PLCY Final Exam

policy analysts entering the policy process (ethics)

• identification and verification of complex problems

• quantitative and qualitative comparisons of alternatives

• compilation of information into a communication vehicle

social function of policy analysis (ethics)

• supporting improved decision making

• identifying consequences of government choices

• describing, interpreting, and thinking carefully about problems/alternatives

• being sensitive to context

• analysis should be simple and transparent (provide/define formulas)

attributes of successful policy analysts (ethics)

• well-developed critical abilities

• display good judgement

• trustworthy

early challenges (ethics)

• application of tools to practice

• learn organization

• learn political system

oral report (ethics)

• goal: communicating to audience

• rules: know your stuff & know your audience

  • check tech beforehand

graphic presentation

• good picture worth 1000 words

ethical concerns with presenting data and analysis

• accuracy, objectivity, and integrity

• honest methodology and results (not biased)

• report proper information

• keep confidential information confidential

• don’t omit negative findings

ethics

• def: branch of philosophy dealing with questions of morality

theoretical perspectices of ethical reasoning

• justice: concern for fair distribution of costs and benefits among individuals and groups

• rights: action is right or wrong (less concern about consequences)

• utility: consequential good

important ethical relationships and perspectives

• individual analyst

• employers and clients

• colleagues and profession

• public and society

ethical principles

• on-going practice

• gap between codes and practice

• important ethical relationships/perspectices

ethical questions for analysts

self

• am i using the most responsive methods?

• will my actions result in increased knowledge

others

• am i exercising independent judgment?

• will i be respecting confidentiality?

• is there a conflict of interest?

practicing in ethical manners

questioning

• what is the right thing to do?

• what is “good”?

• whose values are pursued?

• whose goals are sought?

• what extent is a client served instead of the public good?

• are we respecting issues of intergenerational and international justice?

why do ethics matter?

• potential influence of the policy analyst on the process

  • biased problem def, alternatives choice, data selection, framing, or recs

repsonse to value conflicts (ethics)

• voice concern

• exit situation/org

• disloyalty

fundamental role for policy analysts (ethics)

• objective technician: analytical integrity

• client’s advocate: responsibility to clients

• issue advocate: adherence to one’s conception of good

influences (policy implementation)

• clarity of objectives and mandates

• political and institutional factors (budget, leadership’s committment, political/public support, external influence)

• agencies (executives, other governments/agencies, congress, political parties, pressure groups, communications media, judiciary)

(policy) implementation

• def: whatever is done to carry a law into effect, apply it to the target population, and achieve its goals

• draws from political sciences and public relations

• occurs after policy adoption & deals with how an administrative agency interprets a policy

intent (policy implementation)

• vauge/inoffensive language risks leaving intent unclear

  • creates too large of a scope or law is too diffused

clearence points (policy implementation)

• number of individual decision points within an organization that must be agreed for action

requirements for “perfect implementation” (policy implementation)

• unitary administration

• uniform norms and rules

• no resistance to commands

• perfect information and communication

• adequate time

potential problems (policy implementation)

• disunity

• standard operating procedures

• communication issues (selecive distortion)

• time

• horseshoe-nail problems (limited information, murphy’s law, etc)

top-down v. bottom-up approach (policy implementation)

• td: focuses on top level, implementation dependent on top directing bottom

• bu: focus on lower-level clients; implementation dependent on their willingness/ability to adapt to policy

administrative burdens

• frictions people face in encounters with public services

  • learning, compliance, and psychological costs

• reinfornces inequality (falls more heavily on marginalized groups)

time tax (administrative burdens)

• non-monetary cost of implementation (paperwork, mental effort, time)

  • less burdensome for wealthy

why do administrative burdens exist?

• inattention

• lack of capacity

• deliberate design

components of administrative burdens

• learning costs: time and effort spend learning (program/service, gaining eligibility, benefits, conditions, access)

• compliance costs: provision of information and documentation (demonstrating standing, financial costs, responding to administration demands)

• psychological costs: stigma, loss of autonomy, frustration with learning costs, stress from uncertainty or compliance, fear of government power

effects (administrative burdens)

• outcome inequality

• social or behavioral control

• lack of access

• incidence (unintended distrubution of burdens (from assumptions that people will opt out if burdens are high compared to benefit))

• accumulation of burdens

social control (administrative burdens)

citizen-state interactions in which people have involuntary contact with coercive state-institutions (criminal sustem, immigration, etc)

rights-granting v. rights depriving programs (administrative burdens)

rg: immigration

rd:criminal justice, child protective services

why do we make things difficult for renters? (NYT)

• Failure in government response for renters during COVID-19 

• Took ~year for Congress to pass payment assistance, and it came with lots of restrictions and hurdles (47B$ allocated at start of year => 3B$ distributed by June)

• Burdens: Awareness (knowing program exists), eligibility (navigating rules), compliance (filling out paperwork correctly, getting landlord cooperation). 

• Other issues: faulty computer system, mistakes in review. 

• Higher burden for low-income and those struggling financially.  

what is the child tax credit? (Brookings)

• def: reduction in taxes owed by families with children

  • now refundable

  • expected to lift 5 million children above the poverty line

how to make the child tax credit more accessible? (Vox)

• issue: IRS tasked with distributing CTC based on tax records (many families didn’t file income taxes) => children don’t get money

• solutions: increase funding for local organizations helping to get people signed up, post sign-ups at schools/pediatricians offices, send out navigators to get families registered, make website more accessible (other languages), introduce many access points. 

questions to ask when evaluating agencies for policy implementation? (B&P)

• Mission. Ex: What is agency’s mission? 

• Environment. Ex: What support or opposition is present in the agency’s authorizing environment? 

• Performance measurement. Ex: What metrics are in place to determine agency’s performance? 

• Technology. Ex: To what extend does the agency have access to and use certain technologies? 

• Production + delivery. Exv: What are the processes the agency uses to produce outputs? 

• Frontline. Ex: Are frontline workers supported, compensated, and motivated? 

• Partners. Ex: Does agency rely on partners or vendors? 

• Centralization. Ex: Does agency have a balance of centralization vs decentralization? 

• Culture. Ex: Does agency have a strong community culture? 

• Politics. Ex: Are there factions within the organization? 

• Leadership. Ex: Who are the leaders, and how effective are they? 

• Change. Ex: Does the agency have the capacity and the desire to enact change? 

sources (administrative burdens)

• policymaking by other means (serving a purpose for political actors & reflect bureaucratic dysfunction)

• policy design (targeted programs tend to have more burdens)

• federalism enhances burdens (more parties involved => more complicated)

solutions (administrative burdens)

• does it need fixing? (do benefits exceed costs)

• elevating administrative data

• promises of technology

• informational nudges