Pols 315 Important Terms

Public Goods

a good that, once provided, cannot be limited to those who have paid for it, the enviro is a public good

Informative Asymmetries

Transactions where one party has more or better information than the other party - sometimes the public is unaware of environmental contaminants in their midst while others may be very aware

Externalities

When a third party to an exchange is forced to involuntarily either pay a cost or receive a benefit; most are negative

Equality

the assurance that all in society have equal access to the private market and public goods and that negative externalities are not concentrated within certain populations 

Agenda Setting

an issue is actively on gov agenda

Policy formulation

actors generating ideas or solutions to the policy problem

Policy legitimation (adoption)

passing of law by congress/establishing of the policy

Policy Implementation 

carrying out the public policy, when people who are against it try to break it

Policy Evaluation

review the policy and the impact it is having

Political stream

public opinion, the political climate; who is in office, who wields power

Policy stream

usually ready made policy solutions waiting to be coupled with problems

Problem stream

the various conditions/public problems that exist and are viewed as worthy of gov intervention

Command and Control Regulation

Regulators set standards or limits and apply them uniformly to a broad category of sources, regulation mechanisms: ambient, emissions, technology standards

Market-Based Incentives

Incentive-based policies aimed to encourage polluters to find innovative, low cost ways to reduce their emissions by offering them rewards or by doling out punishments in the form of taxes or fees, marketable permits, or liability

Voluntary Programs

Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) seek to improve the environment by encouraging, rather than mandating, businesses and other organizations to adopt environmentally protective measures 

International Agreements

coordinating among various countries to achieve environmentally protective goals typically used for environmental problems that are global or regional in nature 

Egocentric

concern over the environment relates to how problems affect themselves

Social Altruistic

concern comes from how environmental problems affect the public at large 

Biocentric

belief that the natural environment is of utmost concern. Humans are part of nature and have some obligation 

Legislative Leadership

ability of president to pass bills through Congress/work with Congress

Administrative actions

oversight of the bureaucracy, appointments, regulatory process, executive orders 

Political Communication

where environment is on the agenda, how it is discussed/framed, whether the president advocates for/against enviro protection

Environmental diplomacy

negotiations with other countries, where we stand on environmental treaties