader reaction, we describe the project in some detail. It is based on a case study of the unintended consequences suffered by UK hospital doctors due to the European Working Time Directive. Thus, despite the pedagogical slant of this paper, it may also interest health policy analysts. We emphasize the process of managing the project and the tasks required of students, and particularly solicit comments and suggestions about certain key features. Three of the authors were students in the course, and some of their work is used to illustrate how students carried out the project.