public policy making process

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PPA 503The Public

Policy-Making Process

Lecture 1The Study and

Practice of Public Policy


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Introduction

The study of public policy is firmly grounded in the studyof politics, which is as ancient as human civilizationitself.

Most of the ancient philosophers looked at politics ingeneral, theoretical ways. Platos Republic The search for justice. One of Platos

objectives in the Republic was to show that justice isworthwhilethat just action is a good in itself, and that oneought to engage in just activity even when it doesnt seem toconfer immediate advantage.

Aristotles Politics - Since we see that every city-state is asort of community and that every community is established

for the sake of some good (for everyone does everything forthe sake of what they believe to be good), it is clear thatevery community aims at some good, and the communitywhich has the most authority of all and includes all theothers aims highest, that is, at the good with the mostauthority. This is what is called the city-state or politicalcommunity. [I.1.1252a1-7]


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Introduction

Modern political theory. Niccolo Machiavelli.

If we understand and plan the political

actions we take in pursuit of our goals, weare better prepared to seize the politicalopportunities that arise in the normal courseof political life.

Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Marx,

Weber, Durkheim. Focused on the exercise of power between

individuals, families, groups, communities,and the various levels of government.


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Introduction

The systematic study of public

policy is a 20th century phenomenon.

Dates to 1922, when political scientistCharles Merriam sought to connect the

theory and practice of politics to

understanding the actual activities of

government, that is, public policy.

Nevertheless, most of the literature on

public policy dates back only about 50

years.


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Introduction

The study of politics is theattempt to explain the various

ways in which power isexercised in the everyday worldand how that power is used toallocate resources and benefits

to some people and groups, andcosts and burdens to otherpeople and groups.


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Introduction

The study of public policy is theexamination of the creation, by thegovernment, of the rules, laws, goals, andstandards that determine what governmentdoes or does not do to create resources,benefits, costs, and burdens.

In studying public policy, we focus onthose decisions made (or implicitlyaccepted) by government and

nongovernmental actors to address aproblem that a significant number ofpeople and groups consider to beimportant and in need of a solution.


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Introduction

A major element of studying and

teaching public policy is the

reliance of policy studies on abroad range of the social

sciences.


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Introduction

Table 1.1. Selected Disciplines That Study Public Policy

Discipline Description Relationship to

Public Policy

Some important

journals

Political Science The study of politicalrelationships; that is, the

study of the processes by

which societies seek toallocate political power and

the benefits of such power,

The political process is the

process through which

policies are made and

enforced.

American Political Science

Review, American Journal

of Political Science, Journal

of Politics, Policy, PoliticalResearch Quarterly, Public

Opinion Quarterly

Sociology Sociology is the study ofsocial life, social change,and the social causes and

consequences of human

behavior. Sociologists

investigate the structure of

groups, organizations, and

societies, and how people

interact within thesecontexts.

Community and group

activities are an importantpart of policy making,

because groups of people

often form to make

demands.

American Sociological

Review, ContemporarySociology, Journal of

Sociology

Economics The study of the allocationof resources in a

community, however

defined. Economists study

markets and exchanges.

Welfare economists seek to

understand the extent to

which an overall

communitys welfare can be

maximized.

There are many economic

factors that influence

public policy, such as

economic growth,

productivity, employment,

and the like. The tools of

economics are often used

to promote policies or to

explain why policies

succeed or fail.

American Economic

Review, Econometrica,

Journal of Applied

Economics, Journal of

Political Economy.


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Introduction

Table 1.1. Selected Disciplines That Study Public Policy

Discipline Description Relationship to

Public Policy

Some important

journals

Public

Administration

The study of the

management of governmentand nonprofit organizations,

including the management

of information, money, andpersonnel to achieve goals

developed through the

democratic process.

The management of public

programs is an integral partof the policy process. PA

scholars study the

motivation of programimplementers and targets

and help research

innovations to improve

service delivery.

Public Administration

Review, Journal of PublicAdministration Research

and Theory

Public Policy The study of whatgovernments choose to do

or not to do, including

studies of the policyprocess, policy

implementation and impact,and evaluation.

We give this label to the

highly interdisciplinary

study of the public policy

process. Policy scholarsdevelop theories about how

the policy process worksand develop tools and

methods to analyze how

policy is made and

implemented.

