Intro to Public Policy Midterm

PSC 1050-5 Aurora University

policy

policy

course of action dealing with a problem. Purposeful, consistent across a period of time

public

problem relative to the public

public action

taken if something is harming public well-being

private

problem relative to you, outside of government control

private action

acting individually, little thought of public well-being

social context

demographics influence goals, perspective, the problem

economic context

state of economy, resources, whether there is enough available to solve problems

political context

politicians tend to do what is best for them, keeping career

governing context

divided or unified government, separation of powers, federalism

culture context

the public, traditions, low trust in government

liberal

tend to be more concerned with solving a problem

conservative

tend to be more concerned with the consequences

why does the gov. act on some things and not others?

factors: responsibility, political reasons, moral/ethical reasons, markets

what forms does governmental action take?

passing new laws, regulations, implementing programs, funding

how can government “do better”?

reviewing and updating policies to reflect changing circumstances

how does the institutional structure of government impact policy

checks and balances, separation of powers, policy making is slow in general because of how it’s structured

legislative structure

bicameral: house of reps and senate, committees, subcommittees

House of Representatives

majority vote based on population, hierarchal and formal, led by speaker of the house

Senate

2 votes per state, informal and interpersonal, led by vice president

committees

where legislation happens, rules that benefit rule maker (designed not to legislate, but to represent)

logrolling

trading votes (you support me on this, I’ll support you on that)

executive branch

responsible for law enforcement, can’t watch everyone, laws passed by the gov. get watered down

judicial structure

district to circuit appeals to supreme

judicial branch

responsible for law interpretation, federalism allows cases to be appealed

informal actors

play an important role in political outcomes

public opinion

idea of what the public thinks about an issue at a particular point in time

stable opinion

public opinion that doesn’t change easily

salient opinion

public opinion that is important to people, what they actually care about

interest groups/ lobbyists

organize to impact government, lobbying, educating, funding

interest group disparities

what interest groups actually are, who can vs. who does- differences in resources, influence, and representation in interest groups

federalism

separation of powers between federal and state governments

past federalism

clear separation (dual)

present federalism

blend of responsibilities (cooperative)

advantages of federalism

1. distributed power avoids government capture

2. provides for local experimentation

3. states act within political culture

4. brings government closer to people

disadvantages of federalism

1. slower changes

2. gridlock

3. duplication of efforts

4. loss of accountability

theory

attempt to explain why things happen as they do

elite theory

“the few” control power in U.S. despite how democratic everything sounds

policy outcome that ELITE would predict:

laws that will benefit/ not harm elite will pass

real-world app. of ELITE:

tax cuts for the rich

elite

knowledgeable and invested in politics, powerful judges, CEOs, moguls, “important” people

masses

the rest of us

claims of elite theory (7)

1. society is divided into haves and have nots

2. those who govern are not typical Americans

3. few non-elites can enter the elite ranks

4. elites share views on basic questions of gov. and society

5. policy represents these views

6. elites will both act for themselves and sometimes the public

7. non-elites let elites get away with all of the above

group theory/ pluralism

interest groups will participate in politics for you

policy outcome that GROUP would predict:

groups in majority will pass policies easily

real world app. of GROUP

Affordable Care Act supported by interest groups

iron triangles

congress, bureaus, and interest groups working together for mutual benefits

institutional theory

rules already in place affect different types of laws

policy outcome that INSTITUTIONAL would predict:

sweeping changes won’t be made because of rules we have in place

real world app. of INSTITUTIONAL

senate filibuster prevents voting on policies to occur

rational choice theory

seeks to explain policy outcomes based on what is good for person passing them- “maximize utility”

policy outcome that RATIONAL CHOICE would predict:

policies that get the politician more votes/ stay in power will pass

real world app. of RATIONAL CHOICE

Trump changes his stance on gun laws to gain republican gun owner votes

utility

value you get out of something

political systems theory

types of things that occur in society governs what leaders work on vs. what they want to work on. Politicians react to what is going on at the time

policy outcome that POLITICAL SYSTEMS would predict:

policies passed in an attempt to fix the the prevalent problem at the time

real world app. of POLITICAL SYSTEMS

emergency aid to damages from hurricane Helene

policy process steps (5)

1. Problem recognition

2. Agenda setting

3. Policy formation

4. Policy adoption and implementation

5. Policy evaluation

problem recognition

identifying the context behind the problem and how big the problem is

agenda setting

identifying who should handle it and what the consequence will be

policy formation

establishing the details of a policy and alternatives

policy adoption and implementation

establishing how to put the policy to work and identifying if it is working

policy evaluation

collecting data on policy and setting goals

how did Silent Spring illustrate the political process in action?

1. DDT is causing cancer

2. Silent Spring became a policy window

3. Silent Spring made DDT a salient issue- it could be banned, regulated, or left alone

4. EPA banned DDT and the ban held

5. they collected data on birds and concluded that the goal was met

how did the French fertility issue illustrate the political process in action

1. EU recognized a drop in French fertility rate

2. WHO, UN, and EU identified problem and France is obligated to do something as part of Europe

3. formation options: child care policy or family leave policy

4. both options were implemented

5. it didn’t work, fertility stayed the same

policy analysis

the collection and interpretation of information to clarify public problems and study the consequences of policy actions

policy analysis as an art:

things that are realistic and acceptable to people

policy analysis as a science:

what will actually work and best solve the problem

orientations/ sources of policy analysis from most professional to least professional (3)

1. scientific (academic/social scientists)

2. professional (institutions/ offices)

3. political (interest groups/ campaigns)

root cause

how to deal with the entire problem

proximate cause

solve an issue of the problem

comprehensive vs. short term

solving the entire problem over a long period of time vs. a quick solution that may not be the most successful

consensual vs. contentious

what is easy to do vs. what works

rational comprehensive approach

long, time-consuming, thorough. Most people like this

incremental approach

gradually change policies until we find optimal solution

types of analysis

1. root vs. proximate causes

2. comprehensive vs. short term

3. consensual vs. contentious

status quo

keeping things as they are

opportunity costs

giving up something to get something

cost benefit analysis

the decision that is made will produce the best outcome for the lowest cost