Policy analysis dag 1

Positivism

Idea that a reasonably objective analysis of public policy possible is

Policy analysis (analysis FOR policy)

pursues formal evaluation or estimation of “policy impacts” or outcomes (applied, prescriptive, applied policy analysis)

Policy sciences (analysis OF policy)

more abstract and theoretical ideas of the full policy process (descriptive, theoretical)

Post-positivism

embraces more subjective and interpretative techniques (idea that there is no ‘one objective’ reality, but that our perception of reality is always in some way subjective)

Policy cycle

a complex phenomenon consisting of numerous decisions made by individuals and organizations inside the state, while these decisions are influenced by others operating inside and outside the state (procedural and substantive complexity)

Policy cycle model

Model that considers policy making to be a process of interrelated stages through which policy issues flow in a more or less sequential fashion from inputs to outputs, for analytical purposes (helps reduce complexity and make it more visual)

policy subsystem

a network composed of those actors with sufficient knowledge of a policy area, or a resource at stake, to allow them to participate in the process of developing courses of action

a network of alle possible international, state and societal actors that directly or indirectly affect a policy area

public good

a good that cannot be parceled out and can be consumed by numerous people at once without diminishing the sum of the good available (cannot generate profits for suppliers => must be supplied by the government using public funds)

private good

can be divided up for sale and is no longer available to others after consumption (can be delivered effectively through the market mechanism)

toll goods

semi-public goods that don’t diminish after use but whose use it is possible to charge for

common pool goods

goods whose usage cannot directly be charged to consumers, but whose quantity is reduced by consumption

natural monopoly

affects toll goods: a high barrier of entry to the market, meaning that the first company to establish the necessary infrastructure enjoys natural advantages, making it difficult for others to enter the market and compete. The monopolist can fully set the price. Solution: government regulates the prices or other aspects of the good and service

imperfect/limited information

Affects private and toll goods: when consumers/producers don’t have the necessary information to make rational decisions and may make decisions that are against the private (and thus public) good. Solution: government mandates the disclosure of information

Externalities

Affects all types of goods: when production costs are not borne by producers, but rather by others outside of the production process. solution: government ensures that all costs of the production process are borne by the producer (or limiting the consumption of a polluting good through internalization of prohibiting)

Tragedy of the commons

affects common-pool goods: resources are exploited without the requirement to maintain the resource for future use. Solution: the government takes action to ration consumption among resource users (through permits, quota,…)

Destructive competition

Affects mostly private goods, but also common-pool goods and toll goods: aggressive competition between corporations creates negative side-effects for workers and society. solution: government creates regulation or prohibits certain practices

Market failure

The market fails to effectively distribute the scarce resources of society: the functioning of the free market is not causing the optimal overall social welfare outcome

Government failure

Government fails to correct market failures

Principal-agent theory

There is an inherent gap between the legislative and political intent and the administrative practice. Decision makers in democratic states must inevitably delegate responsibility to officials whose subsequent behavior they only indirectly control. The existence of a structural discretion on the side of the agents and since they also have their own goals (see influence from public choice theory), the process of implementation will always stray from the initial decision.

Organisational displacement / shift of goals

An administrative agency charged with producing a good or service will eventually displace publicly sanctioned goals with their own

Rising costs

The government does not have the same pressure as actors in the free market to create revenue, and therefore there is no incentive to control their expenses => allowing “minor” market failures might be cheaper than allowing government to take over C

Derived externalities

Certain government actions have a broad impact on society and the economy and can have the effect of excluding viable market-produced goods and services, negatively affecting overall levels of welfare (overregulation of the market makes private initiative impossible)

Kaldor criterion

If the average benefits outweigh the average costs, it is good decision

Class analysis/ class theory

Focus on collective entities: the organizations and associations that intend to influence the policy agenda, policy options and policy outputs) (class analysis is inductive and class theory is deductive)

Orthodox marxism

The idea that society has undergone a certain number of stages (“modes of production), each characterised by their own technologicalcondition of production (“means of production”), and a distinct manner in which various actors in the productionprocess are related to each other (“class structure” or “relations of production”)

continued classstruggles and technological advances => the previous modes of production collapses and is replaced by another

Society is made up of 2 classes (“the haves” and “the have-nots” whose relation is inherently adverbial) e t

the superstructure

all institutions, ideas, systems, relations,… in society : fully determined by the infrastructure (reflect the adversial relationship between the two classes)

the infrastructure

the economic relations and power relations between the two classes, determined by the power of the capital

the State as an Instrument of Class Rule

instrumentalist view on the state through the orthodox marxist lens: idea that the state is merely an instrument in the hands of capitalists, who use it with the purpose of maintaining the capitalist system and increasing their profits, necessarily at the disadvantage of labour (=> all public policy reflects the interests of the capitalists)

relative autonomy of the state

(based on ideas from marxism in the 60s and 70s: “structural version of neo-marxism”): thestate enjoys a certain autonomy from the capitalist class and is not only determined by the infrastructure, but also deeplyinfluences the economic relations and means of production. This allows the state to adopt measures in favour of thesubordinate classes if these are seen as politically unavoidable and promote long term social stability and the eventualinterests of the capitalist class.

Latent/ manifest groups - Bentley

Over time latent interests emerge providing the underpinning for potential groups, which over time turn into organized groups (sees society as more dynamic than Bentley)

Historical institutionalism

considers the extent to which events and decisions made in the past shape existing institutions that, in turn, influence current practices

Rational institutionalism

Focus on individuals whose (rational) actions are shaped by the particular institutional environment in which they exist

sociological institutionalism

norms and values within institutions influence actor’s behavior by conditioning their notions of appropriate behavior

policy autonomy

the state’s capacity to develop and articulate a wide range of policy options

policy capacity

the state’s ability to implement policy (mobilize and resolve)

embedded autonomy

the situation of a strong state and a strong society with a close partnership between the two (optimizes both policy capacity and policy autonomy) an

narrow groups

numerous groups with more specific interests (more fragmented society, promotes competition between groups)

encompassing groups

larger groups consisting of a variety of similar interests

peak associations

working in concert with different business or labour organizations with similar interests (ability to resolve internal differences and come up with coherent policy proposals, simplify policy making by presenting the government with a clear list of private sector demands)

think tank

independent organization engaged in multi-disciplinary research intended to influence public policy

international regime

set of governing arrangements or networks of rules, norms and procedures that regularize behavior and control its effects (can be based on explicit treaties or be the result of convention developed as a result of repeated international behavior) => influences policy by promoting certain policy options and constraining others

epistemic communities

a group of policy actors that share the same problem framing, narratives and discourse (referring to knowledge, data, representation, ideas about the size and origin of problems) => mostly experts and scientists, influencing the problem through knowledge

policy paradigm

a set of high-level ideas that structure policy debates a

advocacy coalitions

group of policy actors with shared ideas on the solution of a policy, and focus on promoting policy solutions (mix of political and societal actors)

policy entrepreneurs

policy actors that facilitate agenda-setting by exploiting policy windows

Policy network

actors involved in designing policy: their role depends on authority, resources, interest

The pure scientist (Pielke, 2012)

Disregards for applicability or utility of their research it terms of policy making: their research is available to all publicly

The issue advocate

focus on the application of research for political agenda’s: align themselves with a group to advance its interest (active participation in the policy process)

The science arbiter

truth seekers removed from political considerations, but recognize that policymakers may need the advice of experts in decision-making in order to integrate scientific knowledge t

the honest broker

seeks to engage in decision-making in order to integrate scientific knowledge into policy debates and widen the scope of policy options, but takes no advocacy positions

=> posing open-ended questions to spark more debate