Public Policy Analysis Midterm

Purtle

• Big P Policies

• Little p policies

• policymaker

• policymaking process

• 4 ways to think about policy

Big P Policies (Purtle)

• policies created through government (federal, state, local)

Little p policies (Purtle)

policies created by smaller organizations

• ex: insurance companies, healthcare systems

policymaker (Purtle)

• the person w/ the authority to enact policies

policymaking process (Purtle)

sequence of adopting a policy

1. agenda setting

2. research integration

3. codification

4. multi-sector involvement

Purtle’s 4 ways to think about policy

1. policy making process

2. codified policy

3. implementation process

4. implementation outcomes

policy making process (Purtle)

• sequence of events leading to policy adoption

• research and evidence that shape policies

• product

• 4 ways to think about policy (step 1)

codified policy (Purtle)

• the written policy

• Big “P” Policy on the books

• 4 ways to think about policy (Step 2)

Implementation Process (Purtle)

• how policy is rolled out

  • street levels actors ——> translating law into practice

• 4 ways to think about policy (Step 3)

Implementation Outcomes (Purtle)

• real-world impacts of the policy

  • did it work? how?

• 4 ways to think about policy (Step 4)

Public Policy (Kraft and Furlong)

• what public officials within government choose to do OR NOT DO about public problems

  • action is a policy decision

• NOT DO Matters

Policy Goals (Kraft and Furlong)

• the stated end needs to be achieved

Policy Programs (Kraft and Furlong)

• the means for achieving policy goals

Policy Outcomes (Kraft and Furlong)

• the effects those actions actually have on society

Kraft and Furlong’s 3 concepts you have to know

1. government

2. politics

3. policy analysis

government (Kraft and Furlong)

• institutions and processes through which binding decisions are made for society

politics (Kraft and Furlong)

• exercise of power in society

  • who has it, who wants it, how it shapes policy decisions

policy analysis (Kraft and Furlong)

• systemic study of policy alternatives to help decision makers choose the best course of action

The Policy Cycle (Kraft and Furlong)

1. agenda setting

2. policy formulation

3. policy legitimization

4. implementation

5. evaluation

• stages can overlap, get skipped, or go back

Why Does Government Get Involved? (Kraft and Furlong)

• Political Reasons

• Moral or Ethical Reasons

• Market Failure

Political Reasons (Kraft and Furlong)

• elected officials respond to public pressure, constituencies, and electoral incentives

  • “politicians do what voters demand”

Moral or Ethical Reasons (Kraft and Furlong)

• society decides certain things are right or wrong regardless of market efficiency

  • ex: civil rights, environmental protection

Market Failure (Kraft and Furlong)

• when the private market can’t or won’t solve a problem

  • externalities

  • public goods

  • information failure

agenda setting (Kraft and Furlong)

• why/how

• how problems get on the government’s radar

  • crisis, advocacy, political window

• step 1 of the policy cycle

policy formulation (Kraft and Furlong)

• developing possible solutions — who proposes what and on what basis

  • not responding is also a response

  • get all the people in the room who have stake in the problem

  • who is for/against the policy

• step 2 of the policy cycle

policy legitimation (Kraft and Furlong)

• getting the policy adopted

  • congress, executive action, rule making

  • through political process

• step 3 of the policy cycle

Implementation (Kraft and Furlong)

• translating policy into action

  • street-level bureaucrats, agencies

• how will we make this thing a thing

• who will be thorough/who has the job of implementing it

• step 4 of the policy cycle

Evaluation (Kraft and Furlong)

• did it work? for whom? at what cost?

• outcomes

• analytical

• if it worked, who did it work for/is represented?

