PLCY Exam #2

What are evaluative criteria? 

a. goals

b. values (to be achieved/realized)

c. standards (for evaluating the results of policy actions)

What is the purpose of evaluative criteria? (for example, if multiple policies generate outcome X, how do we assess the policies themselves?)

a. magnitude of the outcome

b. feasibility (how likely an outcome is)

c. how well (related to cost) each alternative that produces that outcome is

steps of evaluation

a. identify criteria

b. develop or define a metric scale to measure the criteria

c. measure the impact of each alternative as it will be implemented

principal objective def (evaluation)

inverse of the problem statement

what makes a good criterion (evaluation)

a. important

b. meaningful

c. specific and precise

d. ends, not means

e. measurable

(M&S) good criterion? (evaluation)

a. comprehensive

b. independent, mutually exclusive, no overlap

c. consistent application

d. does not show priority to any given alternative

e. measurable

what are some common broad criteria (evaluation)

a. effectiveness (linked to principal objective)

b. effciency

c. cost

d. equity or another measure of distribution

e. feasibility (political, administrative, technical)

f. ease of implementation

g. unintended consequences

conceptualization def (evaluation)

the mental process whereby imprecise concepts are made precise

• “unhealthy” => specific conditions

operationalization def (evaluation)

a. process through which analysts measure concepts

b. identifying scales that correspond to variance in the concept

c. asking questions

• how does one measure this concept? is there a single indicator or multiple? which level of measurement should be used? who has standing/who are the stakeholders (can we think from their perspectives)?

reliability v. validity (evaluation)

r: extent to which different experiment attempts converge on the same result

v: extent to which a measure or data point reflects reality truthfully

(M&S) two types of measurements (evaluative)

a. quantitative

b. categorical

what are the levels of scale measurement (evaluation)

a. nominal: mutually exclusive, exhaustive, (categories)

• ex: food insecure

b. ordinal: ranking of categories

• ex: lots of food shortages (5+), some (3-4), a little (1-2), or none (0)

c. interval/ratio: specific distances between categories

• ex: number of meals consumed

(M&S) two common pitfalls regarding evaluative criteria

a. confusing criteria with alternatives

b. changing the weight of criteria after applying them to the alternatives

(M&S) tool for presenting evaluative criteria

analytical matrix

• criteria on one axis

• alternatices on other axis

• scores in boxes

(M&S) what are the evaluative criteria used for child support cases

a. effectiveness

• maximize the number of parents eligible for debt cancellation

• maximize the amount of state debt reduction

• increase the possibility of parent debt reduction

b. equity

• maximize ease of compliance

c. minimize cost of implementation

d. maximize political acceptability

normative v. policy analysis (overview)

n: analysis that introduces values and ideological beliefs and makes explicit conclusions about action that should be taken

p: a statement of fact, finding, or theory. devoid of judgment. Is.

what is a policy alternative?

options, solutions, strategy, interventions to solve mitigate, or improve a public problem

what are the methods suggested (by B&P in step three) for arriving at alternatives?

a. start comprehensive, end focused

b. consider out-of-the box solutions

c. model the system to describe causes

d. consider alternatives jointly

how might one narrow down a comprehensive list of policy alternatives?

consider the alternatives that key political actors are promoting or opposing

how do (B&P suggest) thinking outside the box for identifying policy alternatives?

a. how would you solve the problem if cost were no object?

b. where else would it work?

