public policy studying

Public Policy

What is the sum of government activities, whether pursued directly or through agents, as those activities have an influence on the lives of citizens.

What is the correct order for policy choices, outputs, impacts

policy choices, policy outputs, policy impacts

Which of the following is true about laws when it comes to creating and implementing public policy?

Can only be created by the government

Examples of________as a policy instrument include taxes and grants.

money

Conservatism

example trumps election

Participation

Fear of the federal bulldozer

Moral, religious, or ethnic rights

Pragmatism

The balance of exports vs. imports

Wealth

is the process by which problems and alternative solutions gain or lose public elite attention, or the activities of various actors and groups that cause issues to gain greater attention or prevent them from gaining attention.

Agenda Setting

2 kinds of agendas are

Systemic and Institutional Agendas

true or false? The three theoretical approaches to the formation of policy agendas are pluralist, elitist, and state-centric.

true

what is this

Iron triangle

9/11 is an example of a __________

focusing event

whereby an event in the physical or social environment moves issues onto the active agenda.

focusing event

this kind of policy has moderate visbility

regulatory

a law would be an example of what level of policy visibility

high

Competitive regulatory (policy type from lowi)

Limit the provision of goods and services to one or a few designated deliveres who are chosen from a larger number of competing potential deliverers

Protective regulatory(policy type from lowi)

protecting people from the negative effects of business

distributive(policy type from lowi)

takes a resources from a broad group of people and gives the resource to a narrower group

redistributive (policy type from lowi)

taking from one group and giving to another

Shortcoming of Lowi typology

-categories aren't mutually exclusive, assignment to categories is difficuly, forcing into boxes

this type of policy includes environmental regulation, health care reform, and safety regulations

Protective regulatory

wilson typology focuses on?

costs and benefits

_______ policies explain what government will do

Substantive

Just say no and Flag protection laws are examples of

Symbolic policies

True or false: the government provides some private goods

True

These policy types are based on ideology

Liberal and conservative

What is an example of an official actor

A and C--> A state legislator and the governor

2 circles depicting power

network

example of spreading oversight powers of congress

Hearings and communications

Most bills in congress will fail in

Committee

which institution is most likely to favor A local interest or national interest?

A house

True or false: many bills in congress are symbolic

true

one event that considerably expanded presidential power in comparison to congress

Roosevelts presidency during times of war, and using the veto power

speaking directly to the American people is a considerable power of the president, Theodore Roosevelt called it using the

bully pulpit

true or false: president is more likely to be involved in selecting alternative policies than in setting the agenda

false

which is true about the bureaucracy?

staffed by mainly appointees and functions via impersonal unbiased rules.

true or false: most cases never make it further than trial court level

true

2 basic functions of trial courts

1)lay out facts 2)apply law to a fact

under what circumstances will cases be appealed to a higher court

legal errors and error affects outcome of case

legal errors and error affects outcome of case

the ______ is the highest level of appeals court in a state

state supreme court

true or false:policy change is fast and takes no time to develop

false

name one unofficial actor

individual citizens

which is a problem with citizen engagement

low levels of signing petitions and participating in rallies and low levels of knowledge

this kind of interest group seeks to create broad benefits for everyone

public

which of the following do political parties do

organize the legislative branch

how has the news changed over time

more modern->newspaper->radios->social media->

the fact that the US gov is federalist and has many structures with no real organization creates the absence of

central control

the four divisions in American gov

Subgovernments
Federalism Separation of
Powers
Public and Private

dual federalism is _____ and cooperative federalism is like a _____

layer cake and marble cake

separation of powers

2nd division of American government. They distribute the powers among the 3 branches of government. They work in small, incremental changes.

when legislator gives a colleague a vote on a particular bill in return for that colleagues vote on another bill

logrolling

In order:Issue emergence, agenda setting, policy formation, decision making, policy implementation, policy evaluation

-A problem in politics, the economy, or society is recognized aswarranting government attention.

• A problem that has been identified gets the attention ofpolicymakers.

• Those with a stake in the policy area propose and develop
solutions to the problem.
• A government passes a law that authorizes specific governmental
response to the problem.
• The executive branch develops the rules that will put the policy
into action.
• The policy is evaluated for its effectiveness and efficiency.

true or false:policy diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels overtime among members of a social system

true

______ is a type of policy diffusion where policy makers in one jurisdiction derive information about the effectiveness of a policy from previsonly adopting governments

learning

adoption of gay marriage laws across states is an example of which type of policy diffusion

normative pressures

true or false:coercion is when a less powerful government takes action to convince another government to adopt their policy

false

Policies---> ______---> policies

politics

This is a political landscape densely laden with existing policies that were created at earlier points in time and that structure multiple dimensions of politics.

policyscape

This is a model or framework for understanding interactions of groups and coalitions of groups called advocacy coalitions. Typically, two to four coalitions form based on shared beliefs on policy issue

advocacy coalition framework

What kind of beliefs are not subject to change?

core

Name two of the variables that are under debate between advocacy coalitions.

