Public Policy Decision: Top Down and Street Level Bureaucrats

TOP DOWN:

Degrees of Positive Change:

FO:

Minor changes to calibration of policy instruments

→ Upping tax because of popularity and bad for health

SO:

Changes to instruments used

(SO is usually done from evaluation process)

TO:

Change to overall policy goals

→ Policy team is completely changed to help with amending policy goals

Calibration and Proportionality:

Proportionate Responses:

Severe problems = large response from policy makers

Small problems = smaller response from policy makers

Disproportionate Responses

When response does not fit size of problem

Models of Decision Making:

Rational:

  • assuming that decision makers want to maximise policy outcomes

  • maximise output of decision made

→ Critique: Herbert Simon

  • Bounded Rationality “constraints always prevents the realisation of true, perfect rational decision-making”

    → cognitive limitations and the narrowing of options

    → impossible to assess all costs and benefits

    → Outcomes in terms of costs / benefits are highly complex

    → What is best, can change with circumstances

  • Satisfice - do what we can with what we have (satisfy and suffice)

Incrementalism:

  • decsions makers are just muddling through and working through a process of building out of the from the current situation, step-by-step, by small degree

Marcha nd Olsens Garbage Can:

→ Eschews rationality

→ A lot of different options and solutions can only arise through media attention cycle to help forward their policy 

STREET LEVEL:

  • social worker

  • doctors

  • nurses

  • government mandated therapists and counsellors

  • judges

  • tax officials

  • teachers

  • police

Discretion:

→ up to them how policy is implemented

→ external variables may affect their outcome

→ are still constrained by rules but have independence and discretion over how said rules are implemented, especially those that are unprescriptive. 

Autonomy from Organisations

→ may not share same beliefs and values as the organisation they work for

  • value divergence

→ tension between customer satisfaction and own employee goals

Group Task