pubp exam #1

public policy

a government action to solve a public problem

government actors

any person acting on behalf of the government

distributive policies

allow government actors to provide beneficial goods and services to a majority of the population at the expense of all taxpayers

redistributive policies

reallocate wealth, property, political or civil rights, or some other valuable item to the advantage of class-based groups

regulatory policies

allow the government to compel certain beneficial behaviors from individuals or groups while discouraging other behaviors

constituent policies

involve the creation and regulation of government agencies and can also refer to polices that establish the way a government functions

statutory laws

a written law formally enacted by a legislative body

bureaucratic

a system, organization, or process managed by a large group of unelected officials, featuring strict hierarchies, specialized roles, and standardized rules

confederate government

policy making power placed in the hands of local (state) governments

power

the ability to get others to do something they would not otherwise do

unitary government

authority in the hands of a single, centralized national government

federalism

a combination of unitary and confederate governments

enumerated powers

specified powers written in the constitution

implied powers

not specifically enumerated in the constitution

reserved powers

powers left specifically to the states

concurrent powers

policy areas of interest to both governments

the great society

a series of federal gov’t initiatives during the 1960s and 70s that increased the federal government’s powers

executive order

signed and published directives from the president that manage the operations of the federal government

judicial review

the federal court’s power to determine if congressional legislation and presidential actions are constitutional

judicial restraint

the belief that the court should not push its views on the other branches of government unless there is an obvious constitutional violation (less direct influence on public policy)

judicial activism

the court an active member in the policy making process

market

a social system in which individuals pursue their own self-interest by exchanging goods and services with others in a way that is mutually beneficial

market failures

not enough good/services provided by the market; can be used as a reason for government intervention

public goods

common goods used by everyone in society; naturally available to all; should be non-exclusive and non-rivalrous

externalities

effects resulting from the production of a good that are not the intent of a production

natural monopolies

occur when it is so costly to start up a business multiple firms cannot provide the service

information asymmetry

a firm possess knowledge that the consumer does not

government failures

occur when society is not left better off after government intervention

10 reasons for government failure

• inability to define social welfare

• limits of democracy/paradox of voting

• inability to define the marginal costs and benefits of public goods

• political constraints

• cultural constraints

• institutional constraints

• legal constraints

• knowledge constraints

• analytical constraints

• timing of policies

liberal democracy

ensures that citizens are free to fulfill their aspirations; ultimate goal of public policy

policy actors

elected politicians, bureaucrats, interest groups, citizens

process of public policy making

1. problem identification

2. agenda setting

3. formulation

4. legitimation

5. implementation

6. evaluation

policy problem

arise from situations that cause dissatisfaction to people or groups, who then call on the government to find a solution

issue recognition

when the issue is first noticed and then perceived to have the potential for government action

causality

what is causing an issue

agenda

a list of “issues” that are a priority for the policymaker—every policymaker has one; can be a list of proposed bills to a series of principles, values, or beliefs

agenda universe

encompasses all the possible ideas that could be discussed or considered by the government

systematic agenda

all issues that are commonly perceived by members of the political community as meriting public attention and as involving matters within the legitimate jurisdiction of existing governmental authority

institutional agenda

a list of items explicitly up for active and serious consideration

decision agenda

describes those problems for which the government is actively debating a solution and taking specific actions and making decisions

agenda setting

the process of getting an issue recognized and placed on the agenda

pluralism

everyone has equal access to influence policy making

elite theory

suggests that only a few prominent elites have the power to influence policy making

multiple streams framework (MSF)

developed to explain how policy problems and solutions attain prominence during the agenda setting process

problem stream, policy stream, political stream

problem stream

an event that changes our perception of a problem and indicates something is wrong

policy stream

any proposals that have been developed to address a particular issue, consists of a viable policy option or even concrete legislation; can also incorporate technology or public perception

political stream

when electoral change or change in public opinion leads to reform

advocacy coalition framework

advocacy coalitions consist of people from a variety of positions who share a specific belief system and who will show nontrivial degree of coordinated activity over time

subgovernment

3 sets of actors in the agenda setting process (congress members, bureaucrats, interest groups)

policy design

the process by which policies are designed, through both technical analysis and the political process

objective

specific, quantified targets that represent steps towards accomplishing goals

4 major concepts of public policy goals

equity, efficiency, security, liberty

affirmative action

offer ways to easy racial disparities

distributive programs

policy makers must decide who receives the benefit and how much of it they receive

efficiency

the act of achieving an objective for the lowest cost

inputs

resources dedicated to a policy or public program

outputs

immediate, easily measurable effects on a policy

outcomes

ultimate change

impacts

higher-level goals and long-term consequences of a policy

security

many definitions (economically, physically, psychologically secure)

accidental

problems caused by accident, fate, luck

intentional

cause attributed to a person or group who knowingly caused harm

mechanical

have no will of their own but are designed by humans to produce certain consequences

inadvertent

the unintended cause of well-meaning policies

steps to establishing causality

1. demonstrate that the cause happened/will happen, rule out other explanations

2. demonstrate a relationship between concepts

policy formation

the act of developing alternatives for managing public problems on the policy agenda

rational comprehensive model

assumes that decisions are made after an individual rationally considers all options while estimating the trade-offs between costs and benefits

1. identify the problem

2. clarify decision criteria

3. identify alternatives

4. calculate risks and benefits

5. evaluate alternatives

6. select the best option

incrementalism

occurs when policies are formulated to continue previous policies or make gradual changes to existing policies over time

organizational garbage

situations arise in which a solution seeks a problem rather than using the logical problem/solution decision structure

policy tools

elements in policy design that cause the target audience to do something they would not otherwise do with the intention of modifying behavior to solve public problems or attain policy goals

inducements

options for changing people’s behavior through rewards or punishments, sanctions, or incentives

managers

assemble the policy machine and doers; direct how to implement policy

horizontal coordination

policy relies on other agencies at the same level

doers

deal directly with clients (street-level bureaucrats)

vertical coordination

does not rely on other agencies

fixers

the individuals called up to work within the policy arena to alleviate tension between managers and doers or alleviate tensions that develop when coordination problems arise

6 factors influencing policy implementation

1. source of the policy

2. clarity of the policy

3. support for the policy

4. complexity of the administration

5. incentives for implementers

6. resource allocation

design levers

mechanisms used during the formulation phase

operating system levers

guidelines put in place to guide the policy from design to implementation

organizational levers

how an agency responsible for policy implementation is established or restructured

political levers

actions taken by policy makers and policy supporters to quell dissension among opponents

top-down approach

forward mapping, policy makers to implementation

bottom-up approach

backward mapping, focuses on the behavior the policy maker wishes to change at the street-level and works from the bottom up to achieve it

third-generation approach

combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches

policy analysis process

1. identify and define problem

2. identify alternatives

3. establish evaluation criteria

4. evaluate alternatives

5. select best alternative

6. monitor outcomes

factors for evaluation criteria

• effectiveness and efficiency (costs relative to benefits)

• equity and freedom

• political and administrative feasibility

• social acceptability

experimental models

control the environment completely

quasi-experimental models

control as much of the environment as possible