Journal of Policy Analysis

and Management, Journal

of Public Policy, Policy

Studies Review, PolicyStudies Journal, Journal of

Policy History


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Introduction

Because the field of public policystudies is so new, it has yet tocoalesce around a shared set of

principles, theories, and priorities(paradigm).

For public policy to be useful, wemust bridge the gap between what

academics know and howpractitioners and citizens use whatwe know to make better policy (orbetter policy arguments).


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Policy Science as

Applied Science You may question whether

policy is science, but science

is defined as the state ofknowing: knowledge rather than

ignorance or misunderstanding.

The values of empirical science:the number of teeth for men and

women.


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Policy Science as

Applied Science Anecdotal evidence versus scientific

evidence: The case of food stamps(discuss). The problem with anecdotes is that they

are little tidbits of information that areunsystematically gathered and thatreflect the biases of the person relating

the story. Question: Is the food stamp program

a failure?


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Policy Science as

Applied Science Scientific evidence (evaluation).

Compared to nonrecipients, Participants spend a larger portion of their total expenditures on

all food items.

Foods used at home by recipients have a greater monetary value

per person and more nutrients per dollar. Recipients are more likely to shop for food on a monthly basis,resulting in better planning and lower transportation costs.

The availability of twelve essential nutrients in the diet is higherfor recipients.

One dollar increase in food stamp benefits increases foodexpenditures between 17 and 47 cents, whereas a dollarincrease in income only increases food expenditures 5 to 10

cents. Information is: Peer-reviewed

Aggregate information rather than disconnected cases.

Runs counter to common wisdom.


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Policy Science as

Applied Science Do food stamps work? Not

necessarily.

Difference between policydescription and policy

advocacy.


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Policy Studies as a

Science We can say that the careful

study of public policy is

scientific because itcontributes to knowledge by

relying on methodological rigor.

Policy analysts share acommitment to methodology, but

not to any one particular method.


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Policy Studies as a

Science Harold Lasswell argued that

quantitative analysis and the

scientific method wereimportant elements of any

policy science.

But, Lasswell recognized thatyou must combine quantitative

and qualitative information.


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Policy Studies as a

Science Lasswells recommendations for an

empirically driven, methodologicallyrigorous, yet flexible style of policy

research has served as the basis forpolicy studies in late 20th century.

But it is also driven by the desire tosolve problems.

No common paradigm. Dye listseight theoretical traditions.

Most of these theories need testing.


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Policy Studies as a

Science Theorizing is important,

because they make sense of

ambiguous evidence, and theydevelop concepts that apply to

more than one case.


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Science, Rationality,

and the Policy Process Policy analysis is an important

component of policy sciences.

But researchers should keep rational

analysis in context: within theinterplay of evidence, value andbelief systems of the participants,the structure of the process, and thedistribution of power.

Most policy analysis is not valueneutral. Problem identification israrely neutral, for example.


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What Is Public Policy?

Attributes common to variousdefinitions of public policy. The policy is made in the publics

name. Policy is generally made or initiated by

government.

Policy is interpreted and implemented bypublic and private actors.

Policy is what the government intends todo.

Policy is what the government choosesnotto do.


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What Is Public Policy?

Table 1.2. Defining Public Policy

Definition Author

The term public policy always refers to the

actions of government and the intentionsthat determine those actions.

Clarke E. Cochran, et al.

Public policy is the outcome of the struggle

in government over who gets what.

Clarke E. Cochran, et al.

Whatever governments choose to do or not

to do.

Thomas Dye

Public policy consists of political decisionsfor implementing programs to achieve

societal goals.

Charles L. Cochran and Eloise F. Malone.

Stated most simply, public policy is the sum

of government activities, whether acting

directly or through agents, as it has an

influence on the life of citizens.

B. Guy Peters.


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What Makes Public

Policy Public? The dominant ideological foundation

of our constitutional system isclassical liberalism.

John Locke. Power derives from the consent of the

governed.

Thus, government actions must be in thepublic interest.

But people differ dramatically in what isthe public interest.

Commercial interests versusenvironmentalists.


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What Makes Public

Policy Public? Not even the most intense policy

advocates are interested in every

issue. We delegate the power to make

policies in our names to elected

officials. However, we retain our

interest in the outcome and our rightto promote particular policies at any

time.


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Why Do We Study Public

Policy? To know more about the

process for its own sake.

To know more about theprocess to inform practitioners.

To learn how to promote

preferred policy options.

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