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“What is Public Policy?” Introduction to PA 306 Josh Farley (with thanks to Chris Koliba) August 29, 2005

What is policy?  Today’s newspaper…  Grad student parking memo  Universal health care in Vermont (and elsewhere)

Policy as a noun… 1.a definite course of action adopted for the sake of expediency, facility, etc. 2.a course of action adopted and pursued by a government ruler, political party, etc. 3.action or procedure conforming to or considered with reference to prudence or expediency. (Webster’s unabridged)  A solution to a problem…  Policy is a rational attempt to attain objectives.

Policy as a verb… The Policy Cycle/Process  Identify objectives  Identify alternative courses of action for achieving objectives  Predict the possible consequences of each alternative  Evaluate the possible consequences of each alternative  Select the alternative that maximizes the attainment of objectives.

What about PUBLIC policy?  Is the graduate parking memo a matter of public policy? Why/why not?  Is health care in Vermont a matter of public policy? Why/why not?

So what makes a policy “public?”  What is public?  Does public policy always imply a role for government?

Public -- Private  Synonyms?  What distinguishes: Public from private interests?

How does public policy relate to other disciplines?  Economics  The allocation of scarce resources among alternative desirable ends  Political science  Sociology  Hard sciences  Ethics

Legacy of the Enlightenment Philosophy  The “self” comes of age…  Rational, self interested actors  Dangers of factionalism… Federalist Papers  Acceptance of special interests  Use of checks and balances to keep interests in check.

What does it mean to be/act rational? Scientific:  Application of scientific methods to determine problems and derive solutions to those problems.  Science, derived from the Latin word scientia, meaning “having knowledge.” Birkland (p.7)

Rational policy cycle  Identify objectives  Identify alternative courses of action for achieving objectives  Predict the possible consequences of each alternative  Evaluate the possible consequences of each alternative  Select the alternative that maximizes the attainment of objectives.

Science as a social construct….  Scientific paradigms  Positivist  Interpretivist  Post normal  Empirical vs. Normative Perspectives

Scientific Method vs. Ideology  Scientific Method  Observe  Form hypotheses  Test hypotheses  discard if falsified  Form theory  Test theory  discard if falsified  Ideology  Refuse to test theories, or refuse to abandon them when experiments/new observations prove them wrong

How ARE public decisions made?  Lindblom’s Incrementalism “An attempt to implement one policy almost always brings new problems onto the agenda, meaning that the step called implementation and the step called agenda building collapse into each other… One group’s solution often is another group’s problem… From the seedbed of implementation, then, new policy problems grow and are plucked for the agenda in never-ending succession.” Lindblom & WoodhouseP.11  Stone’s policy paradox

Limits of rationality…  “The capacity of the human mind for formulating and solving complex problems is very small compared with the size of the problem whose solutions is required for objectively rational behavior in the real world—or even for a reasonable approximation to such objective rationality.” Simon, Models of Man (1957, p.198)

How ARE private decisions made? Rational actor  What is rational?  Are people purely rational, or also emotional and spiritual?

 Self interest  Always wants more  Purely competitive  “homogenous globules of desire Or are we cooperative, social animals, concerned about the future that differ across cultures?  e.g. H. comunicus, concern for fairness and community preferences  H. naturalis, concern for sustainability and whole system preferences  Count off by 2s. All 2s leave room

Group 1  Serious flu will kill 600 people  Choice A: Conventional vaccine will save 200 people  Choice B: Experimental vaccine has 1/3 chance of saving everyone, 2/3 chance of saving no one  Mark your choice and leave room

Group 2  Serious flu will kill 600 people  Choice A: Conventional vaccine will result in death of 400 people  Choice B: Experimental vaccine has 1/3 chance of saving everyone, 2/3 chance of saving no one  Mark your choice

Checks & Balances: Clearly defined roles?  Legislative branch: creates policy  Executive branch: implements policy  Judicial branch: determines if policy is legal

“ Politics-Administration Dichotomy ”  Wilson, Goodnow  Appleby, Waldo  Scientific efficiencies vs. democratic effectiveness

Politics: A Necessary Evil?  Politic: 1.sagacious; prudent. 2. Shrewd; artful. 3. expedient; judicious. (Webster’s unabridged dictionary)  Derived from Greek: politikos civic, equiv. to polit(es) citizen.

Politics: noun. 1. the science or art of political government. 2. the practice or profession of conducting political affairs. 3. political affairs. 4. political methods or maneuvers. 5. political principles or opinions. 6. use of intrigue or strategy in obtaining any position pf power or control, as in business, university, etc. (Webster’s Unabridged Dic.)

 What does it mean to be “political?”  Does the adage that “everything is political” hold up?  Where might politics have come into play:  For the parking policy?  For health care policy?

The policy paradox  Account for the possibilities of changing one ’ s objectives;  Of pursuing contradictory objectives simultaneously;  Of winning by appearing to lose and turning lose into an appearance of victory;  Of attaining objectives by portraying oneself as having attained them. Stone P.9

Actors matter…  Who were the “actors” in  The parking policy  Health care policy

 Essentially, public policy is about decision-making and the process through which these decisions get made and evaluated.  Politics makes the distinctions between actors blurry.

Some Policy Actors…  Legislatures  Interest groups/ Non-profit organizations  Courts  Consultants  Elites  Bureaucracies  Policy Networks  Think tanks  Bureaucracies  Public administrators  Citizens  Business  Media

 “How people define their preferences depends to a large extent on how choices are presented to them and by whom.” Stone P.10  “ Politics involves seeking allies and organizing cooperation in order to compete with opponents. ” Stone P.24

“ The study of politics is the attempt to explain the various ways in which power is exercised in the everyday world and how that power is used to allocate resources and benefits to some people and groups, and costs and burdens to other people and groups. ” Birkland p. 5

“ Shared meanings motivate people to action and meld individual striving into collective action. Ideas are at the center of all political conflict. Policy making, in turn, is a constant struggle over the criteria for classification, the boundaries of categories, and the definition of ideals that guide the way people behave. ” Stone P.11

A Democratic Imperative?  What role should ordinary citizens play within public policy development and implementation?  Weak versus strong democracy  Can we have too much of a good thing?  “To enhance the role of reason and analysis in policy making, must a society surrender some aspects of democracy? Can a society enjoy both more reasoned and more democratic policy making?” Lindblom and Woodhouse p.7

How do we talk about politics? …  What are the views of those who you speak with about politics? A. Mostly those you agree with B. Mostly those you disagree with C. A balance of both agree and disagree with with D. You don’t talk to people about politics

 With whom do you speak about politics with? (check all that apply) A. Family– which ones B. Friends– which ones C. Professional/work colleagues D. Strangers and acquaintances E. Fellow students and faculty

 What can we do to ensure that we are able to talk about our political views and perspectives in this classroom?