Public Policy Process An Introduction

Introduction Where does public policy come from--- Politics Politics: a process by which societies help figure out how to organize and regulate themselves; that is, how to govern themselves. Why “Public” in policy ? Social contract- Democracy-John Lock “power derives from the consent of the governed” What is public and what is private?

Public Policy Morphology Public Policy Process—Formulation and implementation of public policy- term “policy process” suggests that there is some sort of system that translates policy ideas into actual policies that are implemented and have positive effects. Comparative Public Policy—Applies the logic of comparative analysis to the substance of different policy problems. Much of this work is descriptive, rather than theoretical

Morphology--- Public Policy Analysis—A logic of analysis and mix of techniques in support of public policy decision making--borrows heavily from economics. Public Policy Research—Applied social science research aimed at documenting policy problems and evaluating interventions. It is problem driven- and is domain focused mostly

Classics—The Systems Process Systems Thinking- input output David Easton’s “ Systems Analysis of Political Life” 1953

Systems Questions What are the characteristics of the environment that generate demands? What are the characteristics of the political system that turns demands into output? How do environmental inputs affect the political system? How do characteristics of the political system affect public policy? How do environmental characteristics affect public policy? How does public policy through feedback, affect the environment and the political system itself?

A Systems Model of Policy The Policy Environment Inputs: Election results Public opinion Communications to elected officials Media coverage Personal experiences THE POLITICAL SYSTEM (“BLACK BOX”) translates inputs into outputs Outputs: Laws Regulations Decisions Feedback A Systems Model of Policy

Focus on "the Black Box" The Institutionalist The organizational structure The power of each component The composition Rules and regulations The coordination mechanisms

Alternative Selection Agenda Setting Issue Emergence Enactment Implementation Evaluation ‘Textbook’ or ‘Stages’ Model of the Policy Process (multiple authors-Lasswel 1956)

Stages model--- Implies a beginning and an end Implies an orderly step of stages Strength: It’s a good way to organize our thinking Weaknesses: When does one stage end and the other begin? Do policies move through each step? Do policies move in order? Does feedback always happen? Does it feed back to the beginning, or somewhere else?

Kingdon’s Streams Model An adaptation of the ―”Garbage Can’ model The streams: The state of politics and public opinion (the politics stream) The potential solutions to a problem (policy stream) Attributes of problems and the attention to them (problem stream)

A picture of the streams model Problem Stream Window of Opportunity Policy Stream Streams come together. Why and when? Politics Stream Time

Streams are parallel and somewhat independent of each other Policy entrepreneurs try to join the streams in a ―window of opportunity Window of opportunity: the possibility of policy change

Strengths Not as mechanical as systems/stages models Shows how elements of the policy process happen separately and in parallel Particularly strong in showing how alternative policies are selected and how agendas are set

Weaknesses of the Streams Metaphor Doesn’t go much beyond agenda setting and alternative selection Doesn’t really describe implementation (not a whole system model) Not clear about the role of some actors, such as the courts (although these actors certainly fit in the model).

Baumgartner and Jones ―Punctuated Equilibrium The important contribution to public policy studies: Long periods of policy stability is followed by rapid change, followed by long periods of stability. Policy change isn’t incremental Policy isn’t in a state of constant instability

Baumgartner and Jones: ―Punctuated Equilibrium The balance of political power between groups of interest is relatively stable over long periods of time But this balance of power is punctuated by sudden shifts in: Public understanding of policy problems The balance of power between groups seeking to fight entrenched interests

Baumgartner and Jones: ―Punctuated Equilibrium Policy Monopolies Based on a coalition of government and special interest groups, they form a policy subsystem These monopolies are controlled by a relatively few number of actors How do policy monopolies break down? Media attention to an issue Changes in the policy image Changes in the policy venue

Sabatier’s Advocacy Coalition Framework

Sabatier’s Advocacy Coalition Framework Policy change can take a long time There are stable and dynamic influences on the policy process Stable influences –the policy problem, distribution of natural resources, and cultural values and social structure Dynamic influences -Changes in socioeconomic conditions, technology, public opinion, governing coalitions

What does the ACF tell us? Some features of the system are stable External events matter and can be exploited You can lead a coalition or be a policy broker You need to find a policy broker as part of your agenda setting strategy.

Conclusion: A Complex Process There are normally hundreds of actors from interest groups, governmental agencies, legislatures at different levels of government, researchers, journalists, and judges involved in one or more aspects of the process. This process usually involves time spans of a decade or more There are normally dozens of different programs involving multiple levels of government that are operating, or are being proposed for operation, in any given local Policy debates typically involve very technical disputes over the severity of a problem, its causes, and the probable impacts of alternative policy solutions Most issues involve deeply held values/interests, large amounts of money, and, at some point, authoritative coercion

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