• ex: medical residency algorithm for foster matches

c. why not? or why can’t?

d. could less be more?

basic v. variant alternatives

b: policy that falls into one of the simple categories of alternatives

v: altered version of a basic version

what are the basic/generic policy solutions (alternatives)?

a. market mechanism

b. incentives

c. rules

d. nonmarket supply

e. insurance/cushion

what are some examples of market mechanisms?

a. freeing markets (deregulating, legalizing, privatizing)

b. facilitating markets (allocating property rights, creating new marketable goods)

what are the ways one can alter incentives (alternatives)?

a. supply-side taxes: taxes imposed on producers to discourage production or behavior

• output taxes, tariffs

b. supply-side subsidies: encourage production or behavior

• matching grants, business credits, and reductions in taxes

c. demand-side taxes: reduce consumer demand

• commodity taxes, user fees

d: demand-side subsidies: increase consumer demand

• in-kind subsidies, vouchers, coupons, and reductions in taxes

what are the types of rules (alternatives)?

a. frameworks

• civil laws, liability, criminal laws

regulations

• price regulation, quantity regulation, direct/indirect information provision, regulation of the circumstances of choice

how might goods be provided independent of the market (alternatives)?

a. direct supply via bureaus (public schools, fire dept., hospitals)

b. contracting: direct/government contracted (road construction, waste collection) or indirect/government funded (homeless shelters, arts programs)

what are the kinds of insurance and cushions (alternatives)

a. insurance: mandatory or subsidized

b. cushions: stockpiling, assistance, buyouts (offering money to stop behavior/activity), grandfathering (some allowed to operate under old policies), & cash grants

what are the primary and secondary categories of alternatives for each type of market failure?

what are the primary and secondary categories of alternatives for each type of governmental failure?

what models do (M&S) suggest as possible alternatives?

a. status quo

b. incremental change to status quo

c. client suggestions

d. similar policies from other places

e. past policies

f. analogus policies: policies designed for other issues

g. turning one alternative into several to address multiple complicated components

• inclusionary zoning

h. standard modes of government intervention

• taxes, subsidies, de/criminalization, regulation, and service provisions

i: NOT A MODEL: “best practice”

what methods to (M&S) suggest to help generate policy ideas? (alternatives)

a. brainstorming: spontaneous, unfiltered idea generation

b. building off an ideal": imagining policies without constraint, so that ideal solution becomes visible

(M&S)’s brainstorming steps? (alternatives)

1. defer judgement

2. encourage wild ideas

3. build on others’ ideas

4. focus on one topic

5. have one conversation at a time

6. be visual

7. quantity over quality

what is behavioral economics?

intersection of psychology and economics

• why do humans deviate from the rational economic model? when? under what conditions?

(K&T) what are the two types of thinking? (behavioral economics)

a. system 1: fast, mental shortcuts, intuition, “gut feeling”

b. system 2: slow, measured, analytic, “conscious thought”

what are some examples of mental shortcuts (behavioral economics)?

a. status quo aversion

b. loss aversion

c. framing

d. conformation bias

e. optimism & overconfidence

what are some examples of biases or other deviations from rational choice (behavioral economics)?

a. representativeness (typical case rather than data)

b. anchoring (reliance on first piece of information)

c. availability (ease of recall)

(M&S) (T&S)’s explanation of nudges? (behavioral economics)

a. encouragements to act in ways that the government considers to be in their best interest

b. often utilized biases and mental shortcuts

• ex: organ donor paperwork to opt in/out

c. not coercive, giving the option of acting otherwise

d. paternalism => libertarian paternalism

when are nudges most effective (behavioral economics)?

E: easy

A: attractive

S: socially acceptable

T: timely

nudge’s limitations? (behavioral economics)

a. less effective with large or structural issues

b. may enable manipulation/unethical practices

c. may not apply across social/cultural contexts

d. constraints of generalizability

what concepts from behavioral economics are important to policy (M&S)?

a. status quo bias (people are reluctant to depart from current circumstances)

b. loss aversion

c. framing

d. anchoring

e: availability (recent examples influence thoughts more than data)

f. confirmation bias

g. representativeness (patterns, preconceptions, & stereotypes usually take precedent over facts)

h. optimism & overconfidence (people tend to be unrealistically optimistic about their prospects)

which field and design concepts are helpful in policy (M&S)? (behavioral economics)

a. empathy

b. co-creation (collabration)

c. prototyping (preliminary modeling, testing, and improving