MPA Public Administration

Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management · CDU-BUS-MPA-900 · MM · v1.0.0

The analytic core of public management: the social net present value and benefit–cost ratio of a programme at the social discount rate, the 80/20 or 90/10 preference-point award of a public tender, the path and stabilising primary balance of public debt, and the Gini coefficient of an income distribution.

Lineage

Conquest Designer University, 2026 — authored from the brief and the NASPAA standards; no prior institution is claimed

Final research project

Deciding in public: appraisal, procurement, debt and distribution as four calculations a public manager must show

Syllabus

Appraisal: social cost–benefit analysis, the social time preference rate, NPV and BCR (Green Book)
Procurement: price points, specific-goal points, the 80/20 and 90/10 systems (PPPFA Regulations 2022)
Public finance: debt dynamics, the interest–growth differential, the debt-stabilising primary balance (IMF DSA)
Distribution: the Gini coefficient and the mean income

Reference

Social NPV: Σ (B_t − C_t) ÷ (1 + r)^t, r = 3.5% STPR (Green Book) unless stated
Price points (80/20): Ps = 80·(1 − (Pt − Pmin) ÷ Pmin); up to 20 points for specific goals; 90/10 above R50 million
Debt dynamics: d(t+1) = d(t)·(1 + r) ÷ (1 + g) − pb; stabilising pb* = d·(r − g) ÷ (1 + g)
Gini: Σᵢ Σⱼ |xᵢ − xⱼ| ÷ (2·n²·μ)

Units

Social cost–benefit analysis · Preferential procurement award (80/20 or 90/10) · Public debt dynamics · Gini coefficient

Role when narrated: You are a senior public servant briefing a minister. State the rule that governs the decision, show the calculation, and say what the minister must decide that the numbers cannot.

Social cost–benefit analysis · social_cba

Try with the example

At the social discount rate, does the programme’s stream of benefits justify its costs?

Reference: HM Treasury Green Book (2022): discounting at the social time preference rate of 3.5% (years 0–30); NPV and benefit–cost ratio

Returns

pvBenefits: Present value of benefits
pvCosts: Present value of costs
npv: PV benefits − PV costs
bcr: PV benefits ÷ PV costs
worthwhile: NPV > 0

The example

{
  "benefits": [
    0,
    400000,
    450000,
    500000,
    500000
  ],
  "costs": [
    1200000,
    50000,
    50000,
    50000,
    50000
  ],
  "discountRate": 0.035
}

Agents: POST /faculty/mpa-public-administration/social_cba with JSON {pan, …inputs} and the x-402-payment header. Manifest.

Preferential procurement award (80/20 or 90/10) · preference_points

Try with the example

Which bidder scores highest once price points and specific-goal points are added under the applicable preference system?

Reference: Preferential Procurement Regulations, 2022 (PPPFA Act 5 of 2000): 80/20 up to R50 million, 90/10 above; Ps = 80(1 − (Pt − Pmin)/Pmin) or 90(…)

Returns

system: 80/20 or 90/10
pricePoints: Price points per bidder (2 dp)
totalPoints: Price + specific-goal points (2 dp)
winner: 1-based position of the highest total

The example

{
  "estimatedValue": 12000000,
  "bidPrices": [
    1000000,
    950000,
    1100000,
    990000
  ],
  "specificGoalPoints": [
    16,
    8,
    12,
    4
  ]
}

Agents: POST /faculty/mpa-public-administration/preference_points with JSON {pan, …inputs} and the x-402-payment header. Manifest.

Public debt dynamics · debt_dynamics

Try with the example

Where does the debt-to-GDP ratio go over the projection, and what primary balance would hold it steady?

Reference: IMF (2013) Staff Guidance Note for Public Debt Sustainability Analysis: d(t+1) = d(t)(1 + r)/(1 + g) − pb, nominal effective r and g

Returns

projectedDebtRatio: Debt ÷ GDP at the horizon
change: Projected − current
stabilisingPrimaryBalance: pb* = d·(r − g) ÷ (1 + g)

The example

{
  "debtRatio": 0.72,
  "interestRate": 0.09,
  "growthRate": 0.07,
  "primaryBalance": -0.01,
  "years": 5
}

Agents: POST /faculty/mpa-public-administration/debt_dynamics with JSON {pan, …inputs} and the x-402-payment header. Manifest.

Gini coefficient · gini

Example filled in — consult below

How unequal is this income distribution, on the scale from 0 (equal) to 1?

Reference: Gini (1912); the mean-absolute-difference definition used by the World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform

Returns

gini: Σ|xi − xj| ÷ (2n²μ)
mean: Mean income

The example

{
  "incomes": [
    12000,
    18000,
    25000,
    31000,
    40000,
    52000,
    68000,
    90000,
    130000,
    250000
  ]
}

Agents: POST /faculty/mpa-public-administration/gini with JSON {pan, …inputs} and the x-402-payment header. Manifest.