PPOL keywords

administrative burden

• intentional or unintentional frictions while dealing with public service

• unequal learning, compliance, psychological costs  

• limits access to services and policy efficacy

casual inference

establishing cause and effect relationship versus simply correlation

collective action

• working together to achieve shared goal

• coordination and effort

• key to solving public problems

compliance costs

effect of admin burden, time and effort needed to follow rules

deserving poor

group that political system deems deserving of aid, usually related to work

disruption

make significant change that affects the status quo (usually negative, could be positive)

equality

everyone has access to same resources/opportunities, only effective if everyone has same needs

equity

reaching same outcome for everyone, by recognized that people have different circumstances and need custom resources

externalities

• side effect of activity that affects 3rd parties

• not reflected in price of activity 

federalism

• same territory controlled by more than one level of government

• national and state/local governments

framing

• process of shaping public interpretation of a social problem

• drives policy in particular direction

grassroots organizing

• “bottom-up” social movement

• allows affected people to define goals and how to achieve them

human capital

knowledge, skills, and health that people invest in and accumulate throughout their lives

internalizing the externality 

• adjusting actions and incentives of individuals or firms 

• through taxes, subsidies, regulation, or market-based solution 

• to align private decision-making with social welfare 

learning costs

due to admin burden, related to searching for information about public services and how they are relevant

means-tested program

• requires income to fall bellow certain level (related to federal poverty line and household size)

• may have other requirements (work, etc)

moral hazard

lack of incentive to avoid risk because one is protected from consequences (insurance)

negative externality

cost born by third party in a transaction

negative internality

• damage done to oneself not fully accounted for in decision-making

• due to lack of info, bias towards present vs future, addiction

paternalistic

• policy/practice designed to change individual behavior that restricts freedom

• policymaker seen as having better information than individual about what is good for them

path dependence 

• policy outcomes depending on previous choices not current conditions of what would be most effective 

• stakeholders invested in existing arrangements 

• resist policy changes

polarization

• divergence of attitudes away from center towards extremes 

• increased conflict, less compromise 

• harder to maintain trust and enact policy

policy window

• opportunity for advocates to call attention to a problem or promote solution

• open due to changes in politics or events

politics

• activities associated with governance

• debate among parties hoping to achieve power

preemptive compliance

• anticipating regulatory, security, or ethical standards before required by law

• to gain competitive advantage, manage risk, influence policy

psychological costs

• part of admin burden

• stigma, loss of autonomy, fear, stress, frustration

public problem

• condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large groups

• requires collective actions to address

• nature of problem, cause, solution are ambiguous and contested

randomized controlled trial (RTC)

• experimental way to determine causal inference of treatment

• uses random mechanism to determine treatment and control groups among eligible population

social movement

• group of people organized around political or social goal

• want change in societal structure/values or certain policy

• usually grassroots 

stakeholders

• social actors who have interest in public problem or solution 

• price sector, community, nongovernmental, nonprofit groups

• vary in organization, influence, and effect of policy

top-down organizing

• strategies, regulations, policies imposed by top of society’s hierarchy

• by governments, corporations, or formal groups

public policy

• government action or inaction in response to public problems

• formal policy goals and means and regulations of agencies that implement programs (education, health, housing, etc)

accountability

• unit responsible for function is judged on performance, not just compliance 

• faces consequences based on outcomes 

• formal mechanisms (penalties) or individual behavior (voting)

collaborative governance

organizational strategies that support systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques in collaboration with community

counterfactual

• what would have happened without intervention

• estimated experimentally by using “control” group

disinformation 

information that intentionally counters best available evidence from experts meant to deceive people 

implicit bias

• unconscious association of stereotypes towards certain groups

• can affect understanding, decisions, actions

• formed by experience and cultural influences

• unfair treatment in social interactions (hiring, healthcare, etc)

individual racism

• biased belief, prejudice, or discriminatory behavior demonstrated by one person toward another based on race

• unconscious or intentional

institutional/systematic racism

• policies within institutions create and maintain racial inequality

• can product unequal outcomes without individual intent

misinformation

information (facts, data, or knowledge) that counters the best available evidence from experts

negative liberty

• freedom “from” external coercion (government intervention)

• allows individuals to act freely without prevention from outside forces

organizational culture

• shared values, beliefs, behaviors that shape organizations social and psychological environment

• influences how employees interact and perform work (leadership styles, norms, etc)

• unwritten rules

positive liberty

• freedom “to” do something

• government provides resources

redistribution

policy that moves wealth/resources from one group to another (upwards or downwards in society)

representative bureaucracy

• workforce of public organization represents demographics (race, ethnicity, gender)

• to ensure needs of all groups are considered in policy making

street-level bureaucracy

• public employees who interact directly with citizens (teachers, police, social workers)

• have discretion on how policies are implemented on the ground

• daily decisions influence how policies affect people