Facts and evidence are debated by beliefs and coodination

Which of these is a long-term opportunity structure?

Openness of the political system and Degree of consensus needed for change

This policy theory argues that we need to study policy over a long period of time: a decade or more usually.

Advocacy Coalition Framework

What is an example of a resource effect from policy feedback theroy that affects civic capacity and thus civic engagement?

Payments

Which of the following is a stream of inquiry for Policy Evaluation and Feedback Theory?

Political Agendas
Governance
Meaning of Citizenship
Power of groups
Correct answer:
All of the Above.

is the rights, duties, and obligations imposed by government as well as citizens' responses to them, including their political attitudes and participation

Meaning of citizenship

Public Policy

The sum of government activities, whether pursued
directly or through agents, as those activities have an
influence on the lives of citizens.

Statutory

Highly visible, codified in the United States Code and statutes at large

regulatory

moderately visible, codified in the federal register or the code of federal regulations

distributive

type of policy that takes a resource form, a broad group of ppl, and gives the resource to a narrower group example is pork barrel policies sending money to particular districts for local programs

protective regulatory

protect ppl from the negative side effects of business example environmental regulation, health care reform, any safety regulations

competitive regulatory

limits the provision of goods and services to one or a few designated deliverers who are chosen from a larger # of competing potential deliverers example allocation of radio and tv frequencies, utility franchises, regulation of doctors lawyers and other professions

redistributive

taking from one group and giving to another. winners and losers.

substantive policies

explains what government will do, most high profile policies are these

procedural policies

determine how government does its work, example:administrative procedures act

material policies

provide obvious tangible benefits and come with obvious tangible costs

symbolic policies

statements of principles or values, example just say no, flag protection laws, tv show rating, dare program

public goods

Provided by government and are regulated --- laws provide clean air/water

private goods

private good can be provided on the market w/o free riding ex postal service

agenda setting

is the process by which problems and alternative solutions gain or lose public elite attention, or the activities of various actors and groups that cause issues to gain greater attention or prevent them from gaining attention. issue only considered if its on the agenda

policy formulation

Narrows and structures the consideration of issues while preparing a plan of action

systemic agendas

-Includes all issues subject to action.

• Usually not consensual.

pluralist approach

-policy making is divided into separate arenas
-assumption of a marketplace in policies
-interest groups and central actors
-open marketplace of ideas

elitist approach

-power elite dominating public decision making
-lack of resources among lower economic groups
-implications of the approach
-results of the non-decision

state centric approach

-political system itself responsible for the agenda
-iron triangle conception
-locus of competition
-power of bureaucratic and legislative actors

focusing event

-events in the physical or social environment
-moving issues onto an active agenda
-public awareness of underlying policy problems ex 9/11

routine policies

-simpletest level of policy making
-making this type of policy primarily requires routine adjustment of existing policies and these changes incremental
-requires adequate information and accepted theory of causation

creative policies

-creative policy formulation lies at the other extreme of information and knowledge help by decision makers
-they have neither an adequate information nor adequate theory of causation
-when creative formulations prove unworkable, it requires building in reversibility of policy choices to correct i

conditional policies

-changes in certain indicators trigger a policy response like only the reconsideration of a public policy
-generally advantageous to build a certain amount of automacityinto the policy response or at least to provide some insulation against political delay or interference

craftsman policies

Governments may have a model of causation for the problem but lack sufficient information to be confident in any policy response they may formulate. Formulating policies of this type depends on developing a number of contingencies and potential forms of response as well as identifying means of assessing the risks of possible occurrences.
Formulating such policies involves building a probabilistic basis for response rather than relying on the certainty that might be taken for granted in other policy areas.

official actor

a participant in policy process whose involvement is motivated or mandated by their official position on a government agency or office

unofficial actor

a participant in the process who does not have constitutionally created incentives or mandates to be apart of the process

oversight

performed in the lesgitslative branch, hearings communications from constituents interest groups news media crs.

judicial review

The power of the courts to review acts of the legislature and the executive branch and to strike them down if the courts find them to be unconstitutional.

trial court

The first level of the court system. Establishes the facts of the case, applies relevant law to those facts. Only about 1% of all cases go any further.

intermediate appellate court

A court that reviews cases to find possible errors in their proceedings. The error must be prejudicial (affect the outcome of the case).

state supreme court

The highest level of appeals court in a state. The final arbiter of what state's law means
Usually also runs the state's court system and regulates the legal profession
In states without IACs, State Supreme Courts have discretion over what cases they hear
Hear cases about balance of power in state government
Hear appeals on certain criminal convictions
Discretionary cases

institutional interest group

membership because you belong to a particular category such as students or faculty

membership interest group

groups you choose to join for benefits or relations