WEEK 9: POLICY TYPES The Public Policy Process

Some reminders I will get your agenda memos back ASAP Then I will start reading rewrites Keep doing and sending rewrites! Visit me if you need to—don’t just wait for office hours! The due dates on many assignments have changed; the revised syllabus has been posted. Don’t forget to review the notes on the midterm exam, posted on the course website.

What we’ve done so far Introduced the idea of the policy process Described the goals of public policy Outlined problems Learned about long-term and changeable features of the policy environment Considered the roles of official and unofficial actors Discussed groups, power, and the agenda setting process

What’s next: Today: Policy Types (more interesting than I thought!) Next Week: Policy Tools April 6: Policy Implementation, Failure, and Learning April 13: The Science of Public Policy April 20: Class Cancelled April 27: Review, Summary, Ideas about the Final (Final will be posted before class)

What Is a “Policy”? Public policy: What the government, acting on our behalf, chooses to do or not to do. A policy is a statement by government of what it intends to do or not to do, such as a law, regulation, ruling, decision, or order, or a combination of these.

What are some examples of these levels of policy? Constitutional Statutory Regulatory SOPs Street-level bureaucrats Subtle changes in cognition

Codifying and Publicizing Policies Level of PolicyWhere CodifiedVisibility of Codification ConstitutionalIn the federal or state constitutions Highly visible at the federal level: the Constitution has been edited very few times. Some state constitutions are more easily amended for minor changes. StatutoryUnited States Code, Statutes at Large, State Highly visible through codification in statute law, publication in Statutes at Large. RegulatoryFederal Register, Code of Federal Regulations Moderately visible through the Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register. Formal record of standard operating procedures Operating Procedures ManualsLow visibility because S.O.P.s are often only internally published. Patterned behavior by “street level bureaucrats” Not formally codified; evidence of a “policy” may be found in some agency records Low visibility because these are behavioral changes with variations among actors Subtle changes in cognition, in emphasis on problems, etc. Not formally codified. Often revealed by the behavior of street level bureaucrats themselves. Very low visibility. Not codified, and changes in perceptions and emphases may be subtle.

Why does the level of policy matter? Visibility Respect Compliance

Policy Types A way of predicting policy outcomes How? By categorizing the “type” of policy Weak typology: substantive policy type  Education  Environment  Health

A Good Policy Typology is Generalizable Mutually exclusive Collectively exhaustive Explanation and prediction:  “Knowing what kind of policy we are dealing with would allow the policy designer to predict the sorts of policy conflict that would precede the policy’s enactment, and what sort of conflict might arise after the policy is adopted and implemented.”

Theodore Lowi’s Classic Typology Lowi: Distributive, Regulatory, and Redistributive Policy Ripley and Franklin:  Protective Regulatory  Competitive Regulatory

What is distributive policy Policies with many beneficiaries Policies where those who pay are diffuse Logrolling Examples  Farm subsidies  Local infrastructure  “Pork”

What are the problems of distributive policy? Clienteleism “Interest group liberalism” The failure to make tough decisions about what are broader national needs.

Competitive regulatory “Limit the provision of goods and services to one or a few designated deliverers, who are chosen from a larger number of competing potential deliverers.” Conflict is limited, low key Examples:  Allocation of radio and TV frequencies  Utility franchises  Regulation of doctors, lawyers, other professions

Protective regulatory Protect people from negative effects of business Not always opposed by business! But is still more contentious than competitive regulatory Examples  Environmental regulation  Health care reform!  Any safety regulation, like auto safety

Redistributive policies Taking from one group, and giving to another  “Intended to manipulate the allocation of wealth, property, personal or civil rights, or some other valued item among social classes or racial groups.”  Not just from the rich to the poor! Extremely contentious  Winners and losers  Zero sum games  Some people treat values as limited resources. Examples?

Actors, Stability, and Visibility of Policy Types Policy typePrimary actorsRelationship among actors Stability of relationship Visibility of decision DistributiveCongressional subcommittees and committees; executive bureaus; small interest groups Logrolling (everyone gains) StableLow Protective regulatoryCongressional subcommittees and committees; full House and Senate; executive agencies; trade associations Bargaining; compromise UnstableModerate Competitive regulatory Subcommittees; executive bureaus and commissions; small interest groups Logrolling among favored actors StableVery low; very little full congressional involvement RedistributivePresident and his appointees; committees and/or Congress; largest interest groups (peak associations); “liberals/conservatives” Ideological and class conflict StableHigh

Influence of Key Actors Policy TypePresident, presidency, and centralized bureaucracy BureausCongress as whole Congressional subcommittees Private sector DistributiveLowHighLow (supports subcommittees) HighHigh (subsidized groups) Protective Regulatory Moderately high ModerateModerately highModerateModerately high (regulated interests) Competitive regulatory LowHigh (Regulatory agencies) LowModerate to low High (regulated interests) RedistributiveHighLowHighModerately lowHigh (“peak associations” representing clusters of interest groups)

Shortcomings of Lowi’s typology Categories are not mutually exclusive Assignment to categories is difficult Forcing into boxes

Simplification: Concentrated and Diffuse Costs and Benefits Benefits Concentrated among very few people Distributed among many people Costs Concentrated among very few people Interest group politics: conflict between groups that would benefit and those that would bear the costs. Treated as a “zero-sum” game. Entrepreneurial politics: groups and their leaders seek to persuade policy makers to regulate in the public interest, in the face of opposition from the groups that would bear the cost. Distributed among many people Clientele oriented politics: close “clientele” relationships between policy makers, regulators, and the regulated interest. Majoritarian politics: Relatively loose groups of people, or those acting on their behalf, who seek a substantive or symbolic statement of policy. Often leads to weak, ambiguous policies.

How does this relate to Lowi’s typology?

How is this different from Lowi’s typology? Focus is on costs and benefits only, not on the intent of policy The two dimensions are continual, not dichotomous

What does this mean to you? How you frame a policy is really important. You can show that  Everyone will benefit, but few will pay  Everyone will benefit, but everyone pays a lot  Those who pay deserve to pay If interest group liberalism is really true, what is your goal as a group?  Keep conflict quiet  Venue shopping You should choose what sort of broad policy tool you would use to achieve your goals.  Why: Avoid conflict. Conflict raises issues on agendas.

Other Policy Typologies Substantive and Procedural Policies Material and Symbolic Policies Public versus Private Goods Liberal and Conservative Policies Think about how people make arguments about these policy types