• step 5 of the policy cycle

Kettl

• American federalism/states divided

American Federalism (Kettl)

• divides authority between federal and state governments

  • both have independent power

  • neither fully controls the other

  • in a crisis requiring national coordination, this fragmented structure produces chaos

Howlett, McConnel, & Perl’s Multiple Streams Network

1. Problem Stream

2. Policy Stream

3. Politics Stream

Problem Stream (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl’s)

• conditions become problems when someone frames them as requiring government actions

• indicators, focusing events, feedback existing program

• Multiple Streams Network

Policy Stream (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• a soup of ideas, proposals, and alternatives circulating among specialists

  • values matter

• most ideas wait years for their moment

  • survivors are feasible, fundable, and value consistent

    • technically feasible, financially viable, consistent w/ values of key decision makers

• Multiple Streams Network

Politics Stream (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl’s Multiple Streams Network)

• national mood, election results, interest group pressure

• operates independently

  • politicians respond to electoral initiatives

    • who wants this

    • are we in the powerful party

    • how will this decision affect our power

Policy Window (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• opens up when all three streams align simultaneously

• rare, unpredictable, and brief

• the opportunity may not return for years

Policy Entrepreneur (on it’s own) (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• the actor who makes it happen

• needs three things

  • access to decision makers

  • credibility in the domain

  • persistence over time

• recognizes when streams are aligning, couples the problem to a solution, and pushes it through

• can be multiple people

Policy Window Verdict (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• open

• cracking

• closed

open window (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• all three streams aligned

• policy entrepreneur ready

• change is possible now

cracking window (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• one or two streams aligned

• window open but not fully open yet

closed window (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• streams misaligned

• problem recognized but politics or solutions are blocking action

reverse policy window (Howlett, McConnel, & Perl)

• when the three streams align to dismantle existing policy, rather than to create new policy

Howlett - “Kingdon a la carte”

• original framework is elegant, but to rigid for real policy practice

• real practitioners pick elements from each stream selectively — like ordering from a menu

• sometimes goes looking for a problem. sometimes politics drive everything regardless of the other two streams

• the framework is a set of analytical tools — not a rigid sequence or recipe

• key insight: knowing which stream is blocking your policy tells you where to apply pressure

Official Actors (kraft and furlong)

Formal Constitutional or Legal Authority

• congress

• the president

• the bureaucracy

• the courts

congress (Kraft and Furlong)

• passes legislation, controls budget, oversees schedule

• fragmented - 535 members with different priorities

• stream: politics

  • electoral incentives drive action

• Official Actor

the president (Kraft and Furlong)

• sets the national agenda, proposes legislation, signs/vetoes bills, issues executive orders

• stream: all three

  • the single most powerful policy entrepreneur

• Official Actor

the bureaucracy (Kraft and Furlong)

• agencies that implement policy

• enormous discretion

  • implementation outcomes differ from codified policy

• stream: implementation

  • where purtle’s lens 3 lives

• Official Actor

the courts (kraft and furlong)

• interpret constitutionality of legislation and executive action

• can open OR close policy windows

• stream: judicial window

Unofficial Actors (Kraft and Furlong)

• interest groups

• political parties

• the media

• think tanks

• civil society

• private sector

interest groups (Kraft and Furlong)

• lobby/litigate campaign, mobilize

• ex: NRA, NAACP, AARP

• stream: policy

  • keeping solutions circulating

• unofficial actor

political parties (Kraft and Furlong)

• coordinate electoral strategy and legislative agendas

• stream: politics

  • shaping the political moment

• unofficial actor

the media (Kraft and Furlong)

• decides wjat gets covered and how

• sets the public agenda

• stream: problem

  • defining what counts as a crisis

• unofficial actor

think tanks (Kraft and Furlong)

• generate ideas and evidence

• ex: Brookings, Heritage, Urban Institute

• stream: policy

  • circulating alternatives

• unofficial actor

civil society (Kraft and Furlong)

• community groups, nonprofits, grassroots organizing

• stream: problem

  • +policy entrepreneur role

• unofficial actor

private sector (Kraft and Furlong )

• corporations, industry associations, campaign finance, lobbying

• stream: politics

  • often the most powerful unofficial actor

• unofficial actor

executive orders (Kraft and Furlong)

• one actor bypassing the process

  • the president is the most powerful policy entrepreneur in the system

  • the tool used when the legislative path through Congress is blocked or too slow

  • faster action, but fragile

    • next administration can reverse with stroke of a pen

  • key insight: statute is durable, ________ are not. an actor who bypasses congress bypasses durability

Knowledge Broker (Knaggard)

• translates research into policy relevant language

• connects evidence to the people who make decisions — without advocating for a specific solution

• notice the issue but don’t have the power to put the policy forward

• credibility depends on if you are objective or knowledge/data-based

  • emotions don’t count

• typically not politicians

Knaggard - How Problems Get Framed

• causality

• severity

• proximity

• crisis

causality (Knaggard)

• who or what caused this problem?

• a condition framed as a human-caused draws more political attention than one framed as natural or innevitable

severity (Knaggard)

• how bad is it? how many are affected?

• the more severe a problem is perceived to be, the more likely it draws political attention

proximity (Knaggard)

• is it happening here and now — or distant and someday

• problems framed as immediate and close to home draw more attention than ones framed as far off

crisis (Knaggard)

• framing a problem as _________ raises its perceived severity and proximity at once

• once triggered by a focusing event

• often pushes a window open and causes people to make change

Wolfe, Jones, and Baumgartner - The Media System

• driven by novelty, conflict, and drama

• processes issues in bursts

  • intense coverage, then gone

• amplifies problems that are visible and emotionally compelling

• short attention span

  • yesterday’s crisis fades fast

• what’s in the news cycle? what problems are at the forefront?

Wolfe, Jones, and Baumgartner - The Policy System

• driven by institutional rules and legislative calendars

• process issues incrementally

  • slow by design

• responds to sustained pressure, not single wants

• long attention span

  • issues cycle through committees for years

Punctuated Equilibrium - Wolfe, Jones, and Baumgartner

• long stability

• punctuation

• new equilibrium

long stability (Wolfe, Jones, and Baumgartner)

• incremented change

  • the issue circulates in the policy soup — advocates propose solutions, no one is listening

punctuation (Wolfe, Jones, and Baumgartner)

• a crisis, scandal, or catastrophe disrupts equilibrium

• media attention spikes

• congressional hearings open

new equilibrium (Wolfe, Jones, and Baumgartner)

• a new policy is adopted and institutionalized

• the system stabilizes until a new baseline

Schneider and Ingra, - The Four Quadrants

• advantaged

• contenders

• dependents

• deviants

advantaged (Schneider and Ingram)

• powerful + positive

• tend to get all the support

• ex: veterans, small business owners, the elderly

• Quadrant 1

contenders (Schneider and Ingram)

• powerful + negative

• will be a the polls

• real benefits but often pay a political cost

• Quadrant 2

dependents (Schneider and Ingram)

• weak + positive

• gets sympathy and modest benefits

• not doing good for this group would be bad from a moral perspective

• give them just enough

• little political power

  • either cannot or unlikely to vote

• ex: children, people with disabilities, mother

• Quadrant 3

deviants (schneider and ingram)

• weak + negative

• policy toward this group is usually seen as punishment

• teach them a lesson

• often disenfranchised leading to not voting

• ex: people who are/were incarcerated, drug users

Head

Tame vs. Wicked Problems

Tame Problem (Head)

• clear rules, clear paperwork, clear yes/no answer

• once approved, it’s done

  • everyone agrees what “solved” looks like

• ex: renewing a business license

Wicked Problem (head)

• no agreement on the cause so no agreement on the fix

  • it’s never “done,” just better or worse managed

• if we can’t even agree on what the problem is, how can we fix it

• cannot be easily slowed

• ex: homelessness/housing cost, mental health, addiction, wages

policy entrepreneur (in relation to knowledge broker) (Knaggard)

• actively advocates for a specific solution

• invests political capital to couple the streams — they are trying to win

• advocating and putting more value behind something; more subjective

• may at times have been a knowledge broker but it doesn’t have to be true

  • they are to separate actors

  • you can do both, just not at the same time